TEMPORAL ASSEMBLAGES: FILMMAKING AND ARCHIVAL RECONTEXTUALIZATIONIN JANUARY

Abstract

The film by Viesturs Kairišs Janvāris / January (2022) presents a nuanced portrayal of Latvia’s independence struggle of 1991, merging personal and political narratives through the lens of Jazis, a young aspiring filmmaker. In January, archival footage and fictional elements intertwine, creating a non-linear temporal experience that reimagines traditional cinematic storytelling. Using period-appropriate film stocks, the film blurs the line between past and present, encouraging viewers to experience history as a dynamic, evolving force. This paper explores how January recontextualizes archival material within a fictional framework, engaging viewers in a multidimensional encounter with the past. Drawing on Catherine Russell’s concept of archiveology and Gilles Deleuze’s theory of the crystal of time, this study investigates how archival fragments, when woven into contemporary narratives, transform into active agents of memory and historical reflection. Russell’s archiveology underscores the repurposing of archival images as flexible components in new contexts. At the same time, Deleuze’s crystal of time clarifies the interrelations between past and present, challenging the conventional view of time as strictly linear. In conjunction with Russell’s framework, such a perspective suggests that January invokes a reflective treatment of memory, where history is characterized by its open-ended nature. The film’s portrayal of the 1991 events in Latvia’s fight for independence moves beyond a simple historical account, critiquing imperial power and its impact on personal and collective memory. Under direction of Kairišs, archival footage comes alive in a new context, demonstrating how memory can actively shape modern perspectives through cinema.