Rosefeldt and a very game Blanchett spring one surprising creation on the viewer after the other. But what it all adds up to is of course up for debate.
Confidently fulfils its ambitious intent with ease.
Whatever Rosefeldt intended, "Manifesto" doesn't quite set forth a manifesto of its own. But it's a blast of fresh air.
As an installation, "Manifesto" may have seemed like a sensory onslaught. As a movie, it's a very elaborate intellectual exercise, immaculate in every technical detail.
It's no longer a showcase primarily for the artist. Manifesto becomes a tribute to the actor - and to the process of acting itself.
Even as Rosefeldt mines intellectual elitism, he reveals a disdain for pretension in the film's centerpiece monologue.