It feels right now that film lovers have two choices: they can see whatever big studios are trying to make popular, which is pretty much Marvel movies, or they can pick from an assortment of movies made for adults, which are a bunch of gloomy films about grief and loss.
Is this where the global pandemic has left the film world? I'm not averse to grief as a theme in movies, and I understand why it's such a popular one to explore right now. But I don't want a steady diet of it. I adored "Nomadland" from last year, and felt like that movie said all there was that needed to be said about the subject. Now I'd like some movies that explore other things.
"Drive My Car" did not resonate with me at all. It's objectively a good movie. But it's just too static and long. This is one three-hour movie where I felt every minute of the running time. I can understand why other people would respond a lot to it, but I personally didn't connect.
One thing I did appreciate is the film's last scene, where we see people wearing masks in a Covid world. That's the first time I've seen a current movie acknowledge that the pandemic is happening at all, which made me realize how bizarre it is that all these other movies are taking place in a world where it doesn't exist.
Grade: B+
Is this where the global pandemic has left the film world? I'm not averse to grief as a theme in movies, and I understand why it's such a popular one to explore right now. But I don't want a steady diet of it. I adored "Nomadland" from last year, and felt like that movie said all there was that needed to be said about the subject. Now I'd like some movies that explore other things.
"Drive My Car" did not resonate with me at all. It's objectively a good movie. But it's just too static and long. This is one three-hour movie where I felt every minute of the running time. I can understand why other people would respond a lot to it, but I personally didn't connect.
One thing I did appreciate is the film's last scene, where we see people wearing masks in a Covid world. That's the first time I've seen a current movie acknowledge that the pandemic is happening at all, which made me realize how bizarre it is that all these other movies are taking place in a world where it doesn't exist.
Grade: B+