Does this contemporary movement represent a gentle resistance to the values of contemporary society—or a surrender to elitist aesthetics?
(December 18, 2023) by Bella Okuya
"[..] Consider, for example, Manakamana by Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez. It’s a highly regarded documentary, released in 2013, set in a cable car that carries diverse groups of pilgrims to visit Manakamana, a Hindu temple located atop a hill in Nepal. A camera in one of the cars records the reaction in real time of real people as they ascend to the temple. Some people talk, some sit in silence and admire the scenery, and others eat ice cream. This focus on the details of the everyday behaviours of people, and their reactions to this journey, offer us insight into the meaning of the temple for different visitors. Hindu pilgrims talk about myths, while tourists react to the sublime surroundings. [..]
[..] Some contributors to the recent anthology Slow Cinema point out that most slow films, even if they come from Asia, Latin America, or the Middle East, are financed by European institutions. Aren’t some of these filmmakers turning their back on native audiences, while documenting local cultures for the aesthetic appreciation of a privileged global elite?
In his book Poetics of Cinema, the filmmaker Raúl Ruiz gave one sort of response. Ruiz criticized what he called the “Central Conflict Theory,” a device used in most dramatic narratives in which A is positioned in opposition to B which generally positions the audience into taking sides. This is derived from French theories of classic tragedy, themselves inspired by Poetics of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. For Ruiz, however, a focus on “central conflict forces us to abandon all those events which require only indifference or detached curiosity, like a landscape, a distant storm, or dinner with friends.” Ruiz instead wanted films to explore the plotless mysteries of everyday life with unrushed patience. [..]"
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