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In Jerome Everson’s captivating and hypnotic feature, several issues are raised but never spoken: what is the role of the human body in contemporary mechanised labour? How can cinema represent the intricacies of daily work outside conventional narrative structures? How can documentary subvert the traditional objectifying gaze, whilst also drawing the spectator into a different sort of everyday intrigue? This is the kind of observational documentary that refuses to give away much of the filmmaker’s stance, allowing the repetitions and rhythms of human bodies to create meaning and stimulate reflection on worlds rarely represented on screen. In a radical act of de-dramatisation, Everson’s films focus on the quotidian, the mundane, the unremarkable. Shot on black and white 16mm film, and making use of long, static takes, the filmmaker turns a large drycleaning site in Alabama, USA into an audio-visual choreography of bodies and machines. (KK)

All retrospective films that will be shown at the Filmmuseum after the Viennale - from 1.11. - can of course also be reserved as usual at filmmuseum.at or by calling 01/533 70 54 and purchased at the box office of the Austrian Film Museum. The prices of the Austrian Film Museum apply.