Lynne Sachs pays homage to Walter Benjamin's essay "The Task of the Translator" through three studies of the human body. First, she listens to the musings of a wartime doctor grappling with the task of a kind-of cosmetic surgery for corpses. Second, she witnesses a group of Classics scholars confronted with the haunting yet whimsical task of translating a newspaper article on Iraqi burial rituals into Latin. And finally, she turns to a radio news report on human remains.

Premiere: Migrating Forms Film Festival, New York, NY

This title is available for streaming on Kanopy: https://www.kanopy.com/product/films-lynne-sachs-2002-2009