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Paris Calligrammes

Ulrike Ottinger  •  Germany  • ​  2020
129 mins  •   HD  •   Exempt
In German, French and English with English subtitles

​
A journey through time to 1960s Paris and 20-year-old Ulrike Ottinger’s creative coming-of-age.

​“At once memoir, social history, and love letter to Paris – where the alchemy of Marxism, Dadaism, Surrealism, jazz, and post-colonial debate spawned a generation of fervid productivity” – Film Forum
DIRECTOR/SCREENPLAY/PHOTOGRAPHY: Ulrike Ottinger
PRODUCERS: Thomas Kufus, Ulrike Ottinger

PRODUCTION CO: Idéale Audience, Zero One Films
EDITOR: Annette Fleming
WITH: Jenny Agutter (English Narrator), Simone de Beauvoir, Raymond Duncan, Jacques Dutronc, Juliette Gréco, Nico, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone Signoret (Archive footage)​

​FESTIVALS: Berlin

REVIEWS

“Underneath the unhurried pace and the exhaustive account of Ottinger’s experience of 1960s Paris as a budding artist, there is a politically conscious playfulness that displays her ability to interweave different art forms and storytelling styles.

True to its title, the film rolls like a calligram, a text format where words are arranged to form a thematically relevant image. Ottinger’s recollections of past encounters with intellectual and artistic luminaries coalesce into a portrait of Paris, as well as herself. Calligrammes is the name of a bookstore owned by Fritz Picard that became a literary haven for Jewish émigrés; here, Ottinger crossed path with the likes of Tristan Tzara and Walter Mehring. The seemingly endless possibilities of life in Paris go on, like working next to Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir at cafes, seeing Georges Méliès’ films at Henri Langlois’ Cinémathèque Française, and listening to Juliette Gréco in nightclubs.

Paris Calligrammes rises above empty nostalgia, however. In a film filled to the brim with images and references, Ottinger’s voice becomes a fascinating and beguiling anchor: the measured tone, along with the mature earthiness of the vocal cords, creates an arresting graininess that challenges the image of Paris as a creative utopia. Nestled between the starry encounters is Ottinger’s reckoning with the colonial and racist history of France, including the near-forgotten Paris massacre of 1961. Ultimately, this masterly documentary is a psychogeographical exercise at its fullest potency and determination, overflowing with joy and political urgency all at once.”

– Phuong Le, Guardian


FILM SOCIETY SCREENINGS*

Palmerston North     
Wednesday, 3 August, 6:00pm

Queenstown
Tuesday, 16 August, 8.15pm


Auckland     
Monday, 29 August, 6:15pm
​

Nelson     
Tuesday, 6 September, 6:00pm

Dunedin
​Wednesday, 21 September, 7.30pm

Whanganui     

Monday, 3 October, 7:00pm

​Hamilton     

Monday, 10 October, 7.30pm

Timaru     
Monday, 17 October, 6:00pm

​*Non-members welcome by donation (notes only please)​

See more GERMAN CINEMA >>

Picture
German Cinema selection presented in
co-operation with the Goethe-Institut

Film Societies of Aotearoa New Zealand

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  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • SOCIETIES
    • AUCKLAND
    • HAMILTON
    • TAURANGA
    • NEW PLYMOUTH
    • WHANGANUI
    • PALMERSTON NORTH
    • CARTERTON
    • WELLINGTON
    • NELSON
    • CANTERBURY
    • TIMARU
    • QUEENSTOWN
    • DUNEDIN
    • WESTPORT
  • 2022 SEASON
    • ROBERT ALTMAN
    • SCANDINAVIA
    • BREAKING THROUGH
    • CONTEMPORARY WORLD
    • CLASSIC & CULT
    • NZ FILM
    • FRENCH CONNECTIONS
    • AFRICAN CINEMA
    • GERMAN CINEMA