Manifesto is a crazy concept. After winning the votes at the last Sundance and Tribeca festivals, the film with an unrealistic synopsis intrigues. Cate Blanchett, soon to be President of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival, plays 13 different characters in 13 different manifestos. The trailer has been unveiled and already the talent of the actress amazes us.
Manifesto, an experimental project
Manifesto was not originally a film. This film is an exhibition. An exhibition where the 13 portraits embodied by Cate Blanchett were performed simultaneously. One by one, the videos represent a manifesto, of thinkers, artists, architects, filmmakers. This is how the work is explained:
"The work presents a series of astonishing monologues that Rosefeldt (the director) created by assembling excerpts from artists' manifestos as if in a collage. Manifesto brings together the statements of the Futurists, Dadaists or Situationists as well as the thoughts of artists, architects, dancers and filmmakers such as Sol LeWitt, Yvonne Rainer or Jim Jarmusch. Through 13 very different characters (including an elementary school teacher, a television news anchor, a worker, a tramp…) Cate Blanchett chants these composite manifestos to test the meaning of these historical texts in our contemporary world. "
The exhibition is also on display at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Paris until April 20.
An unconventional role for Cate Blanchett
If she has already been transformed for emblematic roles (Hela in Thor Ragnarok, Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings …), this is the first time that the actress reveals so many facets in such a short time. And it's a real challenge. In each of the manifestos, she is the only one to express herself on screen, despite the presence of other actors. Already visible in the trailer, Cate Blanchett's talent shines through in making these complex manifestos a playground.
If you want to discover this film in preview, go to the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Paris until April 20th. Otherwise we will have to wait a little, because the film is expected for May 2, 2018.
