Mar 10, 2017

@Vahn yeah i mean im not denying some critics are bad writers - in fact most are - but its not like citing influences is inherently invalid. in fact in the right context it can be an okay framing device. i havent read pynchon so i cant speak to that i was mostly responding to what appeared to be your rejection IV owes something (we can debate what) to Long Goodbye.

i bristle at the idea filmmakers can define the terms that critics respond to their work. if youre truly derivative - like a lot of films are - isnt it fair to be cited as such? i hate consumer reviews too (you will note i purposefully avoid them usually) and i get your note about glib writers (i dont think im in that group, could be wrong) but it feels unfair to DEMAND how someone should respond to something

edit: in other words criticism does not inherently need to be done by essayists. theres a place for that yes

 

Mar 10, 2017

Certainly there's a place for citing influences and it can be done to further shed insight on a film. I think her point is a fair one simply because she was probably seeing the same thing over and over and it irked her, not that she was necessarily demanding how her work be viewed and judged. It's a double edged sword to make a statement like that but I think it holds weight. I sometimes cite influences when talking about a film or filmmaker but I don't let that overtake the conversation, which is where I think a lot of mainstream critics fall.

Honestly, I think this is just the case of me feeling very passionate about a film because of the personal relation I have to it and being annoyed by the majority writing it off, I was simply trying to shed light on what I think makes the film worthy of a revisit. I'd say that it doesn't quite open itself up initially so in that case having read the book certainly helps in one's grasp of the material, but when it's all said and done, the film emphasizes on certain aspects that ring true to PTA more than others which makes it a wholly personal work. I've always felt like it could be seen as a sort of love letter to Fiona Apple, I don't have any factual evidence behind that but something about that final scene paints it as such. Very deep film that continues to impress me.

 

Mar 10, 2017

I don't think it's being written off rly though - just isn't as iconic or regarded as some of his others, including perhaps PDL.

What's your personal relation? Just that you love the book - or something deeper..

link? you been interviewed in Film comment?

 

Mar 10, 2017

ftr: vahn is twice the poster now then he was even a week ago

 

Mar 10, 2017

I just feel a strong connection to how the relationship is portrayed and yea I love the book and Pynchon in general. Also, I never thought there could be such a perfect use of Neil Young music in a film, big stan of his lol.

And I don't have any link I just meant that when I talk about films I also sometimes use comparisons and cite influences to other films and filmmakers to make a point, I just try to have the essence of what I'm saying be within the film itself instead of wholly depending on those comparisons like the types I was throwing jabs at typically do.

Punch-Drunk Love seems to finally be getting more overall praise as one of his best but I think for a while it was pretty overlooked, I think this could be the case with this one too; maybe a few years down the line it won't be as out of the ordinary to regard it as one of his best. Regardless though, for me it acts as a confirmation that PTA is actively in his prime and more than anything, it has me excited for what he currently has in the works.

Care to weigh in with your choices of favorite directors of these past two decades?

 

Mar 10, 2017

Maybe. I mean PDL had the Sandler PR hook + the Popeye influence. So kind of similar swapping Pynchon for sandler and LG for popeye. i hope that's not too superifical a parellel for you lls.

To me though, if there's a pattern it's he does companion films, then a one-off

• BN and Magnolia, then PDL
• TWBB and Master, then IV

(hard 8 being more of a thesis film for this line of thought.)

me2 or at least my wife is. (im married.) we rly dug the demme doc

oh gosh, way too sensitive to offer my own choices here. i defer to smarter more sophisticated film minds. maybe Jodorowsky, Svankmajer, Resnais guys like that

 

Mar 10, 2017

lmao

srs tho

 

Mar 10, 2017

1990s

Abbas Kiarostami



Runner Up:

Krzysztof Kieslowski



Honorable Mentions:

Tsai Ming-liang, Martin Scorsese & Edward Yang.

 

Mar 10, 2017

The way I see the question is whose work do you not miss when they come up to bat...

Todd Field, Pedro Almodovar, Spike Jonze, Tom McCarthy before cobbler, Scorsese, PT Anderson, Tarantino, Fincher........coen bros, curtis hanson even rip, malick, charlie kaufman, maybe alexander payne

@Vahn

 

Mar 12, 2017

1980s

Leos Carax



Runner Up:

Martin Scorsese



Honorable Mentions:

Hou Hsiao-hsien, Jonathan Demme & Jim Jarmusch.