****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Some go to the movies for entertainment, as a temporary escape from the day to day. For some, and certainly Phillip Lopate is among them, filmgoing is as much a part of everyday life as eating and breathing. Visiting a friend, going to work, writing, conversing, watching movies, reading books, each give texture to a life and call for thoughtful consideration. In that case "criticism" - reflecting on films, their revelations and disappointments - is not a merely "academic" discipline. It is as vital to the quality of life as, say, planning and reflection.Lopate's excellent collection of essays on film and on a life in which filmgoing is central serves as an exemplar for criticism in this vital sense: criticism as engaged self-reflection as much as it is aesthetic contemplation. I loved reading this book, maybe because it validates my own obsessions, but mostly because it shows how to raise obsession with quality filmmaking to the level of art. Particularly valuable to me were his reflections on the "essay film" - because there is very little written on that subject and I find Lopate's thoughts to be the most insightful I've encountered. Highly recommended for those who can't do without good cinema and who value good writing.
