“I was mesmerized by "L'Avventura" and by Antonioni's subsequent films, and it was the fact that they were unresolved in any conventional sense that kept drawing me back. They posed mysteries - or rather the mystery, of who we are, what we are, to each other, to ourselves, to time.” IHT | Related: Keep your wild strawberries
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That horrible article from "The Spectacle" highlights how "pop culture" (as opposed to "high culture") has become the new standard amongst critics. It's interesting to see that what started as a post-modern inclusion of supposedly "commercial" culture, now has become as exclusive itself. One wonders if the role of the professional critic is just to defend his or her personal taste?
...and somebody who thinks the movies of Bergman and Antoniono consist of "little more than regurgitating the leftwing cant of their day" clearly has not bothered seeing much of their work!
That isn't just any "horrible article". It's a Toby Young one. While it isn't altogether a reductive pile o’ shite, he does err eagerly on a number of points; two of which you've already pointed out re cant masquerading as the new standard.
Another is the false dichotomy of high and low culture, “conventional narratives” v “stylistic innovation”. Young’s hoary indictment fails to recognize the symbiotic nature at work, and how the effect of time, with the examples of “stylistic innovation”, create meta-narratives for future filmmakers whose ambitions dovetail with so-called “universal appeal”.
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