Showing as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2013
Consequence (Gegenwart)
A documentary giving a low-key look behind the scenes of a crematorium.
into the film before a glimpse of a coffin makes the setting apparent. There is little evidence of humanity here – either that of the bodies or the workers who process them. It seems a strange stylistic decision, one that makes the film difficult to engage with and which seems to somehow disregard the potential of the subject matter.
Showing @ Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 28 Jun & Cineworld, Edinburgh, Thu Sat 29 Jun
Thomas Heise / Germany / 2012 / 68 mins
[rating:2/5]
The cycle of life and the inevitability of death are universal subjects and yet few of us choose to dwell on the latter. For most people, death is a topic to be ignored whenever possible rather than faced head on. Thomas Heise's documentary set in a German crematorium makes for a strange combination of the two attitudes: viewers have a rare opportunity to witness the nuts and bolts of the cremation process and yet are exposed to almost none of the accompanying emotion.
The scenes here do not seem to be organised into any particular order, and there is virtually no dialogue. Instead, Consequence dwells on the mechanics of the process, with lingering shots of machinery and routine maintenance. Aside from the occasional glimpse of a cadaver's arm or charred bones, this film could almost be set in a factory or the food processing industry. Indeed it is twenty minutes
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