Nomadic History

'We must begin to work on our history. I mean something very concrete by that; we could even start by telling each other stories'. Alexander Kluge made this statement in his Fontane Prize acceptance speech in September 1979; it announced a programme that he himself wanted to fulfil in his film DIE PATRIOTIN/THE PATRIOT, which premiered in the same month. Although the original conception of the film goes back to the fall of 1977, it had lost none of its relevance two years later. On the contrary, at the beginning of 1979 the American television series Holocaust had reignited interest in German history. And a film entitled THE PATRIOT seemed to answer those critics of Holocaust who wanted German history to be represented not by American television specials but by German films. Kluge had indeed intended to make a German film about German history, and to counter Holocaust in every respect. In its treatment of history as well as in its way of dealing with stories and images, THE PATRIOT differed radically not only from the Hollywood television series, but also from the classical narrative cinema. Kluge's aversion to the conventional narrative film, apparent since his first feature film of 1966, ABSCHIED VON GESTERN/YESTERDAY GIRL, shaped THE PATRIOT as well.