Synopsis
An android, parachuted into western Germany from a future in which humans no longer exist, discovers the sad fate to which machines – its fellow beings – have been reduced. Through the eyes of this science-fiction-accented character, we explore the surroundings of the real-life village of Lützerath, the open-pit mine of Hambach and its adjoining forest. Spectacular imagery lends a glorified quality to the sight of colossal diggers excavating lignite, a highly polluting type of coal. Supplied and owned by RWE – an acronym to watch out for like an ironic cameo – 'Hitachi,' 'Gordon' and '258' tear up trees, gouge out earth and sink their teeth into a church steeple. Against this terrifying backdrop, Tobias Nölle takes a fairytale-esque approach to documenting the struggles of activists defending the Lützerath ZAD [zone à défendre], the eviction of residents and farmers by the police, ending in a heartbreaking conclusion. The thoughts of the dumbfounded visitor, conveyed through voice-over, open a philosophical window onto the spiral of self-destruction at work. [55VdR, Cloé Tralci]
