Austerlitz

2016 | Germany | NR | 94 min.

Showings

Dutmers at the Dennos Museum Wed, Jul 26, 2017 9:00 AM
Dutmers at the Dennos Museum Thu, Jul 27, 2017 12:00 PM
Dutmers at the Dennos Museum Fri, Jul 28, 2017 6:00 PM
Film Info
Section:Avant Garde Film at Dutmers
Original Title:Austerlicas
Release Year:2016
Runtime:94 min.
Rating:NR
Production Country:Germany
Original Language:English
German
Spanish
Subtitles:English
Cast/Crew Info
Director:Sergei Loznitsa
Produced by:Kirill Krasovski
Cinematography:Sergei Loznitsa
Jesse Mazuch
Editing By:Danielius Kokanauskis

Description

Why would a young man wake up and put on a shirt that says “Cool Story, Bro” before heading out for a day trip to Austerlitz? What happens when a historic site of unimaginable suffering becomes a pit stop for family vacationers? This ingeniously simple, mesmerizing documentary—a vital entry in the growing chapter of cinema evaluating the Holocaust’s present-day legacy—arrests and unsettles us from its opening images. Capturing a typical day at the site of a concentration camp turned tourist attraction, we watch throngs of tourists pour into the gates, pausing briefly to snap a shot. Some pose, laughing and smiling alongside signs. Sergei Loznitsa’s camera simply observes these scenes in stark black-and-white, and it becomes increasingly clear just how little connection many of the daytrippers feel to the atrocities they’re looking in on, viewing sites of unconscionable human suffering with only a cursory interest in, or understanding of, the history on which they tread.

SPONSORED BY
Gary Boren (Wed)
Smith Family (Thu)
Valerie M. Angers (Fri)