Hail, Sarajevo
1993 · 2m · France
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Genres: documentary, essay film, experimental
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, provocative
Over a single photograph by Ron Haviv of Serbian paramilitaries brutalizing civilians during the Bosnian War, Godard delivers a two-minute spoken philosophical meditation on culture, art, and the tension between the rule of law and the rule of exception.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Two minutes, one photograph, Godard's voice droning about culture and exception — and somehow it lands harder than a war documentary. The YouTube copy cuts off at thirty seconds because nobody respects anything.
Godard distills a single Haviv photograph into a two-minute philosophical aria on culture and exception, and the gesture is as condensed as anything in Histoire(s). YouTube hosts it.
The entire two minutes are built from a single Ron Haviv still photo - just pans and zooms on one image while Godard delivers his essay. YouTube confirms the 2-minute runtime; the form is austere and total.
Reviews
In two minutes, Jean-Luc Godard created one of the most moving, powerful, original and essential films of his career.
Godard deconstructs and divides the image in order to enhance the impact of the final moment when it's finally seen in all its heartrending horribleness.