A peaceful trip around the labyrinths of the Museum of Natural History in Vienna.
Almost an action movie compared to his other works, Benning’s natural history is 77 minutes long and consists of 54 shots. Filmed exclusively inside the Museum of Natural History in Vienna, it features no people and mostly explores spaces that are normally concealed from the visitor, such as offices, staff-only corridors, and storage spaces. Its main genre is still life.
natural history was Benning’s first film shot entirely in a human-made environment, with climate and light control and not a trace of a draft or a living creature. Everything that was once alive is embalmed and archived. Offices and staircases inhabited by people are barely distinguishable from the cases with minerals, pinned butterflies, and stuffed animals. It is a cold, subtly ironic reflection on the futility—or, perhaps, the utility—of everything that exists.
natural history
Director: James Benning
Austria, 2014. 77 min. 18+