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Architecton

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1:59

Architecton

G

1h 38m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

93%

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14 Reviews

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From filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky (Gunda, Aquarela) comes an epic, intimate and poetic meditation on architecture and how the design and construction of buildings from the ancient past reveal our destruction — and offer hope for survival and a way forward. Centering on a landscape project by the Italian architect Michele de Lucci, Kossakovsky uses the circle to reflect on the rise and fall of civilizations, capturing breathtaking imagery from the temple ruins of Baalbek in Lebanon, dating back to AD 60, to the recent destruction of cities in Turkey following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in early 2023. Rocks and stone connect the disparate societies, from ghostly monoliths stuck in the earth to tragic heaps of concrete rubble waiting to be hauled off and repurposed anew. Through Kossakovsky’s inquisitive lens, the grandeur and folly of humanity and its precarious relationship with nature posits the urgent question: How do we build, and how can we build better, before it’s too late?

Victor Kossakovsky

Director

Michele De Lucchi

Self

Victor Kossakovsky

Writer

Heino Deckert

Producer

Adriana Banta

Executive Producer

Ben Cotner

Executive Producer

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David Jenkins

Little White Lies

... There’s much ASMR pleasure to be gleaned from the ambient long shots of machinery layering up long, perfect lines of concrete for some upcoming blight on the landscape.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 18, 2025

Full Review

Jonathan Romney

Financial Times

... A serious philosophical and environmental inquiry at work here, regarding our future and the urgent need to reinvent the way we make the spaces we inhabit.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 15, 2025

Full Review

Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

A gorgeously photographed poetic reverie on the subject of stone and concrete, permanence and profligate waste.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 14, 2025

Full Review

David Parkinson

Radio Times

Much here, however, testifies to the shortcomings of humanity.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 21, 2025

Full Review

Tom O'Brien

Next Best Picture

Kossakovsky doesn't provide a quick answer – he's merely posing the question – but it needs to be confronted before most of our most cherished buildings – both ancient and modern – become little more than piles of toxic rubble.

Rated: 8/10

Dec 11, 2024

Full Review

William Stottor

Loud and Clear Reviews

Architecton is one of the best documentaries to portray and discuss humanity’s place within the natural world since 1982’s groundbreaking Koyaanisqatsi.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 3, 2024

Full Review

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Synopsis

From filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky (Gunda, Aquarela) comes an epic, intimate and poetic meditation on architecture and how the design and construction of buildings from the ancient past reveal our destruction — and offer hope for survival and a way forward. Centering on a landscape project by the Italian architect Michele de Lucci, Kossakovsky uses the circle to reflect on the rise and fall of civilizations, capturing breathtaking imagery from the temple ruins of Baalbek in Lebanon, dating back to AD 60, to the recent destruction of cities in Turkey following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in early 2023. Rocks and stone connect the disparate societies, from ghostly monoliths stuck in the earth to tragic heaps of concrete rubble waiting to be hauled off and repurposed anew. Through Kossakovsky’s inquisitive lens, the grandeur and folly of humanity and its precarious relationship with nature posits the urgent question: How do we build, and how can we build better, before it’s too late?

Director: Victor Kossakovsky
Producer: Heino Deckert
Screenwriter: Victor Kossakovsky, Victor Kossakovsky
Distributor: A24
Production Co: ZDF Arte, Ma.Ja.De Filmproduktion, Les Films du Balibari, Point du jour, Hailstone Films
Rating: G
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: Italian
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 1, 2025, Limited
Runtime: 1h 38m