Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Fermentation


There are three types of great films in my book. There are the films that you see the first time, think it's amazing, and then you see it repeated times and it decreases in quality; this is very common with mindless action flicks. Next there are the types of films that are amazing each and every time you watch it, no matter how many times you see it; the film remains the same as the first time you watched it (the best example I can find of this for me is the original Star Wars trilogy). Finally, the most intriguing types of films, those that in fact ferment over time.

There are certain films that the more you watch them, the more they tend to get better and better. Miyazaki films tend to fall in this category; more recent examples are films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Prestige. While these films are great the first go around, the first impression tends to not be what matters, but rather the second, the third, and every viewing after that.

Most films within this category tend to be deeply layered, fairly complex, films that it will take at least two viewings to fully take everything in that the filmmakers were trying to say and do within the story. These are what I consider to be the most unique kinds of films.

Now I do not think that this should be misinterpreted as me saying that these types of films are my favorites, because my personal preference are films that remain the same each and every time you see it (what can I say, I hate change), but I do find it fascinating when you continually return to a film and find that it simply gets better and better the more you watch it.

In a way these types of films in which I've been talking about are similar to wine. Most serious wine drinkers believe that the older a wine gets, the better it tastes. Conversely, certain films taste better the more you watch them and let them age upon your mind's eye. It's a truly special thing, something that I always love to discover.

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