Voir: Una mirada al séptimo arte

Didn't know much about this when looking through new Netflix content. Watching episode one, I enjoyed a Cinephile's musings, coupled with familiarity and shared experiences, such as the thrill of watching Jaws as a young girl. My interest picked up and I became tachycardia when in episode two I suddenly recognized a familiar voice... Could it be? Yes it could... TONY ZHAO!! From the still terrific "Every Frame a Painting" webseries along with his equally talented partner and co-creator of EFAP Taylor Ramos (who is a also a skilled animator), they now helm a new series continuing dialogue on cinema while also narrating two episodes, spanning 6 separate segments. An enjoyable and informative series of video essays on wide ranging topics. The topics are not always ones familiar to me, and the opinions differ from mine, which is why I enjoyed this so much--opens up my internal dialogue a bit and provides me with wider perspective.

If you're a fan of video essays than this is an obvious choice. I'm pretty used to settling down to a nice hour plus long video essay with dinner but was pleasantly surprised with these 20 minute bite sized episodes. The editing and visuals really carried it for me and kept me watching. It really felt like the narrators and visuals told a story together instead of, as so often happens, the visuals being secondary to the discussion.

A large part of the appeal of online visual essays is the personal touch of the writer and narrator. Something which could be lost when switching to a platform like Netflix. I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of these stories hold on to that important personal element. When someone really loves a topic it shows and grabs your attention.

If your thinking of checking it out, pick an episode that sounds appealing and try it out. If you can't choose I recommend episode 3 "But I don't like him" narrated by Drew McWeeny. Villains are a favorite topic of mine so this was an easy one to start out with.

There was a time when to discover any thoughts on film you had to go to a book store and find a book by a director or actor or writer. Maybe you'd go to the nearest shop that sold movie mags and bought every single one, every month, religiously. Maybe you spent every single piece of currency you earned, or were given, on VHS rentals and later on DVD sales. Sometimes your choices of what to watch came from total chance, fate and luck. Maybe it was late night tv. You'd stumble upon something you loved, it spoke to you in a way that you felt nobody else understood and you realised you couldn't articulate those feelings. Now you could point at that film and say "That, that's how I feel". I realise that I am showing my age, for me this series was incredibly nostalgic. I understand that there is a lot of information that flys by. Use the pause button. Write down every single film and watch them all. Use the privilege of the internet and digital media. Before you criticize a few people's opinions on movies form your own opinions on them and learn to accept the differences there in. I'd imagine that's what the intention of the film makers was. Inspire the love they have for films in others. For me they succeeded.

This isn't a "celebration" of movies - no fluff, no catering to those who watch a film to entertainingly kill a couple of hours. This series is for those who like to look deeply into the crystal ball that is modern cinema. Best of the six episodes in my opinion is "But I Don't Like Him," hosted by Drew McWeeny, a look at the film antihero, in which are combined hero and villain using elements from the protagonist's own psyche. The other episodes are good too, and well worth seeing as they investigate aspects of film that are often overlooked. Each episode is basically a short, lasting from seventeen to twenty-three minutes each, so they're easy to fit into your viewlist.

Some subjects are very good and have an informative point of view and some valuable info but some of them are pretty generic and good but prety classic and we already knew this. It will depend on your knowledge. For me, the tv show have some interesting parts. And some others not really. I alreasy knew some stuff. Very good and instructive.