Anselm

"When a man puffs out his cheeks, he looks like God. When a man walks with a cross, he looks like Jesus."

This observation was expertly recorded by a writer Yerofeyev, but in his texts there is at least, if not self-irony, then mere irony. In Wim Wenders' film Anselm - Das Rauschen der Zeit, irony is not even present in the form of a hint. When the two mega-successful European maestros puff out their cheeks, the god-like quality reaches such an extent that you can only hold your breath for sheer pathos. That's how I said goodbye to two of my youthful idols in one evening.

More questions, of course, to Wenders, although basically I sympathize more with Kiefer as an artist. I would like to think that perhaps it was only a friend's camera, out of misunderstood friendly reverence, that failed to show him as a living human being, and indeed nothing human is alien to him. Wenders chisels the image of the artist out of marble and tries to show a block, a "hard man", and we get a stilted, lifeless figure.

Here Anselm thinks, here he lies figuratively with Celan's book, here he lies without Celan, stares thoughtfully into space, works, moves to an ever larger studio and stares meaningfully again. At some point, I stop distinguishing between the repetitive landscapes in the pictures and only see money, money, money. The 3D effect multiplies this money, we sit in the rain of money and look at the money.

The god-like male get-together is diluted by would-be gods: Kiefer's son and Wenders' nephew, who play the artist in his youth and childhood. The little boy contributes nothing but sentimentality and vulgarity. He stares meaningfully into space and makes no contact with anyone. Except to exchange a word with the only female character, the cleaning lady. Other women are only present in this masculine world, represented by an unreachable mother and symbolized by repeated white dresses with the same figure wearing either a haystack or a tuft of twigs instead of heads. Even old Freud would not be wrong here. Except for one minute, Ingeborg Bachmann flashed so vividly in this world of mannequins that this minute remained in my memory. Hard enough to refute the accusation of a lack of images of women, but also safe because it was short and long since dead and canonized.

I'm beginning to think that the lack of contact and self-absorption might be related to an autism spectrum disorder, and that this might be some kind of enlivening detail in the monotonous plot, a problem that takes the movie to another level. But we learn nothing about any disorders: The gods are disease-free, have no vices, are athletic and productive. Megaproductive. Not at all like Warhol's factory, because the production of guilt over National Socialism is serious business, not a laughing stock or, God forbid, drugs and freaks like Andy's. Kiefer's taciturn and equally wholesome and serious numerous assistants are beginning to remind me of the characters in a Lenny Riefenstahl film. A triumph of aesthetics. Does criticism take the form of the object to be criticized?

One cannot help but recall the words of Candice Breitz from the same article by Mascha Gessen, which, as expected, was not accepted in Germany: "Good intentions that emerged in the eighties too often become dogmas. Dogma and ossified form prevent us from seeing that nationalist ideas can flourish in a completely different form.

Is it possible to show an artist outside the system of criticism in today's world? Wenders created a mega-showreel, 6K, 3D, stereo sound, megalomaniac artist promo, a powerful spectacle, an attraction. He gave an almost tangible opportunity to see many works at once, something that would be impossible to see in an exhibition. And he didn't ask a single question.

As a teenager, Anselm Kiefer wrote in his diary that he wanted to become the most important artist in the world. It can be said that the patriarchal culture of heroes has given him this opportunity. Hero-winner Kiefer refuses to comment on his work. What is behind the artist's refusal? Could it be the realisation that the dragon winner himself is becoming a dragon?

Overwhelmed by the pathos, amazed by the beauty, unveiled by the aural, overwhelmed by the grandeur and covered in unexpected Christmas snow, I return to my emigrant home and only a long listen to Bomrani brings me back to my senses. I can't help it, I love this kind of music. Kiarash Omrani sings a migrant's song that says there is no hero and I want to go to a world without heroes.

Merry Christmas Eve and stay tuned )

Wim Wenders is one of the greatest German filmmakers alive, if not the greatest. Anselm Kiefer is one of the greatest German artists, if not the greatest. Both will turn 80 in 2025. The meeting between the two takes place in 'Anselm', the documentary film about Kiefer that Wenders made in 2023.

The categorization as a documentary is very approximate. It is not a documentary or a classic biographical film, nor even a film with and about ordinary art. It is rather a poem written with the artistic means of cinema, which Wim Wenders dedicates to Anselm Kiefer, with his participation. If a term of comparison is needed, it would be 'Pina', the film that Wenders dedicated in 2011 to the choreographer Pina Bausch, to her life, work and the institution she founded. Using the same technique of 3D imaging, the filmmaker introduces us to the world created by the artist. And this is not an easy world to live in, to understand, to accept. Anselm Kiefer (like Wenders, for that matter) was born and raised in the ruins of defeated Germany, he grew up and was educated among people who not only tried to forget but also to repress feelings of responsibility - individual and collective - for what happened during the war and especially for the Holocaust. The dialogues with the artist (when he is alive) in the usual biographical documentaries and the flash-backs in fictional cinematic biographies are replaced in 'Anselm' with the artist's works from the different periods of his life. However, Anselm Kiefer's works have not been spared of controversy, starting with his provocative debuts in which he tried through the means of art (photography in that case) to awaken from lethargy a Germany that was complacent in oblivion. Alongside Kiefer, his son and grandson appear, embodying the artist at early ages in his biography. The soundtrack is dominated by the reading of several poems by Paul Celan, the German-speaking Jewish poet born in Czernowitz, a Holocaust survivor who put into words better than anyone the struggle of the artist trying to create something after the Holocaust. I don't know how many of the film's viewers know Celan or are aware that he committed suicide in Paris in 1970.

Visually, the film is impressive and monumental, as are many of Kiefer's works. The color palette is that of his works, and the 3D technology transports the viewers inside them. It is no coincidence, I think, that many of Kiefer's paintings, even when they have a rectangular frame, have relief and a third dimension. In a few sequences we see at work the artist who has been creating in huge ateliers since the 80s - former industrial spaces or hangars where his gigantic works can be created and housed. Watching the film 'Anselm' was for me an opportunity to get to know in more depth an artist whom I have been following and appreciating for many years. I think that most viewers who already know Anselm Kiefer will have similar feelings. Those who are not familiar with the artist and his work should, however, I think, do a minimum of research before watching this film, in order to better appreciate the art of Kiefer and that of Wim Wenders.

What makes Anslem interesting? Is it the art he crafts? His thought-provoking nature, or the brilliance of his mind and ways? With beautiful camerawork, musical score and interesting observations, this documentary navigates an well-executed poetic documentary story about Anslem's work. Diving deep into his work, the poetic nature, and style, Filmmaker Wim Wenders crafts one of his best documentary works in quite some time with absolutely great direction and atmospheres approached throughout within the setting.

That goes without some flaws as with the documentary being more focused on the works rather then Anselm, I wished Wenders applied a little more examination about Anselm himself which would have helped crafted a more personal examination of Anselm and understanding of his works.

But overall, with Perfect Days, I am glad to see Wenders is back again.

This is a hit and miss documentary that attempts to take inside the work and being of Anselm Kiefer. I really have been ignorant of this man. I have an interest in art, but some of the more contemporary evade me. The products this man makes are huge and impressive. They are also dark and rough. The scenes where he uses a flame thrower to burn parts of his monster works is really captivating. Also, the beginning scenes where the same wedding dress is reproduced over and over with the heads missing, replaced by a plethora of weird objects. We do get into the man himself as he speaks of his connections to Germany during the war and the violence and anger which is inherent. We see the complexity of a man who was never sure during each decade what he saw himself to be. I have to admit to being a bit bored at times because the piece is fragmented. I know narration is the easy way, but it could have used a bit more here to bind things.

Imagine having the vision - and the means - to build your own little world, one that reflects your philosophical, artistic and personal sensibilities. If you're German multi-media artist Anselm Kiefer, it's not only entirely possible, but also an undertaking that feels as though it's been compelled into existence, as seen in this poetic new documentary from filmmaker Wim Wenders. This inventive, intimate look into the life, work and beliefs of this artistic icon examines how his upbringing and major influences shaped the person Kiefer ultimately became, one of the most prolific, diverse and challenging creatives of the 20th Century. Through interviews with the artist, archive and contemporary footage of his work, and interpretive reenactments of Kiefer as an eminently curious youth and as a bold innovator as a young adult, viewers witness how he emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the art world in the nature, content and messages of his creations. The film explores his mythological, metaphysical and philosophical insights, along with his relentless passion for artistically depicting Germany's role in World War II, an effort that many of his fellow countrymen found off-putting but that he insisted must not be forgotten or ignored, despite widespread public opinion to the contrary. Then there's the establishment of his Gesamtkunstwerk - or "universal artwork" - at his 35-hectare compound community in Barjac, France, an attempt at manifesting a work of art incorporating as many different types of creations as possible, truly a world unto itself. All of this is accomplished through a narrative that's more thematically driven than one providing a rote laundry list of accomplishments. Because of this, viewers unfamiliar with Kiefer's work, history and influences may find the film somewhat difficult to follow at times, but that's more than compensated for by Wenders' stunning cinematography, especially its brilliant employment of 3-D technology, a practice virtually unheard of in documentary work. Given the unconventional nature of "Anselm," the picture clearly won't appeal to everyone, including those enamored with documentaries. However, for those seeking something different, inspiring and beautiful to look at, this one is made for you.