100% RT

[deleted]

I totally second every word of that ^^!

Unorthodox Cinema Critique Since 2009.

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I just really can't see anyone but pretentious cinephiles liking this or ones of those mentioned feeling like they have to like it cause it got 100% on R.T.

Or, you know... Maybe people just like different things than you?

As someone who has seen all of Panahi's films and who considers him one of my favorite filmmakers, I really enjoyed this film and the chance it offered to get a look at the day-to-day life of a great filmmaker as he waits in legal limbo. I was particularly fascinated by the scenes of him describing and "acting out" his screenplay now that we're unlikely to ever see it turned into a film. I even appreciated how he managed to create compelling, humanizing "mini-stories" out of, for example, his encounter with the garbage collector. It's a film of lots of (imo) fascinating little details that add up to something surprising power. To me, it's a testament to his power as a storyteller that he still managed to turn this "non-story" into something compelling.

Yes, it's a film whose dramatic power largely depends on its context - but that's acceptable, in my opinion. Maybe you don't think a film should have to rely on the context in which it was made to be effective - and that's fine too. But perhaps you still haven't realized that there are a lot of different people in the world, and trying to shoehorn everyone who comes to a different opinion about a film than you into one or two different categories ("pretentious" or "slave to the Tomatometer") is a fool's game.

Look, we can all name lots of widely acclaimed/beloved films that we dislike (or hate.) That doesn't mean that everyone who likes those films is lying or jumping on a bandwagon - rather, it's a testament to the fact that everyone has their own unique taste and no work of art is going to appeal to everyone. There's no need to engage in this "here's what's wrong with you for reacting differently to a work of art than me" pseudo-psychoanalysis. In fact, that kind of pseudo-analysis is far more pretentious than liking this film.

Maybe there are a handful of people who just pretend to like it to look "cool" or whatever - but you're fooling yourself if you think those make up a significant number of self-proclaimed fans of the film. In reality, the opinions of most of those who liked the film are just as legitimate and honest as yours, just as your opinions about the film (but not your opinions about those who have a different opinion about the film) are presumably just as legitimate and honest as mine. In short, if you assume that people are being honest in their stated opinions of a film, you're going to be right far more often than you'll be wrong.

So yeah, I liked the film. I leave it up to you now to tell me whether that makes me "pretentious" or someone who feels obligated to live by the Tomatometer.

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Of course, with all that said, it's clear that you're either a hipster nihilist contrarian who feels the need to attack acclaimed films every once in a while, or you're a pretentious cinephile who rejects anything that doesn't conform to your very pretentious standards of filmmaking. Yep, that's it.

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On a side note, it should be pointed out that there are almost certainly no more than about 5 people in the world (at max) who let a Tomatometer score dictate their opinion of a film.

"I thought this film was terrible and boring, but since it has a high score on Rotten Tomatoes I must have liked it" - said no one in the world, ever.

I suppose on a clear day you can see the class struggle from here

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