tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2608865863680527081.post7516677470827117203..comments2024-03-13T07:41:37.532-04:00Comments on Vic & Walter Thiessen - On Movies...: Inside Llewyn DavisWalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16391426206936180224noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2608865863680527081.post-63721163556805867802014-03-30T14:15:40.202-04:002014-03-30T14:15:40.202-04:00Yes, it does make more sense and forgive my overst...Yes, it does make more sense and forgive my overstated outburst. As you can see I have strong feelings about the tendency for arthouse cinema to be bleak - often I think bleakness is misused as a shortcut to "artistic" style. (We recently watched Mike Leigh's All or Nothing and the bleakness nearly killed us.) However, I did think you communicated well what was done with artful quality in this film, and I agree. And, as I've chatted about this film with a few others, I've come to appreciate it more. Walterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16391426206936180224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2608865863680527081.post-16130315179335501942014-03-30T10:40:24.515-04:002014-03-30T10:40:24.515-04:00As my review suggests, I struggled to like this fi...As my review suggests, I struggled to like this film as much as I thought it deserved. And apparently I also struggled to communicate why I thought it was such a well-made film even as I struggled to enjoy it. I think if I could explain to you what I meant with the comment about bleakness and art, you would not be that opposed to it. I was not associating bleakness with art. I was associating the brilliant way the Coen brothers portrayed the bleakness in this particular film with art. Does that make more sense? Anyway, I understand your comments. In responding to a question at a film workshop I did a week ago, it was clear to me that my views on this film are bizarrely mixed, unlike my views on Noah, for example. See upcoming review. Vichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12090966032076073337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2608865863680527081.post-27076950751411058162014-03-25T20:07:08.638-04:002014-03-25T20:07:08.638-04:00Well, first of all, I have to take great issue wit...Well, first of all, I have to take great issue with your association of bleakness with "great cinematic art" - what utter nonsense. If bleakness is associated with "art" then to hell with art. Fortunately, I found this to be on the human side of bleakness. I appreciated the craft and the music immediately, but I didn't appreciate the story until I read a review that helped put it in perspective as a story of the pain of a folk singer trying to make it just before (signalled by the ending) the season when culture was really ready for it. The themes of finding his way home and the cat, as you suggest, pointed toward more - though these didn't quite come together well for me. I think I'll leave it at *** with a hesitant mug up. Walterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16391426206936180224noreply@blogger.com