REM. In Indonesian, this actually means brakes. It seems to me that the brakes aren't being pressed to hard by this iconic Dutch architect.
Trailer:
The movie by Tomas Koolhaas (Rems' son) shows the stages Rem has went through in life as I depict from the movie:
The Journalist
The Architect
The People
The Next
THE JOURNALIST starts off with a very clear image and view of New York, and filled with almost 40 minutes of full voiceover by Rem himself, about the Delirious New York manifesto he created in the 70s. A time where New York was seen as a residual space, with too much going on perhaps, which is such a big mess in the urban landscape of the United States.
THE ARCHITECT presents himself as a builder of the city. Thinking big has always been his manifesto in a way. Where he feels if he doesn't think big, he might as well not think of it at all. The stature portrayed by the director, as well as the main star of the documentary is this stiff man, walking about, trying to design a world that caters to functions and programmes as the basis of the premise.
THE PEOPLE represented by images of workers surrounding Rems' creations, and interviews with users of his buildings (the homeless who come to the Seattle Public Library) shows a different side to how buildings are represented. This is where the director (who has been brought to Rem's buildings since a very young age) shows the architecture world through the eyes of an architect's son. How he has always seen his father's buildings as a sterilized area during openings with the homeless and workers being set to the side. Even though, in his opinion, these elements are what make his fathers buildings human in a way.
THE NEXT is the final chapter I see from this film. Where we see a "vulnerable" side of Rem. Talking about his two children, and his family. We can see that behind the man of very simple and straight forward words (as depicted in the interview during the Venice Biennale 2014) shows a kind hearted and more human Rem. Where he explains his long time partner in architectural research Hans Ulrich Obrist, as well as his ideas upon what cities will become. The importance of the countryside, and deserts as empty spaces surrounding the place we call home.
A documentary which at the start felt explicitly showing the thoughts and manifesto of a person trying to make sense of the world, ends with him still questioning what will happen. In short, architect's with however large their starpower may be, with amazing imaginations coming into reality, there will never be an end until you stop having the urge to learn and create.
Yes this was quite the short documentary (+- 70 mins), but it really is a documentary about the man behind the buildings, and not the buildings that surround the man. A powerful look into one of the most prominent architect's of his generation.
A great quote by Tomas at the end of the screening when asked about his opinion on architecture in general:
Filmmakers and architect's are engineering human experiences. - T.K.
8.0/10.0
(don't take my rating too seriously. I am a biased architect who has never made movie reviews. But this truly is a strong film to know the ins and outs of the mind of an architect)
Q and A with Tomas Koolhaas (director) screened at BK-City TU Delft, @asahtar