'At the end of the 1800's, a new artform flickered into life, it looked like our dreams...' During the course of fifteen weeks, we were hugged by cinema through an odyssey of passion and innovation, based on Mark Cousins book, of the same name in this epic documentary.
I remember when I first heard about the idea, how large scale it was, how exciting and refreshing this was to visualise. During the course of 900 mins, we are taken around the globe and introduced to an array of film languages.
Whilst people may say, it didn't cover everything, how could it? Yes, there is a number of films, directors we could all name that didn't make an appearance or got mentioned but like any great film, we are told what the film-maker chooses to tell us, it's their story. I'm sure there is alot on the SOF editing floor, which may make it to the DVD, like the lost gem deleted from City lights, as shown in episode 2.
Starting with people leaving a factory and ending with dreams within dreams, Mark gave us what he called 'a taste of each film', avoiding his own presence on screen, using only his voice as a classic storyteller. So where did this innovation mainly start from? The camera, the cut, the sound, the future of how the medium could be challenged within a social and political world and survive, became the active question.
The story of film is less about learning about cinema but more about celebrating it as an artform and how film-makers have used it to speak to the individuals of the world.
The most incredible aspect of the documentary for me, was in the end where I learnt something quite important. Whilst a particular film may not interest me, I should however take a moment and think, what are they doing differently, what's new about their approach to the story?
The epilogue of the story of film is hauntingly disturbing, beautifully moving and poignant to an artfom that has changed all our lives.
It's sad that the story of film is over but the story of film itself is not yet finished...
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