THE OWL’S LEGACY is an intellectually agile, engaging, and sometimes biting look at ancient Greece, its influences on Western culture—and how many eras have reinterpreted the Greek legacy to reflect their own needs. Each of the 13 episodes is centered on a potent Greek word: from “democracy” and “philosophy” to “mythology” and “misogyny.” Marker convenes and films symposia—meals featuring wine and thoughtful conversation—in locales including Paris, Tokyo, Tbilisi, Berkeley, and an olive grove on Athens’ outskirts. Footage from these banquets is interspersed with archival materials and interviews (often featuring a stylized or distorted owl image looming in the background). Marker’s diverse group of informants includes composers, politicians, classicists, historians, scientists, writers, filmmakers, and actors. Together their contributions form a compelling (and sometimes contradictory) cultural and historical exploration for each theme.

Treize mots de racine grecque que Chris Marker décortique pour connaître l'héritage de la Grèce antique sur le monde moderne. Des États-Unis au Japon, il a baladé sa caméra là où tout mot prend sens, il a rencontré des hellénistes, des philosophes, des logiciens, des hommes politiques, des artistes et a confronté leurs discours aux mémoires des cinémathèques. L'Héritage de la chouette est un projet encyclopédique qui, par le détour de la Grèce antique, se propose de jeter un peu de lumière sur les sources de notre civilisation, et du même coup sur sa mortalité.

Wie prägte das antike Griechenland die heutigen modernen westlichen Gesellschaften kulturell, soziologisch und politisch?

Em treze episódios, a partir de treze palavras incorporadas ao vocabulário moderno, o diretor francês Chris Marker discute, com mais de 50 convidados, o legado cultural e político da Grécia clássica para o mundo contemporâneo.