The Ister - Heidegger on film

T

tryptych

waiting for a time
Browsing wikipedia, I found reference to this film, "The Ister"

http://imdb.com/title/tt0397477/

'The Ister' is a 3000km journey to the heart of Europe, from the mouth of the Danube river at the Black Sea, to its source in the German Black Forest. The film is based on the work of the most influential and controversial philosopher of the 20th century, Martin Heidegger, who swore allegiance to the National Socialists in 1933. By marrying a vast philosophical narrative with a fascinating journey up Europe's greatest waterway, the film invites the viewer to unravel the extraordinary past and future of 'the West.'
Click to expand...

Only user comment on the IMDB:

Unwatchable. This is one of the most pretentious time wasters I've ever had the misfortune of enduring. Essentially The Ister is an overly earnest, impossibly obscure philosophical treatise that could only appeal to academics with an interest in Heidegger scholarship. What were the filmmakers trying to achieve in turning such turgid material into a movie? After more than three hours (!) of cinematic torture I am none the wiser.
Click to expand...

:D

also

http://www.theister.com/


has anyone seen this? is it any good?
 
J

John Doe

Well-known member
Alas I haven't seen this, no, but it sounds intriguing ... and a little like a 'lost' film that Jonathan Coe wrote about in his novel The House of Sleep. I think the Coe film was called 'Latrine Duty' or something (and I always assumed it to be fictional), but that quote from ImDb suddenly brought it to mind - apparently it was so excrucitating to watch that it induced insanity, suicide etc.

That quote from Imdb has got me chuckling. I'm taking it for a recommendation.

I wonder if they'll have it in my local Blockbuster? :eek:
 
D

D7_bohs

Well-known member
it was shown in Dublin - one showing - last year; had ticket booked and all, then family emergency intervened; from reports -and from earnest Heidegerians too - it was as slow and long and opaque as the river of its title
 
S

sixbillionbodies

Member
It was shown at my university last year.

I didn't find that it wasted my time, but that's probably because I don't find that Heidegger wastes my time. It's beautifully shot. I think the director (who spoke quite eloquently after the screening) was going for a structure that could do justice to the content of the film itself. It reminded me of Kiarostami, though Malick (allegedly a Heideggerean himself) was the major stated influence.

It also alerted me to the work of Stiegler, who comes across in the film as both provocative and likeable. Director dude (ok I'm googling and his name is Daniel Ross) wrote his thesis on the guy, if I remember rightly.

In answer to your question: yes and yes.
 
D

D7_bohs

Well-known member
Malick translated Heidegger's Vom Wesens der Grundes (as The Essence of Reasons) Northewestern 1969; he was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford, where his supervisor was Gilbert Ryle; he wanted to work on Kierkegaard and heidegger and Ryle told him he should do real philosophy (something along those lines anyway...)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top