Rem Koolhaas: A Kind of Architect

REM KOOLHAAS: A KIND OF ARCHITECT 2008, Markus Heidingsfelser and Min Tesch, Germany, 97 min. “Busy, captivating.”--John Hartl, Seattle Times “It’s the only film about me that I have liked.”--Rem Koolhaas With his astonishing CCTV building nearing completion in Beijing, Rem Koolhaas has emerged as the cutting-edge architect of the 21st century. The apostle of Bigness and the “culture of congestion,” Koolhaas has challenged much of the received wisdom on architecture, not least of all the Miesian mystique of order and reason, which Koolhaas undermines with strategic injections of irrationality and chaos. With fellow architects Joshua Ramus and Richard Meier kibitzing on the sidelines, the quietly intense Koolhaas takes us through his early filmmaking days with Jan de Bont and Robby Müller, the publication of his seminal manifesto Delirious New York, and the creation of such innovative structures as the Seattle Central Library, the Casa da Música in Portugal, the Prada store in Beverly Hills, and the Dutch Embassy in Berlin. Wittily employing animations, collages, and visual tricks, this penetrating portrait is as cool, quirky, and full of subtle surprises as a Koolhaas construction. In English, Dutch, and German with English subtitles. DigiBeta video. (MR) June 12--18 Fri., Tue. and Thu. at 7:45 pm; Sat. at 4:30 pm and 8:00 pm; Sun. at 3:00 pm; Mon. and Wed. at 6:00 pm Gene Siskel Film Center 164 North State Street Chicago Il 60601 TEL 312-846-2600 FAX 312-332-5859