Reviews

My native country of Belgium is, for good and for evil, host to a wide range of abandoned buildings. Wallonia, for instance, boasts many reminders of an extensive industrial and mining past. Many of the said buildings just stand there decaying, whereas, in a more just or well-ordered society, they might have been demolished, converted towards another function or turned into museums. Still, there are those among us who are not insensitive to the charm of ruins. Belgium has its abandoned and decaying buildings but it also has its "urban explorers". In fact we've got so many urban explorers that they've split up in various factions and subgroups.

"Urbex sessions" is a French-language documentary that lifts the veil on some of the urban exploration going on in the southern part of the country. It's a pleasantly watchable introduction to the activities of those people who like to potter around in abandoned buildings, for instance in order to take photographs, organize artistic happenings or perform sports such as parkour. The documentary also highlights some of the buildings involved. Unsurprisingly, many of the places being shown would make ideal settings for thriller, science fiction or horror movies.

The various interests being discussed in "Urbex sessions" seem innocent enough, but it needs to be said that there is another side to the coin. Some so-called explorers delight in activities like vandalism, theft and sabotage. Still others just want the kick of doing something forbidden or illegal.

But even the people who only want to take a nice picture of a tree growing through a roof run considerable risks to life and limb. While watching the documentary I asked myself whether the various makers shouldn't have included more warnings about the said risks. (By now there have been a number of serious accidents in real life.) Still, it's possible that these additional warnings might have piqued the interest of a certain type of aficionado. I leave the matter to the professional psychologists among us...

Viewers responsive to the weird beauty of decay can take a look at the remarkable "Paradis de rouille" series. (Wrote a short review there too.)

This interesting documentary deals with a joint Swiss-Greek team of archaeologists digging up a major site, namely a vast sanctuary dedicated to Artemis. It had been known for centuries that there was an Artemis temple to be found somewhere in the neighborhood, but pinpointing the exact location was the devil's own work. After a long search the site was finally discovered, in one of the triumphant successes of modern archaeology. Still, it took additional decades in which to convince the scientific community, to obtain the necessary permits and to negotiate with the local landowners.

"Artémis, le temple perdu" follows the various archaeologists around while they discuss their project, their work methods and their finds. (Note the deeply-moved pleasure with which each new advance is greeted. We should all be as lucky in our jobs.) Animation segments depict the temple as it must have looked in its heyday, complete with processional roads and sacred festivals.

The story of the temple's eventual downfall is a useful reminder of the fleeting nature of religions. Once upon a time multitudes trembled before the might of their tutelary goddess, building a temple of finest marble. For a long time the area resounded with music, poetry, vows - and in a less romantic register, with the bellows of animals to be slaughtered. Later generations were to drag away the building material in order to erect walls, houses and Christian churches.

Much recommended to all those interested in the history of the Western world and in Classical Greek civilization.