Paradiso, XXXI, 108

Synopsis

Aljafari’s new film takes its title from a brief story by Borges, one that considers our collective inability to know God by sight. To play against this concept, Aljafari presents footage of the Israeli military conducting maneuvers in the desert. The material itself is uncanny, since it is never entirely apparent whether we are watching documentary scenes, a staged training film, or decontextualized excerpts from a fictional feature. This aspect, heightened by Aljafari’s precise editing rhythms, suggests that violence is always doubled, a representation of itself. Aljafari peers into the collective unconscious of “the most moral army in the world.”

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