yesterday I walkd to the cinemateque at the college where "Ballets Russes" was being held over. the film begins with archival footage of a ballerina. it's b&w. it's grainy. we know it's only an approximation of an evanescent art. but it's still full of life. by telling the stories of competing ballet companies the film becomes a major document preserving the history of dance in the 20th century. the interviews with survivors are as lively as the interviewees. several nearing 90 continue to teach & some even to dance. it's inspiring. I left the theater wanting to reach out to the sky & jump.
several hours later I began watching "Grizzly Man." it begins with its subject crouching with a bear behind him. almost as soon as he begins to speak we know we're facing a disturbd man. one of the blackest films in Herzog's dark canon the documentary becomes increasingly difficult to watch. it's such a painful film that by the time it was over I felt draind.
2 very different docs producing strong emotions.
1 comment:
caught bits of herzog's documentary last night too. classically structured, herzog's deeply nuanced investigations of one man, and also nature and human civilization, is deeply disturbing. been wondering tho how much of treadwell's video diaries are not so much performance. he comes across as one crazed nut, however, one does act differently on camera, and i wonder if he left only notes, journals, and photos what kind of man would emerge.
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