I guess I was a cinephile once. I went to see Bergman's "theological" trilogy three times in one week - by myself. I remain a fan of Eric Rohmer. But not many films I have seen lately have struck me as being on a par with what I was seeing back then, and a lot of American attempts at that sort of film I find precious and self-conscious. The only film I've seen recently that does remind of those earlier films was Kim Ki-duk's Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring.
There are very few serious film critics who remain. The ones who are left are incurious, ensnared by the junket culture, and often have no memory of films made twenty years before. They settle for mediocrity in their writing, cave in to publicists and editors. And the few dutiful curiosity seekers who remain are reviled because they're not part of the publicity machine/celebrity culture. Bookish souls and film? Please. You're lucky if you run into a critic who reads at a screening.
ReplyDeleteHaving said all that, I enjoy the movies. Both high and low.