In the first trailer for Manifesto, Cate Blanchett redefines chameleonic, playing everything from a homeless man to a newscaster, all while speaking the words of history’s great artists. Blanchett inhabits 13 different roles in Julian Rosefeldt’s project, which draws from various 20th Century manifestos. Viewers can draw their own conclusions how Blanchett’s characters correspond to the movement they espouse. As a stern choreographer she talks about Fluxus, Merz, and performance art; As a melancholy puppeteer she describes Surrealism and Spatialism.
Manifesto recently wrapped up a run at the Park Avenue Armory in New York. There, Blanchett’s visage was projected on giant screens. All the different Blanchetts echoed simultaneously and sometimes discordantly, before syncing up for a harmonic and hypnotic moment. A 94-minute film version is set to premiere this month at Sundance.