Architecton

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Architecton

G

2024

1h 38m

Documentary

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13 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

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?

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Nicolás Medina

Montevideo Portal / Latido Beat

Through the juxtaposition of images and sounds, matter comes to life and becomes a character that society constantly mistreats. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 9/10

Mar 26, 2024

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Le C

Nice drone footage, shame about (i) the length and (ii) the complete lack of coherent narrative. I don't know how the long-coat-wearing Italian architect getting his workmen to place stones in a circle on the lawn of his big villa in unpleasant weather conditions contributed to the storytelling. Something about power relationships in traditional construction and western society? Nice to see Baalbek in the movie, bearing in mind the difficulty of getting there safely these days. But didn't the Romans invent concrete? And presumably Baalbek was built with a major slave labour input. Also, concrete is a really good material to resist earthquakes (if designed correctly, unlike the examples shown), and it's hard to do earthquake-resistant loadbearing masonry - noting Baalbek has been significantly damaged by earthquakes after all.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/25

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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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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
Production Co: ZDF Arte, Ma.Ja.De Filmproduktion, Les Films du Balibari, Point du jour, Hailstone Films
Rating: G
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: Italian
Runtime: 1h 38m