Rat FilmTheo Anthony
'Before the world became the world, it was an egg. Inside the egg it was dark. The rat nibbled the egg and let the light in. And the world began', as goes the beginning of Rat Film. The film shows the city of Baltimore from a rat's point of view. Like any other big city, Baltimore has a rat problem. Or is it a people problem? For who is actually trapped in a cage? The rat or the humans?
In his first full-length documentary filmmaker Theo Anthony follows ratcatcher and piper Edmond, who guides the viewer through the streets of Baltimore. And by following the rats, he actually reveals the real problem of Baltimore - and by extension many contemporary metropolises. The film thus becomes a portrait of the social confinement of the 20th century. In society there are different 'cages'; the development of the rich neighborhoods in Baltimore on the one hand and the ghettoization of the black population on the other.
Rat film deviates from the pure perceptual storytelling and shifts its focus to the crooked, claustrophobic world of the rat. At a certain moment the viewer is treated to a portion of virtual reality, when the lens positions itself in the eyes of the rodent scampering around in a maze. Director Anthony reverts to what is called a 'behavioral sink', explaining people's conduct in crowded communities as similar to the rat's behavior. Or how a rat's behavior serves as the reflection of human conduct.
Info
Directed by Theo Anthony
USA
72 min.
English
Subtitles: Dutch
Programme
Outside the dox
credits
Director
Theo Anthony
Producer
Sebastian Pardo, Riel Roch Decter
Production company
Memory
Cinematography
Theo Anthony
Music
Dan Deacon
Contact info
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(beschikbaar vanaf 20.03)