Date: Saturday 30 March
Time: 18:00
Venue: ICA Cinema One
Second Time Around [Segunda Vez], Dir. Dora García, Belgium-Norway, 2018, DCP, 94 min., Spanish with English subtitles
Second Time Around is Dora García’s essayistic response to the work of critic and artist Oscar Masotta (Buenos Aires 1930 – Barcelona 1979), known for introducing the work of Jacques Lacan to Argentina and Spain. The film is divided in sections, which are loosely based on happenings and anti-happenings created by Masotta, as well as works by writer Julio Cortázar and artist Allan Kaprow. These independent sections intersect with each other, composing a tapestry which brings together aesthetics, psychoanalysis and politics.
Rather than tracing back the original happenings created by Masotta in the 1960s, and the political events taking place in Argentina during that period, García’s filmis intelligently crafted around the idea of duplication as creative gesture. Becoming indistinguishable from its object, Second Time Around proposes a dialogue with Masotta’s original works, instead of simply documenting them, thus undertaking a critical practice which addresses Masotta’s engagement with the concept of re-enactment.
Directly influenced by Lacan, Masotta’s works are grounded on the idea of re-creating an original situation, by bringing together pieces that would allow the audience to relive it. However, such experience is complicated by repetition itself. Interestingly, in García’s film, this process entails a curious effect: the film seems to be defined by the circumstance that something is missing and never becomes tangible. This is related to important topics addressed by the film, such as the dematerialisation of art and the disappearance of thousands or Argentinian citizens during the Dirty War (1976-1983). Known for addressing issues such as the relation between audience and artwork, and the duality reality-fiction, García found in Masotta a most suitable peer. Intriguing and playful, Second Time Around is a fascinating and audacious example of the shapes the essay film form can take.
With the support of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) and LUX Moving Image.
