ZDF/Arte

Bob Wilson – The Beauty of the Mysterious

A Film by Carl von Karstedt

with: Marina Abramovic, Willem Dafoe, Tom Waits, Philipp Glass, Christian Friedel, Christopher Nell, Ann-Christin Rommen, Stefan Kurt, Sabin Tambrea und Traute Hoess

We look back at more than half a century of mysterious artistic creation while trying to crack a unique artistic code. Why are people moved to tears when Robert “Bob” Wilson puts minimalistic petrol pumps into a production of Shakespeare’s sonnets? Why does merciless repetition change our understanding of something? Together with Tom Waits, Willem Dafoe or Marina Abramović we trace back our own experience of Bob’s art. Is it true what Philipp Glass the collaborator of the milestone piece “Einstein on the Beach” laughingly and with apparent pleasure exclaims “what does it mean? It doesn’t mean anything!”?

Cinematographer: Christoph Valentien
Production Sound: Robert Sandow
Editors: Imke Koseck, Nina Mühlenkamp
Commissioning Editor: Christopher Janssen
Producer: Lucie Tamborini
Executive Producers: Bernhard von Hülsen, Maria Willer

A production by 3B-Produktion, commissioned by ZDF in association with ARTE.