The End + Out of the Present
Tue Jun 30 2009
3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Andrei Ujica’s cult classic Out of the Present (Germany/Russia, 1995, 96 min.) recounts the riveting story of cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, who was launched in May 1991 to the Russian space station Mir. As he carries out his daily routine of experiments, exercise, chores, and leisure activities as the Soviet Union collapses. The world he returns to in March 1992 differs hugely from the one he left behind. Out of the Present contrasts the seemingly neutral and idyllic experience of outer space with the bitter inter-ethnic strife back on Earth. Preceded by Turner Prize-winning British artist Mark Wallinger’s 2006 short 35mm film The End. Set to Johann Strauss’s waltz "The Blue Danube," The End is a cinematic credit roll listing, in order of appearance, all of the characters in The Bible.