Apr 07 2008
Errol Morris - re-enactments and truth
“Critics argue that the use of re-enactments suggest a callous disregard on the part of a filmmaker for what is true. I don’t agree. Some re-enactments serve the truth, others subvert it. There is no mode of expression, no technique of production that will instantly produce truth or falsehood. There is no veritas lens – no lens that provides a “truthful” picture of events. There is cinéma vérité and kino pravda but no cinematic truth.
The engine of uncovering truth is not some special lens or even the unadorned human eye; it is unadorned human reason.” From Play It Again, Sam (Re-enactments, Part One)
Also check out the trailer to Errol Morris new film Standard Operating Procedure: “Is it possible for a photograph to change the world? Photographs taken by soldiers in Abu Ghraib prison changed the war in Iraq and changed America’s image of itself“
[…] read about the ethical questions it raises: Errol Morris - re-enactments and truth (a blog post by Peter Ralph, […]
Platon’s work is everwhere all of a sudden. Or maybe I’m just noticing it now. His portraits are very distinctive, but not particularly flattering.