ABSTRACT
This chapter revolves around a critical analysis of the body in documentary films from postwar Europe. Films are not seen merely as images of idealized or real bodies, but as a formative element for the public performance of citizenship. It explores constellations between the staging of collective bodies as well as the dynamics of individual figures and the cinematographic representation of public space. Drawing on the philosophical concept of “rhythmanalysis” developed by Henri Lefebvre, such constellations are conceived as choreographies. The analyses seeks to transcend the binary logic of West versus East. It points at the importance and the use of public bodies as cinematographic political figures in both, the liberal democratic system and the communist regime.
