Fedor Sendak
GRIN WITHOUT A CAT (Chris Marker)
The 60s and 70s were a wild time, no matter where you were at. This is an epic documentary about those times by the wonderful French filmmaker Chris Marker. Once again this is a rare screening, so hope to see you at the CAVIA next Tuesday!
- Jeffrey
TUESDAY JUNE 16
GRIN WITHOUT A CAT
LE FOND DE L\'AIR EST ROUGE (1977)
Directed by Chris Marker
180 minutes
In French, Spanish, English, German and Vietnamese with English subtitles
Certainly one of the most mysterious and creative filmmakers to come out of the last century was enigmatic Chris Marker. Marker was able to redesign the whole definition of both fiction film (in La Jete) and documentary film (in Sans Soleil). If you were ever curious about the 60s, and how it was possible that every corner of the world started to explode with revolutions- everywhere from America to Japan to Germany to France and throughout Latin America- then this film is for you.
A GRIN WITHOUT A CAT (its title refers to Lewis Carroll\'s Cheshire Cat) is Marker\'s magnum opus: a three-hour overview of the political upheavals that swept the world during the Sixties and Seventies. The entire film consists of found footage, interview clips, and rare documentary footage with occasional narration over top of the image. Marker always uses cinema as a medium to reflect upon the nature of the world, and the narration in this film consists largely of his own personal thoughts. He is perhaps the most intimate of all documentary filmmakers.
Marker interweaves footage from the Vietnam War and the antiwar protests in the U.S., May \'68 in Paris, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, Salvador Allende and the coup in Chile, Che Guevara and Régis Debray in Bolivia, the Shah of Iran, Fidel Castro, et alia. This film is a kaleidoscope of ideas and events which shows how dynamic and vital those years really were.
On top of this, during a montage of the horrors of war, we are presented with two soldiers waterboarding a prisoner. At the time of the film\'s release, this was simply one of many horrible images, but its current resonance is profound. After seeing the footage, you will have no problem drawing a line in the sand: this practice is absolutely torture.
A one-of-a-kind film, intelligent and profound, and which is more relevant today than ever.
\"Magnificent. The energy and optimism and tragedy of decades of political activism are rendered with that mental restlessness and ingenious pathos typical of Marker\'s great films.\" - Susan Sontag
Ciné INTERZONE Film Club
Filmhuis Cavia- Van Hallstraat 52-B Film begins at 20:30
Cine Interzone: International cult, alternative, and obscure films, always with English subtitles.
Important films which are unavailable or rarely - if ever - shown in the Netherlands.
Nightly membership- 3 Euros
Filmhuis CAVIA is a non-profit volunteer organization committed to the importance of cinema.
Amsterdam, NL
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