Besprechungen
„A plethora of narrative-driven tableaux, across thirty locations, spirit us through a sweeping history of the world, a genuinely epic story traversing millennia and continents, all anchored to this one creature. (...) Meditative, immersive, sometimes mischievously witty and often breathtaking in its visual and narrative sweep, sr is as contemplative as it is informed and as captivating as the animal that inspired it.“
Vanja Kaludjercic, iffr.com
„Mit SR entwirft Lea Hartlaub einen endlos faszinierenden Essay, der sich, mit vielen Abschweifungen und Umwegen, vorgeblich an eine kleine Geschichtsschreibung der Giraffe wagt, dabei vor allem aber ein Panorama der durch Imperialismus und Kolonialismus geprägten Moderne zeichnet.“
Patrick Fey, moviebreak.de
„Spanning a vast period of human history, Hartlaub's work transcends a single definition, as it constantly places the viewer in the dual position of explorer and historian. The purpose here goes beyond merely observing or watching; it's about interacting more closely with the evolution of what it means to be human.“
Vitor Miranda, vhscut.com
„What sr has to say about imperialism and megalomania from these (pre)images, viewers can, for the most part, pick out for themselves. The slow but thoughtful editing of the various tableaux leaves room for the flow of information to sink in, and avoids the impression of a dramatic factual account.“
Tim Bouwhuis, indebioskoop.com
„More than a starting point, the giraffe is the creature that guides us, from alpha to omega, throughout Sr. Through it a multitude of latitudes, epochs, tales and fables, some more true than others, but all constitutive of human knowledge and experience are chapterized. The viewer can perceive that the set of planes gravitates around an invisible centre: an idea that slowly permeates what we see and hear, but above all outlines its own form between the lines. It is a sensation rather than a certainty, and before defining what this idea is, it is very pleasant to ruminate on the evanescent tone, almost a floating world, that German filmmaker Lea Hartlaub offers us.
The distance between what is said and what is shown is evident, although they are intertwined by a fine thread that runs from shore to shore with great tension. This is what I mean when I say that at the centre of the film lies an idea that is nevertheless outside the field: all the shots allude to it and shape it, but they never finish saying it.“
Rafael Guilhem, ambulante.org
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