'Architecture is often viewed from the outside, as an inanimate object represented in still imagery', with this sentence begins Tomas Koolhaas explaining the documentary he has been realizing since already three years around the figure of his father, Rem Koolhaas.
It is obvious comparison with previous proposals, as the great movie about Bordeaux house, "Koolhaas Houselife" (2007) by Ila Beka and Louise Lemoine, where nobody knows what the house, but everyone finds the daily life and way of life their inhabitants, or films and documentaries about architects, now classic, made by their children, as the popular film by Nathanial Kahnl, Louis Kahn's son, "My Architect: A Son's Journey" (2003) or James Venturi with John Halpern on the work of their parents, Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi, "Saving Lieb House" (2010).
Pieced together from conversations on the road, Rem’s gravelly voiceover forms a continuous monologue. We are treated to his musings on everything from the nature of time to the joys of swimming, with each section introduced by a momentous title quote, like the sayings of the Buddha. The seductive camerawork shows Koolhaas in action in exotic locations, framed against near constant sunsets with a generous dose of lens flare and the warm glow of an Instagram filter. Most scenes are shot from behind, making the back of Rem’s head the star of the film – a product of necessity that turned into an fitting stylistic choice. “Rem doesn’t wait for you,” says Tomas Koolhaas. “I was literally running after him, then I realised it was an interesting viewpoint, a way of seeing what he’s seeing.”
It’s a choice that fits with the highly personal narrative, a catalogue of Rem’s anthropological observations on subjects including construction workers, the countryside, collaboration and celebrity. “Nothing is more revealing than seeing how other people move in or near the water,” says Koolhaas, over footage of him floating somewhere near a rocky coastline. “When I’ve swum,” which he makes a point of doing every day, no matter where he is, “I have a wonderful moment of emptiness and readiness.”
Oliver Wainwright The Guardian 11.08.2016
Architecture fans expecting insight into working methods, partly, will be disappointed
In METALOCUS we have brought different images on building by Rem Koolhaas, as for example CCTV building, including one of the best that made by José Manuel Ballester, now the film by the Rem Koolhaas' son. The shorts that we bring you presents a truer picture of the building. For example, facing the monumental image of CCTV, the film shows images of everyday life, people who have used so far, workers and vigilant, putting them in parallel with the small day-to-day buildings, small shops, the royal city, a reality that has been and is being crushed by the progress of the new China. The building is shown without forgetting its large scale, it being walked by Rem Koolhaas, showing the dimensions of the project face the city that lies at their feet, in a view from the roof.
The shorts, in this case, appear to be more. The photograph at least that seems to show us, we need to know the script and the full film. The key question four years ago and now are; is it a description of the figure of Rem Koolhaas?, will it be a description of your work?, Will it be both or neither? On Venice, the answers.
CREDITS.-
Director.- Tomas Koolhaas
Music.- Murray Hidary
