“passing through/torn formations” extends from Eastern Europe and back again – an unravelling tapestry of family relations that speak of migration and translation.” – Marian McMahon.
“PHILIP HOFFMAN’s passing through/torn formations is a wide open ramble through the labyrinth of memory, considered primarily as a family affair. The film deals with the life and history of Hoffman’s Czech born mother and her family, as presented as a kind of polyphonic recitation of words, of images, and of sounds.” Robert Everett-Green.
“passing through/torn formations accomplishes a multi-faceted experience for the viewer – it is a poetic document of Family, for instance – but PHILIP HOFFMAN’s editing throughout is true to thought process, tracks visual theme as the mind tracks shape, makes melody of noise and words as the mind recalls sound.” – Stan Brakhage.