DERRIDA

Jacques Derrida is one of those rare individuals whose approach to the world is so profound and timely that his world-view alters the landscape of thought itself. The simultaneous publication of three of his major works in 1967 helped provide inspiration for the May 1968 student/worker revolts in Paris, and ushered in the era we have come to know as postmodern. In this spirit, the filmmakers embrace a deconstructionist ethos. They mix verité-like moments, formal interviews and excerpts from Derridas texts with a persistent inquiry into the nature of biography. Still, given this lofty intellectual setting, what is so surprising about Derrida, the film, is the ease with which viewers become familiar with Derrida, the person.