Robert Eggers uses the technology of film to create immersive experiences of psychological time travel; no one else is doing quite this project. The Northman is meant to make you feel like you are a true believer in Norse mythology living in tenth century, and it’s a trip, man
Conversation
oh man is there a term for this sort of immersion into subjectivity in film criticism? i really want a way to talk about it, it seems like by far the most interesting way to use the medium
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Pasolini calls it “poetic cinema,” though there isn’t really a standard usage of that term. Wrote about that here:
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this is gorgeous, thank you for sharing 🥲 you’ve definitely sold me on watching this movie
i think movies that aren’t upfront about their subjectivity are kinda pretending to an objectivity they don’t and can’t have
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i think about how novels used to insist on having frame stories: the narrator is supposed to be a real specific character who either experienced or was told about some events that they’re telling you about. film can pretend that no narrativizing has happened but it’s not true
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I think you don’t have to pick one character’s POV to tell a story from but I do think knowing what POV we’re seeing any given scene through helps us know what kind of experience we’re meant to be having
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right! i like novels that switch between multiple first-person narrators for this reason although i don’t really know any classy examples, the megamorphs books did this at least 😅