As You See (1986) - Harun Farocki

Harun Farocki began making films in the late 1960s. He has created a rigorous kind of cinema, one that has returned to the same aesthetic and political questions repeatedly since his militant beginnings in the medium, yet without ever appearing dated. «Film-essays» is how we might describe this cinema, which resists being reduced to any one definition as it constantly shifts between poetry and reflection, playfulness and gravity, just as it moves between fictional cinema and documentary. Farocki\'s films explore in part the convergences between war, economy and politics within the social context. They sketch an audiovisual history of (post)industrial civilization and its techniques in which deviant developments are especially highlighted. «Wie man sieht -As You See» is a signal example of this aspect.This film-essay assembles images from different origins (drawings, photos, paintings, etc.) which are so many symptoms of civilisation (highway intersections, war machines, pin-ups, etc.). The film thus constructs a critical view of the history of technology. In this associative texture of images, Farocki not only questions where or how such a bridge, weapon or tool was built, but what other ways could have been used and who ruled them. These deviations are not only the object and the subject of the film; they also determine the structure and the editing : little mental strolls along parallel fields, a way of editing in a loop which brings us back to a previous reflection. Farocki introduces an element - an image, a motif, a scene - to take it up later transforming it slightly. We are confronted with a highly original way of shooting and ordering of images. If there is a certain textual pleasure in the exploration of deviations, Farocki never leads us down a blind alley. The viewer is invited to think synchronically, to find his way between sound, text and image, mentally stopping the unreeling film. Most of Farocki films are \"essay films\" they examine an almost always socio-political theme from a decidedly subjective point of view. They are films which, as Farocki himself once said, are directed against television, against non commercial and easy consumption. The central moment of Farocki\'s film is a reflection on the functioning principles of capitalism and on its incredible stability. The subjects of his films are among others, Napalm production, the Vietnam War, the construction of highways, pornography, the societal division of labor and military reconnaissance. These studies do not give any answer, but challenge the viewer to continue questioning. Harun Farocki has created nearly 90 films that include three feature-length works, film-essays and documentaries.

udp://tracker.openbittorrent.com:80
udp://open.demonii.com:1337
udp://tracker.coppersurfer.tk:6969
udp://exodus.desync.com:6969

Avart (2007-04-13)

sorry about the extremely bad speed, there is something very wrong with my connection at the moment. i just got home and saw that i've only uploaded like 1mb, which can't be right.
working on it.

Beksinski (2007-10-01)

Thank you very much, this is much appreciated.