All current art is fake. Nothing is original. These are some of the artist statements in artist Julian Rosefeldt's stunning piece Manifesto, the feature film version of his celebrated Armory installation. A chameleonic Cate Blanchett gives a tour-de-force performance as she transcends gender, class, nationality and profession in a series of vignettes which draw upon manifestos questioning the true nature of art, including those from Karl Marx, Yvonne Rainer, and Dogma 95. Rosefeldt takes us through a series of evocative locations seared on the screen with stunning cinematography, whilst Blanchett morphs seamlessly between characters, from a nihilistic punk to a downtrodden homeless man. An art film in every sense of the word, Manifesto ultimately blurs the lines of conventional story, exploring the intention behind artistic expression, and ultimately the importance of storytelling itself.

—Mara Webster

Directed by

Julian Rosefeldt