Film The Ister Examines Heidegger's Danube Philosophy and Europe's Traumatic History

The Ister, a film from 2004 directed by David Barison and Daniel Ross, delves into Martin Heidegger's lectures from 1942 regarding Friedrich Hölderlin's hymn about the Danube River. It features conversations with Jean-Luc Nancy, Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, and Bernard Stiegler to investigate Heidegger's perspective on the roots of Europe. The film's imagery includes plastic waste in the Danube, highlighting remnants from NATO's 1999 bombing of Novi Sad, Serbia, established by Maria Theresia in the 18th century. It addresses Europe's tumultuous past, mentioning the Račja massacre in January 1942, where 2,000 Serbs and Jews were killed, and critiques Heidegger's silence on the Holocaust, with scenes set in Mauthausen concentration camp. The film ends with the Danube's two sources, symbolizing Europe's fractured beginnings. Dragan Kujundžić's essay from 2007 links personal memory to philosophical critique.