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Isidro Puig Boada, Seiji Miyaguchi

Antonio Gaudi's startling, unique architectural and essentially sculptural creations like his undulating walls are presented with clarity and in context in this interesting documentary by Hiroshi Tesh...( read more  read more... )igahara. Gaudi was a Catalan, like his well-known fellow artists Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, and Salvador Dali, and he was inspired by Catalan art of the Middle Ages, specifically the Romanesque Period. Teshigahara provides a background on the region and politics of Cataluna, and reviews the Romanesque Period in art, 1000-1300 C.E., so that viewers can understand where Gaudi was coming from. Then the artist's creations are analyzed in a succinct, careful manner which reveals more to the eye than just uninformed looking could ever do.~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

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88% liked it

217 ratings

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100% liked it

8 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 12 min.

Directed by: Hiroshi Teshigahara

Release Date: March 5, 1986

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DVD Release Date: December 28, 1999

Stats: 30 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (30)

  • sanjurosamurai
    August 4, 2009
    sanjurosamurai
    more a visual poem than a documentary. it can be argued that teshigahara made a mistake by not using a narrator or providing much information about gaudi's life or career, which is a criticism i agree with, but we have what teshigahara wanted to put on film and it is still quite...( read more) beautiful to watch. if youre a fan of teshigahara's films or gaudi's architecture than you should see this film, if not then you might not find it very interesting.
  • Jungian
    October 30, 2008
    Jungian
    an expose of the influential artist antonio gaudi. filmed with little narration and appropriately minimalistic camerawork. dazzling and hypnotic.
  • Phonex
    February 22, 2009
    Phonex
    Filmmaker Hiroshi Teshigahara?s visual love affair with the fantastic architecture of Antonio Gaudi (1852-1926) is a film not to be merely watched but to be experienced. The virtually wordless soundtrack of Antonio Gaudi allows the viewer to be submerged in the slow-moving camera...( read more) work of cinematographers Junichi Segawa, Ryu Segawa and Yoshikazu Yanagida. The compelling cinematography captures what no book possibly could-- a sense of the space and movement in Gaudi?s structures. Even a personal tour of these buildings could not provide the close-up examination of surface and texture juxtaposed with sweeping vistas of Barcelona and birds-eye views of the architect?s impact upon the city.

    Antonio Gaudi sought to create an architecture that complimented and reflected natural forms. He once noted that ?God?s architecture? contains no straight lines. This organic quality is emphasized by the movement of the camera around and through the architecture. As the film opens, the viewer is exposed to the architecture of several of Gaudi's contemporaries in late 19th century Catalan. The blinking eye of the camera lights upon the flat façade of the Casa Amatller by Josep Puig y Cadafalch before giving way to a fluid pan over the almost human shapes of Gaudi's Casa Batllo. The anthropomorphic curves of the building's foyer are further emphasized by the cinematographer's attention to the spine-like edge of the stairwell. Absorbed in the quiet appreciation of a smoothly molded ceiling, the viewer finds the sudden appearance of people occupying the room below disconcerting and almost rude.

    Equally startling is the sound of a conversation between a student and Professor Juan Bassegoda Nonell, a noted Gaudi scholar. The moment is one of only a few in which human voices intrude upon the mesmerizing score by film composer Toru Takemitsu. The complete lack of narration and the minimal subtitles force the viewer to consider the architecture for what it is without the usual stream of labels and comparisons. The filmmaker?s acute sensual appreciation for the tiniest details is reflected in the meditative quality of the musical score. At other times the ethereal, almost spooky music seems at odds with such profoundly earthy forms as Gaudi?s grottos at the Parque Guell.

    Gaudi?s master work, the Sagrada Familia is the final structure explored in the film. The complexity of Gaudi?s plan for this structure has been a slowly unfolding puzzle to architects who have carried on his work since his untimely death in 1926. This segment of the film is the only portion to have any narration which comes in the form of a commentary by Puig Boada, Gaudi?s assistant in the construction of the temple. Boada explains that the model for the temple was destroyed in the Spanish Civil War, and many architects have since been involved in researching and recreating the plan for this ultimate expression of Gaudi?s artistic genius. The temple was still incomplete on the recent 150th anniversary of Antonio Gaudi?s birth. Boada tells the viewer that Gaudi wanted architecture to be in the image of nature, and this film is a wonderful testament to his effort and achievement.

    Because this film is primarily a visual experience of Gaudi?s architecture, the viewer may wish to consult George Roseborough Collins? short but important work Antonio Gaud, George Braziller, 1960. Several more recent publications include Rainer Zerbst?s Gaudi, 1852-1926: Antoni Gaudi i Cornet: a life devoted to architecture, Taschen, 1991, and Antonio Gaudi: Master Architect by Juan Bassegoda Nonell, Abbeville Press, 2000. A compliment to the visual feast of the film can be found in The Designs and Drawings of Antonio Gaudi, by an unbeatable partnership of two notable Gaudi scholars: Juan Bassegoda Nonell and George Roseborough Collins, Princeton University Press, 1983. Most of Gaudi?s drawings were destroyed by the same Civil War fire that destroyed the model of Sagrada Familia, so those that survive provide a valuable insight to the intellect of the architect. The architect?s complex spatial engineering illustrated in The Designs and Drawings of Antonio Gaudi is an excellent compliment to the sensual celebration that is Teshigahara?s Antonio Gaudi.
  • thrusz
    May 7, 2008
    thrusz
    Teshigahara is amazing. Like I mentioned in my other reviews of his movies, every shot he uses is like a still from National Geographic.

    It's really bizarre calling this a documentary. Like Louis Malle in Humaine, Trop Humaine, this is one of those hypnotic movies whe...( read more)re we just follow where the camera takes us with little dialogue or narration. Teshigahara does tell us a little bit about Antonio Gaudi, but that may account for about five minutes of the actual film. (Which is funny, because I really became interested in those five minutes.) Really, the purpose of this movie isn't to inform you about the life and process of Gaudi, but rather is a celebration of his work and creations through music and film.

    I've been to quite a few of these landmarks and they really are quite breathtaking. I know why Teshigahara decided to make this movie. It really is smart for him to just shut up and let the work speak for itself. There is little that anyone could really add to this piece. Really, if you want to know more about Gaudi's life (which I kind of do now), I suppose you could just read up on the man. I didn't really get a chance to peruse the sweet Criterion booklet that came with this one, but I wouldn't be surprised that it told you all about it. The part that really shocks me is the fact that there is no commentary on this movie. I suppose it would defeat the purpose of having a silent film celebrating Gaudi's works by having a narration track, but it is tempting to hear someone explain specifically what we're looking at.

    The music in this film, I think, is almost as important as some of the visuals. It really is a fantastic mix of the subtle and the bombastic. This might be one of my new favorite movies to play in the store for the simple reason that it really has a fantastic audio track and is non-distracting, yet moving. Sure, I guess I could play CD's in the store, but they'd all be hipster tracks or lame poppie indie crap. (That's right...my taste in music sucks compared to my friends. Although when I say "poppie", it's very different than mainstream pop. Anyway.) Overall, this is a very great film that puts you into a positive hypnotic state that can make you melt away.
  • daghka
    May 5, 2008
    daghka
    I found this to be hypnotic, the camera really supports the artwork and lets us admire it visually at one go, which I think stands out as different though not necessarily better than say viewing them first-hand on location. I found that it got me to notice a style or even admire ...( read more)the texture as a whole and got me to visualize both Teshigahara's and Gaudi's work while both are separate in their trearment.

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