Milestones
Robert Kramer, John Douglas, US 1975Screenplay, Editing: John Douglas, Robert Kramer; Cinematography: John Douglas, Robert Kramer, Barbara Stone; Music: Bobby Buechler; with: Grace Paley, Mary Chapelle, Sharon Krebs, Jim Nolfi, Susi Solf. 16mm, color, 206 min. English
Described by Serge Daney as "the anti-Nashville," Milestones is an epic film about American counterculture, influenced by the works of Jacques Rivette. It contains close to 50 loosely connected characters, some playing scripted roles, others playing themselves, while the vérité style is so unaffected that the viewer only gradually, almost incredulously, becomes aware of the staged elements. The film was in fact often reviewed as if it were a documentary. This open web of lives captured in diary-form is a reflection of the lifestyle of the radical, mobile and (predominantly) white minority that formed part of the civil rights movement in the 1960s before embarking on more personal journeys in the '70s. Milestones is one of the most monumental portraits of the era. In the words of film journalist Thomas Brom, "Unbelievably schizophrenic, fascinating and utterly true." (C.H.)
Courtesy Cinémathèque française
With Keja Ho Kramer in attendance on October 18, 2024
Free admission for supporting members on October 18, 2024
Screening dates:
