Day sixty-four: The Film Critic (May, 12)

Browsing the Cable TV programming, I saw the synopses for The Film Critic (El Crítico), a 2013 Argentinean/Chilean co- production about which I've heard nothing before. I decided then to see it for the day sixty-four.

I love Argentinean cinema (a relatively small country with an outstanding filmography), and the storyline of this one seemed interesting. But, sometimes, the words describing a film are more enticing than the movie itself.

Made for movie lovers, The Film Critic has some smart, witty, funny movie's references. For a start, a guy that speaks Spanish but thinks in his favorite cinema's language, french, is so spot on that I started to wish this movie would work better than it really does. The idea of a cynic (and is there other kind?) film critic living the own kind of story he usually despises so strongly in a movie is a great argument. But it is not enough to make a good film. 

I don't like film critics much. The specialized movie's reviews generally are too classifying and prejudiced for my taste. I usually seek other opinions in blogs or on the imdb.com users comments. For me, the critics are so far away from what means cinema to me that I make an habit of avoiding them. And even if I'm not able to avoid some critic's elements in my comments here in this blog, I try to in every line. The film critic character reinforced that choice for me. He is so prejudiced, so locked up in his own concepts that the film front of him is nothing more than an analysis's subject. It is sad, really, that someone that sustains his love for cinema would reduce films to such a cold object. 

That aspect is discussed in this movie by the fall out of an over cynic guy that despises romantic comedies, but at the end sees himself living one. All the cliched elements are there, and he rejoices in each one of them. It would be funny if the story were better designed. The main character is boring, the secondaries are flat (even the niece, a character that would be amazing if better developed), the soundtrack is not attractive, the narrative's pace is not well conducted... and here it is, a movie's critic about The Film Critic. Not so interesting, isn't it?

At least, I really enjoyed the many cinema's references. But, at the end, as the character said, after two minutes my mind was elsewhere, the movie completely forgotten, until I had to write about it. 

The Film Critic (El Crítico). Directed and writen by Hernán Guerschuny.
With: Rafael Spregelburd, Dolores Fonzi, Blanca Lewin. Chile/Argentina,
2013, 98 min., Dolby, Color (Cable TV).