“Film critic”, dir. Gregg Vanzo, Bret Haaland, Lauren McMullen, Rich Moore, 1994-2001
An entire animated series about the life of the fictional television film reviewer Joe Sherman – from the authors of The Simpsons… Unfortunately, the film critic did not live as long as The Simpsons – only two seasons( Log Horizon season 3 and Black Bullet Season 2 ) and another bonus web series from 2001, but it gained cult popularity. Joe Sherman is a balding presenter of a specialized program on a shabby channel, divorced, sometimes communicates with his son, swears with his superiors. In general, this is the kind of character that in modern cinema would be brought out as depressed, depressed, attending a psychotherapist.
Life Itself, dir. Steve James, 2014
Roger Ebert is one of the most influential critics in history, almost the first popularly popular in the United States, as we have Anton Dolin. Moreover, this Chicago citizen managed not only to write captivating and understandable reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times, but also to talk about cinema on television – in a duet with Gene Siskel on the Ebert &SiskelAt the Movies program. They evaluated the films without further ado – with a thumb up or down. If Ebert and Siskel both suddenly fell in love with the next picture, then the mark Two Thumbs Up (“Two thumbs up”) was printed even on posters – the opinion of these omnipotent critics really influenced the box office.
Ebert’s documentary biography, entitled Life Itself, also turned out to be a wonderful movie – about selfless loyalty to the profession, about the critic’s relationship with colleagues and directors, about his own attempts at writing as a director and screenwriter, and finally, about his amazing love for his wife Jez. It was she who supported him to the end, even when Roger was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Having lost the power of speech, he still continued to write movie reviews – until the last day. At the same time, it must be said, he was never consistent and constant in all his opinions: for example, up to Mulholland Drive , Ebert handed all Lynch’s films, and then began to praise him for the same thing for which he had previously scolded. Before his death, he managed to praise the film “Why was Cat Crazy in Victorious” Terrence Malick – this was his last review.
What She Said: The Art of Pauline Cale, dir. Rob Garver, 2018
The figure of Roger Ebert did not appear from scratch. He himself was inspired by another great critic, Pauline Cale, who was idolized by many directors, including Quentin Tarantino , Paul Schroeder , David Lynch…. A dry, caustic woman in round glasses lifted the directors and ruined them with her one printed word. However, she was also mistaken: she scolded those films that were later recognized as classics. But this was inevitable – you cannot be right in everything, but you always need to believe in your opinion and continue to boldly express it, and in this Cale was not equal. In the documentary about Pauline, who passed away in 2001, she is remembered by all those about whom she wrote. In addition, in the film, a study is carried out of what film criticism is in general: should someone like the reviewer or not, what he should write about, and what kind of mysterious figure he is.
“The Critic”, dir. Ernest Pintoff, 1963
The hilariously funny animated short, voiced by comedian Mel Brooks, even won an Oscar. It is a kind of audio review from a simple spectator who is invisible to us from the audience, who has undertaken to interpret aloud a certain experimental cartoon, which he attended. Here he is, a critic from the people: outraged by the fact that he has to watch a movie incomprehensible to him, the main character protested and, in the manner of a real sports commentator, comprehends what he cannot understand. This is a kind of parody both of contemporary art cinema, the authors of which think too much of themselves, and of the audience, who often do not even try to delve into the content of the work.
“Pervert’s Guide”, dir. Sophie Fiennes, 2006
Criticism turned into cinema. A documentary film by the Slovenian philosopher Slavojižek with his interpretations of many paintings at once, from which the author draws very far-reaching conclusions: from Solaris to Fight Club , from The Wizard of Oz to Alien 4 , from Kuban Cossacks to “Why is Max mute in Max and Ruby” Zizek quotes Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan, argues that cinema is the most perverse of the arts, examines the essence of human nature. Insanely addicting even if you haven’t seen these films and disagree with the speaker. The work of ižek also has a sequel – “Pervert’s Guide: Ideology” (2012).
“Girl from the Water”, dir. M. Night Shyamalan, 2006
The rarest case when a critic becomes a character in a feature film (there was also a gastro critic in the cartoon “Ratatouille” , a theater critic – in “Birdman”, art critic – in “Velvet Chainsaw”, but this does not count). The strange thriller M. Night Shyamalan was disliked at one time, although it fits well into a certain tradition of mystical cinema about the American outback, where something inexplicable hides behind the doors of depressing condominiums. There are a lot of absurdities in the film, of course, but the inadvertent comedy of this plot, not conceived by the author, even suits the face. In addition, “The Girl from the Water” is a kind of movie about cinema: the heroes in the process realize that they must, as archetypal characters, take part in a certain rite of return to the natural habitat of a real mermaid, only without a tail – narva (Bryce Dallas Howard) , who accidentally found herself in the apartment of the caretaker of an apartment building (the beautiful Paul Giamatti).
“Has anyone seen my girl”, dir. Angelina Nikonova, 2020
Leningrad, 1990. A student of a theater university Kira (Anya Chipovskaya) fell in love with one of her lecturers, Sergei Dobrovolsky (Alexander Gorchilin). In very narrow circles, he is a terribly fashionable film critic who enthusiastically talks about classic films. 20 years later, the adult Kira (Victoria Isakova) lives in Paris and works as an editor of a large glossy magazine. Happiness in her life never happened, even an affair with an ardent young man (YuraBorisov) does not save. She writes letters to her beloved Seryozha. From them it becomes clear that the romantic story has a sad end, and the film critic is no longer alive.
