Magical History Tour – On Microcosms and Models

Ideally, a movie theater, or rather, the audience gathered there, forms a social microcosm every evening. Different groups of viewers come together, share aesthetic experiences and engage in a dialogue about what has been seen, heard and said. If you like, these moments reflect a larger picture on a small scale; for the duration of a feature film (plus the time of a discussion), a group of interested individuals becomes a public nucleus. What is rarely noticed or perceived in a cinema often comes to light clearly in films. Larger structures can be inferred from ensembles of characters, whether small or large; comprehensive narrative (world) themes shine through in vignettes; and fundamental lines of conflict emerge from isolated disruptions. Pars pro toto: Spanning the history of film, this month's Magical History Tour presents five formally distinct microcosms that have their sights set on something much greater. (Milena Gregor)