Oracle Film Series: Annemiek + Beau Travail
Overview
Rineke Dijkstra, Annemiek
In her earliest work of video art, portrait photographer Rineke Dijkstra captures her subject, a reserved Dutch teen named Annemiek, as she self-consciously lip syncs to “I Wanna Be With You,” a pop track by Backstreet Boys, losing herself in the music’s utopian emotions only to snap back again, once reminded of Dijkstra’s lens. (Video, 4mins., 1997)
Claire Denis, Beau Travail
Claire Denis’ most devastating work of cinematic formalism, Beau Travail, is a loose adaptation of Herman Melville’s Billy Budd. Set in the expansive landscapes of Djibouti, the film follows the struggle of masculinities amongst members of the French Foreign Legion. The arrival of the handsome and charming Sentain (Grégoire Colin) stokes envy in the heart of Chief Adjutant Galoup (Denis Levant). His selfish struggle to tame Sentain’s allure results in a self-immolation that crescendoes in the film’s stunning, final tableau vivant. (35mm on digital video, 90mins., 1999)
About Oracle Film Series
The film compendium to The Broad’s latest collection installation, Oracle Film Series, considers the individual in systems of global commerce, colonialism and digital networks. What becomes of traditions, religions, our oracles in the hyperreal inertia of our present day? The films assembled here celebrate the tenacity of the body and its ability to locate moments of sublimity in the face of global capitalism. From features shot in France, Japan, Djibouti, Thailand and the US, paired with short artist videos that render their message via lip-sync, video games, camp performance or productivity consultations, Oracle Film Series assembles masterworks in world cinema that shimmer with subversive glory, unleashing the self into jungles of digital or metaphysical design.
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