i don't really think it matters whether one walks into the theatre with
their film-philosophy or film buff hat on or not. there must be some
level of judgement call that a person can place on a film - and not fall
into the trance of following box-office figures. sure, those kind of
reviews etc are prevalent and it seems that you can't avoid media/public
opinions, but really, those are just information that come at us and
that's great to have at your finger tips.
but having all that info doesn't help you sharpen your own critical
thinking or mode of seeing. you need other tools (such as reading and
thinking about the film in terms of film theory -- which is what Deleuze
says at the end of his Cinema 2 book -- that concepts of film has to
come from films and that film theory must also be practiced to be
relevant) and a passion to do that. and i think that is what mark's
original message a couple of weeks ago was hinting at.
i remember only a few years ago that people thought it wanky and a waste
of money to go to film festivals and now, it seems that everyone I know
are doing nothing but... and to think these same people were there for
the poor reception to bela tarr's Werckmeister's Harmonies -- it was
voted the worst film at the Sydney Film Festival!
the history of film is that it is a mass art form. and i think that it's
too pluralised a field for there to be a canon -- which needs to be
superceded as soon as it is formed. (like computers). but this can't
mean that a person who cares about film, about what they see, about the
directors who love their art form, to develop that skill to talk about
films in an engaging and critical way.
|