Peter eisenman building germany holocaust memorial - Essay Example

Peter Eisenman: Building Germany’s Holocaust Memorial Peter Eisenman: Building Germany’s Holocaust Memorial is a 58 minute documentary that was madefor television and was released on television in 2006. The documentary is directed by Michael Blackwood. Michael Blackwood is an independent documentary filmmaker. Blackwood has produced and directed more than 120 documentary films on subjects of architecture, art, music and dance. These are his favorite subjects and he generally makes documentaries on themes relating to them.

Peter Eisenman: Building Germany’s Holocaust Memorial chronicles the creation of a major public sculpture in the center of Berlin. This sculpture was created by American architect Peter Eisenman and is a memorial for the Jews killed in the Holocaust during the Nazi regime of Germany. The public memorial is a soccer field size space filled with 2711 concrete stele. The stele are of varying heights, tipping to the left and right on a shifting, wavy ground. This has the effect of reminding the audience of a wheat field tossed by strong winds.

The idea of this memorial was first propagated by a group of German journalists led by Lea Rosh in the year 1988. Two design competitions were held and finally the entry of American architect Peter Eisenman was accepted by German chancellor Helmut Kohl. The project was finally implemented in the year 1999 when the Bundestag (lower house of the German parliament) provided the financing for the project. Peter Eisenman succeeded brilliantly in completing the memorial when it was finally dedicated to the memory of the Jews killed in the Nazi genocide.

The documentary also documents the feelings and impressions on the memorial of some prominent German politicians, academicians, literati and general visitors to the German Holocaust memorial. The documentary Peter Eisenman: Building Germany’s Holocaust Memorial is a well-shot one and is an example of the Cinema verite style of documentary filmmaking. The other works of Michael Blackwood are also examples of this style and he is heavily influenced by this style because of his background. The Cinema verite style of filmmaking was originated in France in the decade of 60s.

This style strives to show life as realistically as possible and cinema is used as the artistic medium to express this reality (Nichols, Bill 109). Other important filmmakers that have been majorly influenced by this style of filmmaking include such names like Jean Rouch and Albert Maysles. Contemporary mainstream feature films like The Blair Witch Project are also influenced by the Cinema verite style. There is minimal use of narration in the documentary. This has allowed the subjects to speak for themselves.

They are encouraged to give their own comments and impressions on the German Holocaust Memorial. The camera has been used very well so as to provoke the subjects to express their true feelings, comments and impressions of the German Holocaust Memorial. The camera work and editing of the movie is done in such a way so as to enhance the naturalism. In my opinion, Peter Einseman: Building Germany’s Holocaust Memorial succeeds in chronicling in a riveting way the creation of this public sculpture of historical significance.

The cinematography is good. The editing succeeds in capturing the interest of the audience through the entire length of the movie. A successful documentary film is one that succeeds in informing the viewers in an interesting and engaging way on the subject of documentary. Peter Eisenman: Building Germany’s Holocaust Memorial succeeds in achieving these objectives. References: www.michaelblackwoodproductions.com Nichols, Bill. Introducing the Documentary. Indiana: Indiana University Press: 2001. Print.