The calm sense of distance in "prose movies"

Rosemarie 2022-01-12 08:01:14

Most films about the testimony of the Holocaust can be understood as a collection of narratives of primary or secondary information. At the end of World War II, the most famous movies that appeared were all looking at genocide from the perspective of second-hand materials and outsiders. These kinds of films are now generally understood as " essay films." They come from a contemporary understanding of events, and rarely have a first-hand perspective presented to the public. They are both sharp and abstract, using a calm sense of distance; they reflect human evil, group thinking, and genocide capacity from an academic and theoretical perspective. These filmmakers are also aware of the objectivity and limitations of documentaries, and do not pretend to show the so-called truth. In the documentary short "Night and Fog" (Night and Fog, 1956), the alendronate-Resnais (Alain Resnais, 1922-2014, French film director) made it clear that the film is his personal thoughts and observations carrier. Whether it is primary materials or fictional scenes, what the audience sees is only a reconstruction of reality, not a true reproduction. Other films in this category include the more abstract but equally great documentary " Blood of the Beasts " (Le Sang des bêtes/Blood of the Beasts, 1949).

Still from the documentary "Night and Fog" (1956), directed by Aaron Renai. Duration: 32 minutes.

Stills from the documentary "Animal Blood" (1949), directed by Georges Franju (Georges Franju, 1912-87, French film director). Duration: 22 minutes.

Between the witness and the testimony are the news documents of events such as the Nuremberg trials (1945-46) and later Eichmann trials (1961). Both are centered on the testimony of survivors and perpetrators, but these narratives do not have the same cultural imprint as the shots in the liberation camps. Facts have proved that more intuitive "witness" images are more communicative than detailed testimonies, and they can help consolidate people's limited cultural understanding of the Holocaust. Such images that emphasize "witnesses" often describe events from a narrow perspective, emphasizing the identity and painful psychology of the victims, while ignoring their tenacity and true memories.

Welcome to follow my WeChat public account : ABAGo

View more about Night and Fog reviews

Extended Reading
  • Eddie 2022-04-21 09:03:01

    This film is a work of commemoration and reflection on the tenth anniversary of the end of World War II, exposing the brutal crimes in the Nazi concentration camps. The meaning is to hope that there will be no more wars and no more inhuman massacres. However, in the second half of the 20th century, many tragedies have been repeated all over the world, and perhaps mankind will never be able to learn lessons from history.

  • Gabe 2022-04-24 07:01:18

    Watched it on January 15th. "Among us, the lucky chief prisoner is still alive, and the reinstated Nazi officers, and the anonymous whistleblower. Some refuse to believe, or only briefly. We look at the pile of ruins with serious eyes, as if An old monster, falling forever under the rubble. When these images are in the past, we pretend to be hopeful again, as if the misery in the concentration camps is healed, and we pretend that it will only happen once at a certain time and place. Turn a blind eye to the things around you, and turn a deaf ear to the never-ending cry of human nature."

Night and Fog quotes

  • Récitant/Narrator: Death makes his first pick. Another choice is made in the morning in the night and fog.

  • Récitant/Narrator: When the Allies open the doors... all the doors... the deportees look on without understanding. Are they free? Will life know them again?