Friday, March 09, 2007

Parashu on art of cinema

You know what, actually, 'Good cinema' or 'award cinema' is not meant for a layman, because it's goal is not to operate with cliches or existing audio-visual language. it is meant for those in the filmmaking trade, much like a trade journal or a concept car to those in the engineering or auto-industry. It's role in the system is to stretch beyond cliches, the form/content. Art cinema has the role of exploring new ways of telling stories. stretching the medium to its limits... the new idioms thus created eventually gets adopted into the mainstream/ commercial cinema.

In the media i have heard certain filmmakers and critics talk about good cinema as an opposite of commercial cinema.

'Good' is subjective, we could fight over what is good or not yet not find an answer. Good cinema. what the fuck is good cinema anyways.

commercial cinema is a term used to categorize films that play to the gallery, whose objective is to entertain, and titillate primal senses and aspirations of its viewers. It is called commercial cinema, because of its primary motive to make profit. Continuing to speak in the same breath; Good cinema doesn't play to the gallery. It has an arrogant stamp of its maker. Who says 'this is the way i want to say it, see it or go to sleep'. That is the way it is meant to be.

Let us face it. It is an art to entertain people. not every toms, chandrans, and harrys can do that. It is an art to entertain and make money. every filmmaker dreams of it. maybe not for moneys sake, but as an indicator of a being heard by a larger audience. (larger the audience more the money)

But why do we need the so called good cinema which will put a layman to sleep to have commercial release, ending up being a waste of money and precious time because it is not the audience it is meant for. Good cinema has rightful place in the cinema ecosystem when it is not seen as the opposite of commercial cinema. This is the bane of Art cinema in Kerala- The art filmmakers who see 'Good' Cinema as something against Commercial cinema. It has to be made with an aim to create new audio-visual idioms rather than stick to the form of film noir or cinema verite which unfortunately is the only genres made in the name of art films in this part of the world.

Short films | Made using DSLRs

Now with the Canon EOS 5D MKII , the boys can become men sooner. The rituals of climbing the filmmaking hierarchy will be a lot easier, ...