Educational Media Reviews Online

This documentary by Thom Andersen portrays 17 projects by Portugese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, who won the Pritzker Prize for architecture in 2011. In the words of the Pritzker jury, Souto de Moura’s work “requires an intense encounter not a quick glance…like poetry, it is able to communicate emotionally to those who take the time to listen.” Andersen brings us close in, overlaying footage of the buildings with insightful narration that flows between direct quotes from the architect’s poetic writings and from mentors Alvaro Siza and Aldo Rossi, bits of biography and historical context, and the insightful musings of the director, who is also a professor at the California Institute of the Arts.

The projects featured in the film span the three decades of Souto de Mouro’s career thus far, showing a diverse range of scale – from his well-known houses to the Braga Municipal Stadium – as well as projects unrealized or abandoned. Much of the film has been shot in the manner of Eadweard Muybridge, stringing together images recorded at 1 to 2 frames per second. This approach focuses the viewer’s attention on the structures themselves, allowing us to feel the weight of Souto de Mouro’s architecture in relationship to the fleeting inhabitants and fluttering natural settings. The approach works well, reinforcing the themes of time, decay, ruin, and natural forces, which imbue Souto de Mouro’s work as well as the film.

A wonderful examination of Souto de Mouro’s work, the film is able to serve many audiences at once. Given the number of projects covered in just over an hour, it may serve as a comprehensive introduction to the architect’s work. At the same time, the richness in narration provides an in-depth examination into his unique worldview and the conceptual framework behind important projects – providing insight valuable to any viewer. The film concludes with a brief interview with Souto de Mouro, who says, “Even when I have nothing, I invent a pre-existence. Or I plant a tree, or I make a wall to have a starting point…It is necessary to have a point, an aleph, a focus, a center.”