Michael Madsen m. fl.: Cathedrals of Culture

Var jeg i Berlin, ville jeg finde en visning af det store 3-D projekt om arkitektur, seks filmessays, som Final Cut for Real har produceret med Michael Madsen som den danske bidragyder. De øvrige instruktører er Karim Aïnouz , Margreth Olin, Wim Wenders, Michael Glawogger og Robert Redford.

Berlinale kataloget beskriver filmene således: ”If buildings could talk, what would they say about us? ”Cathedrals of Culture” offers six startling responses to this question. This 3D film project about the soul of buildings allows six iconic and very different buildings to speak for themselves, examining human life from the unblinking perspective of a manmade structure. Six acclaimed filmmakers bring their own visual style and artistic approach to the project. Buildings, they show us, are material manifestations of human thought and action: the Berlin Philharmonic, an icon of modernity; the National Library of Russia, a kingdom of thoughts; Halden Prison, the world’s most humane prison; the Salk Institute, a scientific monastery on the California coast; the Oslo Opera House, a futuristic symbiosis of art and life; and the Centre Pompidou, a modern culture machine. ”Cathedrals of Culture” explores how each of these landmarks reflects our culture and guards our collective memory.”

Det lyder jo noget pompøst og internationalt samarbejde agtigt som en ambassadørs åbningstale. Men jeg har helt andre personlige grunde til at opsøge dette tre timers værk. Jeg har endnu smerten fra ”Into Eternity” i mig, overvejelsen af at bygge for evigheden og glemslen, filmens gribende slutning i vemodets værdighed med Edgard Varèse musik til Paul Verlaines digt fra Sagesse III: ”Un grand Sommeil noir / Tombe sur ma vie: / Dormez, tout espoir, / Dormez, toute envie! ” Det er hvad, jeg venter af Madsen. Og jeg lever stadigvæk med biblioteksscenerne i ”Himlen over Berlin” i sindet, englene Bruno Ganz og Otto Sander uhørligt tydelige samtale med de mange dybt optagne i læsesalen i Staatsbibliothek. Det er hvad, jeg håber på hos Wenders. Og så er der fire kloge og følsomme instruktører mere. Det bliver stort stort. Så 3D delen er jeg ligeglad med, jeg lægger de klodsede briller væk, essayenes billeder, lyd og klip er nok for mig.

Link: www.berlinale.de/en/programm

Link: www.dfi.dk/Nyheder/FILMupdate

Still: Fra Michael Glawoggers del af “Cathedrals of Culture”, som skildrer Naionalbiblioteket i Skt. Petersborg. 

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Allan Berg Nielsen
Allan Berg Nielsen

Allan Berg Nielsen started the first documentary cinema in Randers, Denmark way back in the 1970’es. He did so at the museum, where he was employed. He got the (16mm) films from the collection of the National Film Board of Denmark (Statens Filmcentral). He organised a film festival in his home city, became a member of the Board of Directors of the Film Board, started to write about films in diverse magazines, were a juror at several festivals and wrote television critiques in the local newspaper. From 1998-2003 Allan Berg was documentary film consultant (commissioning editor) at The Danish Film Institute, a continuation of the Film Board. Since then free lance consultant in documentary matters.

abn@filmkommentaren.dk

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