John Berger

Writing

John Berger

Born November 5, 1926 · Stoke Newington, London, England

Died January 2, 2017 · aged 90

John Peter Berger (/ˈbɜːrdʒər/; 5 November 1926 – 2 January 2017) was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet. His novel G. won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism Ways of Seeing, written as an accompaniment to the BBC series of the same name, is often used as a university text. He lived in France for over fifty years.

Known For

The Middle of the WorldThe Middle of the World · 1974
The Middle of the World
★ 6.21974
MovieDramaRomance
Paul is married, a successful engineer, and a conservative candidate in an upcoming local election. He falls in love with Adriana, a café waitress from Italy. Paul's party is very critical of foreign labour and wants to keep Switzerland to the Swiss. Where Paul falls deeper and deeper into the relationship and is ready to leave his wife, Adriana feels the social pressure growing and has to make her own decision.
About TimeAbout Time · 1985
About Time
★ 5.51985
MovieDocumentaryTV Movie
Film Essay based on “And Our Faces, My Heart, Brief As Photos” by John Berger.
Play Me SomethingPlay Me Something · 1989
Play Me Something
★ 5.41989
MovieDramaRomance
A group of individuals are stranded at a small island airport when the flight from the mainland is delayed. At that moment, a stranger appears and begins telling the story of a summer romance in Venice.
Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 · 1976
Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000
★ 6.71976
MovieDrama
A look at the lives of several men and women in their 30s as they confront the slim gains of the "revolutionary" sixties. Max, a dissatisfied copy editor; Myriam, a redhead into tantric sex; and Marie, a supermarket checker who gives unauthorized discounts to the elderly, search for renewed meaning on a communal farm. The title character, a six-year-old child, is the carrier of their hopes for the future.
Right to Work MarchRight to Work March · 1972
Right to Work March
1972
MovieDramaDocumentary
They're young, unemployed and on the march - from Glasgow, Liverpool and Swansea to London.
HeartlandHeartland · 1989
Heartland
★ 6.51989
MovieDramaTV Movie
This "Play on One" story depicts Jack and his farming family in West Wales. They have built up their dairy herd with vast loans and are then told they must cut back on milk production and slaughter some of the herd. The community launches a campaign against the quotas, but Jack takes the law into his own hands.
Visioni di case che crollanoVisioni di case che crollano · 2002
Visioni di case che crollano
★ 7.52002
MovieDocumentary
The countryside around the Po delta is dotted with abandoned houses and farmhouses. The landscape appears desertic, almost humanless. Some people shares stories about their bond with the land while the italian writer Gianni Celati documents the tragedy and the loss of values in this new landscape of desolation, with a superb narrative style.
8 Poems of Emigration8 Poems of Emigration · 2020
8 Poems of Emigration
2020
MovieDocumentary
"8 Poems of Emigration" is a found footage film that focuses on the migration crisis. The film, while focusing on the immigration and immigration issue caused by the wild global capitalism, consists of the images and the found footage from the recording of the work named "8 Poetry of Immigration" that John Berger read to the audience in 2007 at the Fine Arts Center in Madrid. The narrative of the movie is revealed by the conflict between image and sound order. With the out-of-context (misuse) use of commercial images and music, the film creates a critical structure that opposes capitalism.

Filmography

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Taşkafa, Stories of the StreetTaşkafa, Stories of the Street · 2013
Taşkafa, Stories of the Street
2013
MovieDocumentary
Taşkafa is a real dog and also a legend on the streets of Istanbul. John Berger begins Taşkafa’s story, reading from his novel, King, the story of the disappearance of a community told from a dog’s perspective. The area’s ordinary people – taxi drivers, shopkeepers, street traders – care deeply about the welfare of the city’s street dogs and they tell us stories about Taşkafa and their other canine neighbours. The animals are a symbol of community living, where people (and dogs) look out for each other, but this is a community in transition; one from which dogs are starting to be expelled. Eccentric, amusing and very warm, the film is a powerful indictment of the impact of global politics and the economic appropriation of public space but, even more, it is a tribute to both the spirit of resistance and to city life that can accommodate people and dogs together.

Narrator