The Reading Lesson

Colour, 16mm
The Netherlands, 1973, 10 min
Section: Johan van der Keuken

Synopsis

In a Dutch primary school, first years learn to read via traditional methods using words in combination with pictures. In a creative, ironic frame of mind, the director developed this system of teaching by gradually replacing images from conventional teaching aids with shots extracted from fervid political and social events. This ten-minute film is a highly concise expression of Van der Keuken’s worldview. “Within a very small space I attempted as far as possible to separate the sequential nature of the images and their meanings. By using short takes I was able to get as far as Salvador Allende’s speech and scenes of Pinochet assuming power in Chile. Then we return again to the beginning, but the whole memorising process is now destroyed”.