Many of Huillet and Straub’s films are set in landscapes of green and brown. Straub’s last two films, Gens du lac and La contre les robots, are set in blue. Unlike the trees, fields, and hilltops of the green and brown landscapes, water does not have a solid form. “To live means to have a form,” Straub once said. The film’s seventeen minutes and 54 seconds comprise six shots and four ages of black screen. The soundtrack consists of…
Such a weird cultural artifact. One that surely could only be made in the early days of the millenium. You wonder, what was the purpose of this, why did someone initiatate this (I read that it was apparently to get the waning Antonioni to shoot one last work). Antonioni's segment was (of course - as most late-late works by great masters) viciously panned by critics upon release, but today stands as the most radical with its unashamed giving into soft…
How a documentary on pottery can be an almost religious experience is beyond me.
I suppose the 'magic' of pottery is the notion of temporality which lies in the very act of turning the pot. Among many other things it also raises questions of archeology and origin and the relationship between materiality, labor and art.
This is one of the most beautiful object-centered films I've ever seen. It may be because it's still so humane and warm.
