Tentatives de se décrire

This film is part of an autobiographical project unparalleled in the history of film in terms of scale and candour. Babel (380 minutes) in particular lent this project monumental dimensions, but Trying To Describe Oneself also makes a sizeable contribution. It is a project that is impressive not only thanks to its length and precision, but also - and primarily - thanks to the detail and frank way in which Lehman tackles even the most intimate matters. Trying To Describe Oneself is a film about looking and representing. Often very literally. Lehman lays himself naked on a photocopying machine, or allows himself to be pummelled by a masseur. He listens to people from his surroundings and other film makers (for instance, the film contains a beautiful scene with Johan van der Keuken). And he gives us a glimpse into his obsessive collection of virtually all the traces he is leaving behind, both as a person and as an artist. Most diary films these days are made on video, but Lehman holds on stubbornly to 16mm film. This gives him the control he needs over production, as well as the concrete result - the tangible can of film - he needs. Film, with all its expense and painstaking methodology, forces him to be meticulous. (GjZ)