Beyond the Life of Forms

The Brion Funerary Complex and the San Cataldo Cemetery, designed by Carlo Scarpa and Aldo Rossi respectively, helped evolve the typology of the cemetery. Though both projects were conceived in the early 1970s, by Italian architects grounded in modernism, the design of the cemeteries encapsulates a sensual idiosyncrasy. But that is where the similarities end. Beyond the Life of Forms takes pains to highlight the unique appeal of each project, never comparing the two. The long takes and elegant shots highlight both the details and the context of each project separately. These scenes are accompanied by a narration based on the words of not just the architects themselves, but of contemporaries, admirers and artists, which help widen the thematic scope of the film. Nene Grignaffini and Francesco Conversano made a film that rises above an architectural tour and contemplates something beyond the aesthetic appeal of Scarpa’s and Rossi’s masterpieces.