Friday

The quote above by Federico Fellini might seem to undermine the whole point of this blog, but I don't think it does. I have always felt exactly the same way. A good work of art (not just a film) can never be described or explained in any other words. I used to have in mind poetry when I thought of this: you shouldn't be able to abridge, summarise or characterise a poem. You shouldn't be able to say it in any other way than the way it was written. If you can, then the poem has failed. A good work of art is the perfect expression. So, I agree with Fellini, but I think even he agrees that talking about films isn't pointless. Articulating your thoughts and responses to a work of art is necessary to understanding. What he is criticising is the stance of some critics who seem to believe they know more about the movie than the movie does about itself, that they can tell you more about it than is there. I hope I don't do this here.