[de UBU]
Mauricio Kagel is wonderfully hard to pigeonhole. An Argentinian resident of Germany, one might say Kagel’s dramatic and often humorous music is both rooted in and rooting against the European classical tradition. His wildly inventive scores call for a high degree of theatricality and physical interaction, continuously making us aware of the codes of performing. Whether in the classical music hall, the theatrical stage or film/video, Kagel’s neo-dada performances and wickedly original techniques always opens one’s eyes and ears to the pure possibilities of sounds and their production. Although this aspect of his varied productions is little known in the US, Kagel’s output as a filmmaker is tremendous. He just about made a film or video each year in the 60s and 70s, and has only begun to slow down in recent times. A lot of these movies were originally produced for the small screen, but this has in no way dulled the expansiveness and surreal qualities of his vision. Kagel’s films are rarely, if ever, screened outside of Europe, so series may well be the largest sampling of his films in North America to date. – Film Anthology Archive