Film After Film: Or, What Became of 21st Century Cinema?

Hoberman, senior film critic at the Village Voice, posits in the preface to this erudite study that the switch from photographic to digital technology, along with the events of 9/11 (particularly as a visual spectacle), have irrevocably altered modern cinema. In Part I, he explores the impact of CGI, using films like The Matrix and Avatar as case studies to explore "The New Realness," and goes on to diagnose the "anxiety" inherent in 21st-century films. Part II explicitly examines the effect of the President Bush years on the state of the art, exploring the politics of film studio schedules, and the guilt of post-9/11 filmmakers, an artistic malaise corroborated by Adorno's notion that "He who imagines disasters in some way desires them." Finally, in Part III, Hoberman (Bridge of Light) provides "Notes Toward a Syllabus," 21 brief essays on "quintessentially twenty-first century motion pictures," including David Lynch's Inland Empire, Joe Swanberg's LOL, Julia Loktev's Day Night Day Night, and Lars von Trier's Dogville. An invaluable resource for students of contemporary cinema, Hoberman's treatise will nevertheless prove an enjoyable read for dedicated movie fans and cultural critics. (Aug.)