Criterion on Social Media

[ianthemovie]

Ever since watching Hannah Einbinder's closet video I've been puzzling over her comment about The Before Trilogy: "This is a bisexual text. I don't think I need to elaborate on that. The reasons why that's true I think are evident." I realize she's being a little bit flippant but I honestly have no idea what she's talking about. What am I missing?

[HinkyDinkyTruesmith]

I suppose there's something bisexual about the way a viewer could (should?) fall in love with both Jesse and Celine.

[ianthemovie]

That thought occurred to me (and I can certainly agree with the sentiment). Her phrasing made me wonder whether she was implying the film was queer-coded in some way that I hadn't considered but maybe that's all she meant.

[tolbs1010]

Inconsequential minor gripe alert!

Thoroughly enjoy the Closet videos, but it often highlights that most of these celebrities haven't dived too deeply into the Criterion pool, despite all of them expressing reverence for the label. Especially the more recent ones I've seen. They are usually choosing well-known all-time favorite films with a heavy lean towards American films, or British films by the Brit actors. This is understandable, but I don't want to hear someone stand in front of this wealth of cinema and talk about freaking Tootsie! Or Cassavetes for the umpteenth time. Part of the fun of watching these videos is the surprise when a celebrity picks some less well-known titles.

If I were famous and had the privilege of picking titles in the Closet, I wouldn't pick my favorite films that Criterion just happened to have released. I would highlight titles that Criterion made me aware of and/or titles that I knew of but hadn't seen because they were not easily available in a decent format before Criterion released them. I would want to express how Criterion has broadened my taste and appreciation for cinema over the past few decades.

Then again, these people are busy creating art. They're probably not watching 5 or 6 films a week like me. Except Soderbergh. He should do one of these if he hasn't already.

[DimitriL]

I mean, they can’t all be deep dives, but I do love it when someone surprises us like Channing Tatum and Zoe Kravitz, who had some lovely and insightful choices.(Paris is Burning! The Koker Trilogy! But they’re both Soderbergh-adjacent, so maybe they have genuine film passion in common.)

[beamish14]

Cassavetes is someone who is particularly catnip for actors, so it doesn’t surprise me that so many pick his films. Withnail and I had become a cliche at this point, too

[tolbs1010]

I do love it when someone surprises us like Channing Tatum and Zoe Kravitz, who had some lovely and insightful choices.(Paris is Burning! The Koker Trilogy! But they’re both Soderbergh-adjacent, so maybe they have genuine film passion in common.)

That was a good one. Noah Wyle's recent one was also enjoyable, even if he chose all English-language films. His passion for cinema came through.

Cassavetes is someone who is particularly catnip for actors, so it doesn’t surprise me that so many pick his films. Withnail and I had become a cliche at this point, too

True and true.