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Det uperfekte menneske #3
Det uperfekte menneske /3 - Et hus er mere end en ting
Et hus er mere end en ting. Det uperfekte menneske/3 er tredje bind erindringer fra Jørgen Leth.I januar 2010 lagde et jordskælv det meste af Haiti øde. Jørgen Leth var sammen med sin producer og klippere ved at lægge sidste hånd på filmen Det erotiske menneske i sit hus i Jacmel, da huset forsvandt under ham. Han og hans folk reddede sig ud, men alle hans ting, hans malerier, notesbøger blev ødelagt, hele byen faldt i grus og det samme gjorde Jørgen Leths liv.Et hus er mere end en ting handler om årene 2010 og 2011, fra jordskælvet til i dag. Om katastrofen og det voldsomme chok efter skælvet og om at genfinde stumperne af livet, men også om de sædvanlige lethske rutiner - kvinderne, tour de France, små og store gøremål - bl.a. om at være med i en scene i Klovn og få en begmand.
- GenresBiography
241 pages, Paperback
First published June 14, 2012
27 people want to read
About the author
Jørgen Leth
59 books36 followersJørgen Leth is a Danish poet and film director who is considered a leading figure in experimental documentary film making. Most notable are his epic documentary A Sunday in Hell (1977) and his surrealistic short film The Perfect Human (1967). He is also a sports commentator for Danish television and is represented by the film production company, Sunset Productions.
Biography
Born on June 14, 1937 in Århus, Denmark, he studied literature and anthropology in Århus and Copenhagen and was a cultural critic (jazz, theatre, film) for leading Danish newspapers from 1959 to 1968. His interest in Polish anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski had a profound influence on his work. He travelled in Africa (1961), South America and India (1966) and Southeast Asia (1970–71). His first book was published in 1962 and he has written 10 volumes of poetry and eight non-fiction books. He made his first film in 1963 and has since made 40 more, many distributed worldwide. His most acclaimed is a 1967 short, The Perfect Human, which also featured in the 2003 film The Five Obstructions made by Leth and Lars von Trier. Leth's sports documentaries bring an epic, almost mythic, dimension to the field, as seen in Stars and Watercarriers (Stjernerne og Vandbærerne) (1973) and A Sunday in Hell (En forårsdag i helvede) (1977).
He has been a creative consultant for the Danish Film Institute (1971–73, 1975–77) as well as chairman of the Institute's board (1977–82). He has also been a professor at the Danish National Film School in Copenhagen, at the State Studiocenter in Oslo and has lectured at UCLA, Berkeley, Harvard and other American universities.
Leth covered the Tour de France for Denmark's TV 2 from 1988 until 2005 as the expert commentator in partnership with journalist Jørn Mader. In 1999, he was appointed Danish honorary consul in Haiti.
He attracted controversy in Denmark after publication of his autobiography Det uperfekte menneske (The Imperfect Man). It included a graphic account of sexual relations with the 17-year-old daughter of his cook in Haiti.[3] This created a media storm in Denmark,[4] partly because of his plan to make a film called Det Erotiske Menneske ("The Erotic Man"), funded by the Danish Film Institute, in collaboration with DR (Danmarks Radio) and Nordisk Film and TV Commission. The controversy upset several groups in Denmark. In October 2005, due to the controversy, he resigned his post as Danish consul in Haiti and was dismissed as commentator with TV2, but was reappointed in 2009. The film Erotic Man, Leth's homage to his sexual encounters with young women in third world countries, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2010. The film received lacklustre reviews which deemed it "dirty-old-man cinema" and colonialist exploitation.
Leth has had retrospectives at the National Film Theatre, London (1989), in Rouen, France (1990), at the American Film Institute, Washington D.C. (1992), in Mumbai, India (1996), New York (2002), Sao Paulo (2003), Toronto (2004), Florence (2005), Rome (2006), Sao Paulo (2008), Warsaw (2008) and Teheran (2008) and Athens International Film Festival, Athens (2009).
He lived in Jacmel, Haiti from 1991 to 2010 where the Haiti earthquake destroyed his house.
Biography
Born on June 14, 1937 in Århus, Denmark, he studied literature and anthropology in Århus and Copenhagen and was a cultural critic (jazz, theatre, film) for leading Danish newspapers from 1959 to 1968. His interest in Polish anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski had a profound influence on his work. He travelled in Africa (1961), South America and India (1966) and Southeast Asia (1970–71). His first book was published in 1962 and he has written 10 volumes of poetry and eight non-fiction books. He made his first film in 1963 and has since made 40 more, many distributed worldwide. His most acclaimed is a 1967 short, The Perfect Human, which also featured in the 2003 film The Five Obstructions made by Leth and Lars von Trier. Leth's sports documentaries bring an epic, almost mythic, dimension to the field, as seen in Stars and Watercarriers (Stjernerne og Vandbærerne) (1973) and A Sunday in Hell (En forårsdag i helvede) (1977).
He has been a creative consultant for the Danish Film Institute (1971–73, 1975–77) as well as chairman of the Institute's board (1977–82). He has also been a professor at the Danish National Film School in Copenhagen, at the State Studiocenter in Oslo and has lectured at UCLA, Berkeley, Harvard and other American universities.
Leth covered the Tour de France for Denmark's TV 2 from 1988 until 2005 as the expert commentator in partnership with journalist Jørn Mader. In 1999, he was appointed Danish honorary consul in Haiti.
He attracted controversy in Denmark after publication of his autobiography Det uperfekte menneske (The Imperfect Man). It included a graphic account of sexual relations with the 17-year-old daughter of his cook in Haiti.[3] This created a media storm in Denmark,[4] partly because of his plan to make a film called Det Erotiske Menneske ("The Erotic Man"), funded by the Danish Film Institute, in collaboration with DR (Danmarks Radio) and Nordisk Film and TV Commission. The controversy upset several groups in Denmark. In October 2005, due to the controversy, he resigned his post as Danish consul in Haiti and was dismissed as commentator with TV2, but was reappointed in 2009. The film Erotic Man, Leth's homage to his sexual encounters with young women in third world countries, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2010. The film received lacklustre reviews which deemed it "dirty-old-man cinema" and colonialist exploitation.
Leth has had retrospectives at the National Film Theatre, London (1989), in Rouen, France (1990), at the American Film Institute, Washington D.C. (1992), in Mumbai, India (1996), New York (2002), Sao Paulo (2003), Toronto (2004), Florence (2005), Rome (2006), Sao Paulo (2008), Warsaw (2008) and Teheran (2008) and Athens International Film Festival, Athens (2009).
He lived in Jacmel, Haiti from 1991 to 2010 where the Haiti earthquake destroyed his house.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 18, 2023
God bog, selvom handlingen slår hul på menneskeliv.
September 14, 2013
Dette er 3. del af Jørgen Leths erindringer "Det uperfekte menneske".
Titlen refererer til jordskælvet på Haiti, hvor Leth boede, da det skete, og hvor han mister sit hus, sine ejendele og sit hjem. Bogen tager afsæt i hans beretning om den forfærdelige dag, hvor gulvet begyndte at gynge under ham, og væggene slog revner. Om hvordan han griber sin laptop og flygter ud af det væltende hus. Om hvordan det er at sidde i undtagelsestilstand i en lufthavn og hverken kunne komme frem eller tilbage. Og hvordan han bliver reddet og langsomt finder sine ben igen, et andet sted og rundt omkring som en evigt rejsende, ved hjælp af sit netværk, sin familie og sine forbindelser.
Det er helt klart første halvdel af bogen, der er mest fængende. Hvor han fortæller, hvad der sker indeni ham efter katastrofen. Det bliver mere personligt og nærværende her.
Leth er jo mesteren i det enkle og sanselige sprog. Man mærker filmmageren i ham gennem sproget, for det er som om, man selv er der, og man kan se scenerne for sig. Uden for mange dikkedarer. Man må selv lave konklusionerne. Hvis der er nogen. Måske er der kun iagttagelser og refleksioner?
Der kommer i løbet af bogen, efter min mening, mange opremsninger af, hvilke kendte personer, han lige var til fernisering hos, og hvad den kendte filminstruktør så sagde, og hvilke designbukser han så lige købte i den kendte shop, der ligger på det der gadehjørne i New York.
Der er også en del beskrivelser af mad. Som han spiser på yndlingsrestauranter rundt omkring i verden. Egentlig kan jeg godt lide at få fortalt detaljer om den slags. Det kan gøre teksten levende og billedlig. Stoflig. Jeg synes desværre, det kommer til at virke snobbet og lidt ligegyldigt her. Det bliver ikke rigtig brugt til noget andet end en optegnelse.
Bogen får dog alligevel fire stjerner, for man bliver grebet af Leths reflekterende tanker, hans empati med Haiti og ofrene og hans evne til at skrive nuanceret om skellet mellem den vestlige verden og 3. verdenslande. Uden urealistisk naivitet. Men med menneskekloge betragtninger og ærlige selverkendelser.
Titlen refererer til jordskælvet på Haiti, hvor Leth boede, da det skete, og hvor han mister sit hus, sine ejendele og sit hjem. Bogen tager afsæt i hans beretning om den forfærdelige dag, hvor gulvet begyndte at gynge under ham, og væggene slog revner. Om hvordan han griber sin laptop og flygter ud af det væltende hus. Om hvordan det er at sidde i undtagelsestilstand i en lufthavn og hverken kunne komme frem eller tilbage. Og hvordan han bliver reddet og langsomt finder sine ben igen, et andet sted og rundt omkring som en evigt rejsende, ved hjælp af sit netværk, sin familie og sine forbindelser.
Det er helt klart første halvdel af bogen, der er mest fængende. Hvor han fortæller, hvad der sker indeni ham efter katastrofen. Det bliver mere personligt og nærværende her.
Leth er jo mesteren i det enkle og sanselige sprog. Man mærker filmmageren i ham gennem sproget, for det er som om, man selv er der, og man kan se scenerne for sig. Uden for mange dikkedarer. Man må selv lave konklusionerne. Hvis der er nogen. Måske er der kun iagttagelser og refleksioner?
Der kommer i løbet af bogen, efter min mening, mange opremsninger af, hvilke kendte personer, han lige var til fernisering hos, og hvad den kendte filminstruktør så sagde, og hvilke designbukser han så lige købte i den kendte shop, der ligger på det der gadehjørne i New York.
Der er også en del beskrivelser af mad. Som han spiser på yndlingsrestauranter rundt omkring i verden. Egentlig kan jeg godt lide at få fortalt detaljer om den slags. Det kan gøre teksten levende og billedlig. Stoflig. Jeg synes desværre, det kommer til at virke snobbet og lidt ligegyldigt her. Det bliver ikke rigtig brugt til noget andet end en optegnelse.
Bogen får dog alligevel fire stjerner, for man bliver grebet af Leths reflekterende tanker, hans empati med Haiti og ofrene og hans evne til at skrive nuanceret om skellet mellem den vestlige verden og 3. verdenslande. Uden urealistisk naivitet. Men med menneskekloge betragtninger og ærlige selverkendelser.
January 16, 2013
Beginning a new year with a book (A house is more than a thing) by Jorgen Leth, danish poet and filmmaker. As always with him, I get so inspired and tempted to write more myself. I have read all his books and seen all his films. Highly recommend anyone to give him a shot with an open mind. A good start could be the movie "The Five Obstructions". I don't know if his books have been translated to english.
This book centers around his experiences with the earthquake in Haiti. He has lived on Haiti for many years. His house collapsed with him and friends in it, but they all managed to get out alive. His descriptions of the quake, the time after and the effects on the haitian people are very moving and interesting. Other than that as always he takes on a very personal and intimate approach in describing more personal details from his life. That approach has raised a lot of eyebrows earlier in the danish press - especially regarding his fondness for women. I really like his style and I admire his uncompromising urge to explore himself and as he states it: "write my heart out".
This book centers around his experiences with the earthquake in Haiti. He has lived on Haiti for many years. His house collapsed with him and friends in it, but they all managed to get out alive. His descriptions of the quake, the time after and the effects on the haitian people are very moving and interesting. Other than that as always he takes on a very personal and intimate approach in describing more personal details from his life. That approach has raised a lot of eyebrows earlier in the danish press - especially regarding his fondness for women. I really like his style and I admire his uncompromising urge to explore himself and as he states it: "write my heart out".
September 9, 2013
L’artiste le plus controverse du Danemark nous invite dans sa vie cosmopolite qui n’est jamais inintéressant. Une maison á Haïti, des maitresses partout dans le monde, son shopping á Paris… oui le brave Monsieur Jorgen ne s’ennuie pas.
August 30, 2015
Jørgen har skrevet en meget personlig bog som gør indtryk og beskriver Haiti godt.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews