Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow

Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow is a 2010 art-documentary directed by Sophie Fiennes, featuring the prolific and enigmatic German artist, Anselm Kiefer. This thought-provoking and visually arresting film is beautifully constructed and leaves an indelible impression on its viewers.

The immersive and lyrical film takes us on an extraordinary journey through renowned artist Anselm Kiefer's monumental landscape of art at Barjac, France where he had lived and worked since 1993. Kiefer’s creations, powerful and at times disturbing, are sprawling installations born out of ruins, long-abandoned houses and vast landscapes, forged from concrete, lead, earth and ashes. His work here is deeply influenced by history, particularly Germany’s post-World War II identity and the human relationship with the metaphysical and the unseen.

Rather than offering a straightforward biographical account of Kiefer’s life or a detailed investigation of his artistic philosophy, Fiennes' documentary largely focuses on the artist’s process, his silent and solitary creation, giving us an insight into what it feels like to be in the presence of both the artist and his overwhelming work. The film is almost meditative as it dwells on the passing of time, the transformation of materials, and the deeply patient and solitary act of creation.

Camera movements are slow and careful, true to Kiefer's own painstaking approach to his work, setting the pace for the contemplative exploration. The cranes expand our view, allowing us to fully appreciate the breathtaking expanse of Kiefer's site in Barjac. Roughly hewn tunnels, towers of concrete books, desolate landscapes all testify to Kiefer’s desire to create a tangible sense of the passage of time and history. In the reminding ruins one cannot help but recall Shelley's famous sonnet "Ozymandias" and consider the transitory nature of grandeur, 'Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!'

Kiefer is joined in his expansive work by Klaus Dermutz, a respected Austrian author and literary critic, who brings a complementary perspective to Kiefer’s practice. Bill Katz, an esteemed art consultant from the United States, also makes appearances. Their discussions, though infrequently laced into the narrative, offer welcome mental respite and further depth to the visual experience, unpacking Kiefer's inspirations, his use of materials, symbolism, and commentary on history.

The film owes a great deal of its impact to its extraordinary sound design. An almost constant soundscape of industrial noise (workmen hammering, machinery whirring, materials being moved) is interspersed with moments of silence and the occasional burst of opera, adding a sublime texture to the viewing experience. It's a sensory experience that feels intimate, almost hallowed, as if providing an unfiltered look at the process of creation itself.

Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow is a film about process rather than conclusion, about the overwhelming presence of the artist’s work and his intense relationship with his materials. It’s a portrait of an artist’s state of mind more than an analysis of his art. As such, it’s not an easy film, but it’s a rewarding one. Gracefully rendered and visually immersive, it plunges us into Kiefer's art practice, giving us a unique glimpse into a world seemingly from a different time and place.

Sophie Fiennes’ accomplishment with this documentary is in how it mirrors its subject – Anselm Kiefer. It’s bold, uncompromising and profound, reflecting the very essence of Kiefer’s art. It offers a unique insight into the process of creating monumental art, the labor, the patience, the willingness to embrace imperfections and the process of decay, capture the passage of time, and confront history. The film is an extraordinary tribute to an artist who continues to provoke, challenge and fascinate.

An absolute must for those interested in contemporary art and a testimony to Kiefer’s standing as one of the most significant artists of his generation, Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow is an intimate and powerful portrayal of the liminal space between destruction and creation. As a film, it is as much a work of art as the installation it explores, embodying both the poetic and man-made solutions of Kiefer's creative process, and standing as a testament to the power and resonance of contemporary art.