My Architect

Third_Echelon

Went to see 'My Architect' last night at IFI. I thought it was a really good film/documentary about Louis Kahn and his buildings and life. Definitely a good film to see if you are interested in this type of thing....

Anyone else see it? Views? Comments?

herobear

i saw it on wednesday just by chance, thought it was absolutely brilliant!
i dont have a particular interest in architecture so i was unsure at first if i was going to enjoy this, but i was quickly gripped by nathaniels journey and there were some very much equally funny and touching testimonials, i thought it was especially surprising to see how many lives he had touched through his works of art. And although im not a huge fan of architecture, i couldnt help but "wow" at some of his works(especially the later ones).
im just sad i missed this until now, espescially seeing as yesterday was its last day in the ifi. will be definately picking this up on dvd!

simu

I saw it last night as well and really enjoyed it. It was great to see the progression in Kahn's work - some of his earlier works (the horrible medical labs and the bath house) seemed a bit dull but then, you could see his ideas really take form in the California and Bangladesh buildings (that last one is outstanding). This film has gotten me thinking about buildings a lot and I especailly like the idea of buildings that have the feel of ancient monuments.

As for the film itself-it was well made, well paced. I began to cringe a bit when the Ode to Joy was played but then, the point was also made that Kahn's life had less noble aspects to it as well. The narrator was thoughtful and intelligent - no whiney moaning about his father not marrying his mother although you could see that that was something that had pained him in the past.

So, thumbs up then!

pearsquasher

Yep... saw it last week. 2 huge Kenny Everet thumbs up for drama/narative/visuals and pace. My father is somebody i don't know well so i could empathise compltely with the film-makers quest to know his dad. The film title says it all.


There were some great characters in there too providing both comic and poignant moments. It was a docu-movie that showed a lovely side to different cultures through architecture. It also let us glimpse at one our human nature and how we deal with death, fate, family and ambition. There was also an interesting look at the role of women in the period the subject lived.

A real treat. Here's to having more documnetaries on the big screen!

Fysh

Watched it last night at the Kino and really enjoyed it, can't really offer much more than what's been said before. Maybe it's me being a great big girly man but I thought there were some very poigniant moments in the film that showed a lot about what Louis Khan was like as a person (

like when Nathaniel reveals that he is Louis' son to the owner of the boat, who goes silent and wipes tears from his eyes; or the last person interviewed in the film, in the Bangladesh assembly, who fights back the tears as he talks about the effects Khan's legacy will have on the people of bangladesh and their country

). The Bangladesh National Assembly building is amazing, and even then I doubt that they were able to do it justice given the limited time they had to spend on it in the documentary.

I agree that his early buildings are a bit manky to say the least (the first one reminds me of those tower blocks that were so popular in the UK in the 70s); did anyone else get the impression that Louis had broken his own rule about not respecting the materials he was building with for those buildings?

Chad ghostal

GAh!! fix your spoilers Fysh.. was reading fast through that and got caught.. :mad:

Fysh

Chad ghostal wrote:

GAh!! fix your spoilers Fysh.. was reading fast through that and got caught.. :mad:

Sorry, saw that (and went in to fix) as soon as I'd posted...d'oh!