Transmission

The film explores monuments found around the world that have become destinations for both pilgrims and tourists, fulfilling a variety of needs ranging from personal remembrance to spiritual enlightenment and religious reflection. Farocki begins with the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, where thousands visit daily, touching the engraved letters and tracing the names of loved ones in an effort to connect their present lives with the past. Other sites of pilgrimage—such as the foot of the statue of the Apostle in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Bocca della Verità in Rome, the devil’s footprint in the Frauenkirche in Munich, and the memorial at Buchenwald concentration camp—serve similar purposes of comprehension and purification. Stone, as the chosen medium, preserves the collective memory of individuals or historical events, transforming into an object of veneration. At the same time, the physical signs of wear left by countless visitors serve as a record of their own memories.