AFTER: POETRY DESTROYS SILENCE (2024)
Featuring Melissa Leo, Géza Röhrig, Bo Corre, Alicia Suskin Ostriker, Christine Poreba, Edward Hirsch, Cornelius Eady, Taylor Mali, Walter Fiden, Janet R. Kirchheimer, Sabrina Orah Mark and archival voice footage of Paul Celan.
Directed by Richard Kroehling.
Distributed by Lumen Productions. 76 minutes. Not Rated.
The subtitle of Richard Kroehling’s documentary After is Poetry Destroys Silence. Yet, the poetry is not a destructive force, in fact it is the needed human reaction to destruction – specifically in this case, the Holocaust.
Full of dark, moody visuals and trauma-inducing period photography and footage, After looks at how survivors of the Holocaust – and the families who came in their wake – try to come to terms with the unspeakable evil of the war through art. They did not seek joy in the words that were penned, only understanding and release.
One of the poets here says that journalism looks at the surface of a problem, but poetry digs below the surface to get to the emotions. After uses imagery, storytelling and short films – most significantly in a touching dramatization by acclaimed actresses Melissa Leo (The Fighter, Homicide: Life on the Street) and Bo Corre (Mulberry St.) – to show how difficult and yet important it is to find the words to shine a light in darkness.
“Writing a poem is very often trying to solve a mystery that can’t ever really be solved,” explains celebrated poet Alicia Suskin Ostriker. As she explains, the poetry won’t actually solve it, but it opens up the need to solve it.
Each of these poems have stories and characters and wants and needs and motivations and a sense of horror and longing. None of it will explain the capacity for evil, which was unthinkable then and is still unthinkable now. However, it gives us a chance to cope. Maybe that is enough. Well, not enough, but it is still desperately needed.
Jay S. Jacobs
Copyright ©2024 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: November 1, 2024.
Kommentare