Directed by Arpad Bondy
43 mins | Germany, 1978 | German with English subtitles
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© Ron Orders
Wenn Goethe das gewusst hätte: The life and work of Hartmut Geerken, a man of culture in Afghanistan.
Band-e-Amir, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan. The year is 1978, and the director of the Goethe-Institut in Kabul, Hartmut Geerken, is at work. "We can't change society, but we can change the landscape," he says, and he means that literally. Hartmut Geerken is - by Goethe standards - a very unusual person: a prankster, a Don Quixote. And this is exactly how he understands the mission of his cultural work. In doing so, he succeeds in developing an incredible closeness and, above all, mutual respect with this country, which is nevertheless very foreign to Europeans.
The film follows him to see the concert grand piano of the Goethe-Institut, transported through the city by a hand-drawn cart, and an imprompto concert between German and Afghan musicians; on a visit to an Afghan visual artist in a small village, whom Hartmut discovered and supported; we listen to a famous Afghan tabla player, who though illiterate, posseses a musical vocabulary that far surpasses any written word.
The viewer becomes part of a remarkable declaration of love for this wonderful country, which today - more than 40 years later - leaves very little to be felt. Thus, the actually enjoyable film becomes a document full of melancholy and sadness.
The Director
Arpad Bondy was born on April 2, 1947 in Goslar, Lower Saxony, Germany. He has been a notable filmmaker, producer, music composer since 1960s in Germany. He started his own film production company ‚Cinecontact’ in 1978 and has taught at various film and music colleges across Europe. He is known for his work on
The Secret Bank Bailout (2013),
Den Teufel am Hintern geküßt (1993).
Das Herz sitzt links - Klaus Wagenbach, Das linke Ding, and
Mann mit Flügel (Musical) among many others.
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