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Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow

OVER YOUR CITIES GRASS WILL GROW (Sophie Fiennes). Opens Friday (October 7) at the Projection Booth. See listings. Rating: NN


Lovers of large-scale installation art will probably enjoy this film more than regular documentary fans. Director Sophie Fiennes has crafted a pretty but leadenly paced vérité look at German artist Anselm Kiefer’s multi-year transformation of a derelict silk factory in southern France into a self-contained sculptural “city.”

Following a wordless opening with some remarkably fluid camerawork that allows viewers to gaze lovingly at the specific architectural and archaeological delights of Kiefer’s work, Fiennes shifts her focus to examine the artist’s thought process and how he makes these sculptures and paintings.

Scenes involving Kiefer interacting with his crew range from fascinating to banal, since Fiennes doesn’t know when to cut away. She attempts to create an immersive experience, but we don’t need to watch people using blowtorches and sweeping up broken glass for minutes on end.

Wordless journeys through the cityscape, when Fiennes often doubles back to needlessly fixate on certain aspects of the art, are similarly ponderous. The film leaves us wishing we could experience the beauty of the former factory at our own pace rather than the director’s exhaustive one.

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