An assault on facile histiographics in which institutional authority often operates, Radu Jude's I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History as Barbarians is an astute reflection on the 1941 Odessa massacre carried out on the Eastern Front by the Romanians. Documentaries detailing historical atrocities are associated heavily with pedantic informative displays about 'the truth' yet Barbarians subverts such limitations through its formalist and narrative designs, ones in which the ontological lens is itself reflected upon not defined - historical reenactment serving as a useful device for analytical examination about vague notions of 'the truth'. Exhibiting how historical negationism is often a by-product of implicit subversion - often rooted in tribalism and/or binary notions of moralism - Jude's film is a documentary which places truth-seeking and inquiry as a paramount ideal when studying the labyrinths which exist in any examination of history. The film invites us into this discursive strategies related to truth-seeking centered around the historical record - one in which ideology and theology related to the social, political and economical modes of life often distort or subvert any naive notions of objective truth. This recognition is paramount, as Jude shows a maturity unmatched by most of his contemporaries, having a temperament which also allows the film's tone to be far from dry, being often surprisingly funny, and dare I say jovial, dealing with such a sobering subject matter with a mature, clear focus which is incisive, informative, poignant but never pedantic or simplistic in its evocations on Romania's historiography. Embracing a more nuanced understanding of objectivity, one which recognizes subjectivity is intrinsic to documentation and historiography, Jude's film provides a powerful, thought-provoking, and expansive experience which transcends the specificity of its subject - the 1941 Odessa massacre. The temporal examination of history, whether in the present or in retrospect, is reflected upon - the malaise of the moment, contemporary actions being intrinsically enslaved to emotion and the incalculable nature of moment being beautifully juxtaposed with historical negationism in which the lens of the present distorts the past to serve itself. I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians invites the viewer into the process of historical inquiry, removing any semblance of pedantic or paternal designs. The film fundamentally recognizing that truth seeking is a process, one which must reject humanity's penchant for ideological tribalism which breeds either dogma or whataboutism, welcoming the viewer to contemplate the complexities of morality in the context of historical truth seeking. It's almost as if the valorization of the nation state is a systemic barrier to peace and a more ethical way of life, the fear of the other being a force wielded by institutional abstractions to maintain power and ultimately authority over the masses. :)
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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