Phil·em

I am a fan of movies, but I am no expert.  I’ve got an odd assortment of movie trivia in my head, but I couldn’t tell you the technical elements necessary to make a crane shot work.  I do have some friends who could and would.  I had a certain ‘movie’ friend who would correct me right away when I’d say that I’m a movie fan – they would say something like “That’s Film, not Movie.  You’re a fan of Film”  To them the word “movie” was slang for the word ‘film’.  The word movie’s etymology is a twist on ‘moving picture’ and has been around for about 100 years now.  But they were still against the word thinking that it adversely effected the medium.  To them it brought the art form of film (by the way he pronounced it phil·em) down to a pedestrian level.  Obviously he was a stuck up film snob. But thanks to this friend I can’t say film the right way anymore.

What I really enjoy are complex films.  The more layered the better.  I get a rush out of the possibility of not getting it. Usually I sit in the theatre waiting for the plot I’ve figured out in the first 10 minutes to unfold.   I long for the day that Hollywood makes a movie that I have to go back twice, just to understand it. Hollywood is all about money so they of course don’t want to alienate the core audience.  Personally I’d go in a different direction.  Alienate them, make it your goal.  Confuse them but make it interesting.  The audience will come back just to understand it, if it’s interesting enough.  (see 2001)

The last Hollywood movie I thought was close to making me scratch my head was back in 1995.  The movie: 12 Monkeys.  It had just enough of a twist to mislead me till the end.  I did go see it twice in the theatres, but it was not to understand it, but to pick up the little things.  I do like a movie that makes the second viewing more enjoyable than the first.  Terry Gilliam is a master at that.  You need evidence?  Go watch Brazil if you haven’t seen it, and if you have go see it again – I bet you’ll get more outta that phil·em the second time than any blockbuster out this year.