Film, the measure of all things

One of the foremost German directors working today, Christian Petzold is a filmmaker of singular vision. Drawing from classic films, Petzold finds inventive ways of reimagining known tropes for modern times as in Transit (2018), a faithful adaptation of Anna Seghers’ novel of the same name that also comments on the obstacles facing asylum-seekers in Europe today. His latest film, Silver Bear Winner Afire, concerns a writer struggling to complete his latest novel in a seaside German town threatened by escalating wildfires.

However, Apichatpong’s fixation on the experiential nature of cinema has led him to discourage filmmakers from more literal-minded approaches to the medium. “Many people are really focused on the image and the technique,” he said. “For me, it is more important that the journey is really, really mindful. The idea is to listen to the world and yourself because you can get lost a lot with all different noises and media expressions.”

In concocting a genuine word-of-mouth theatrical hit (with more than $100 million worldwide, it’s by far A24’s biggest success), had they singularly disproved the theory that Hollywood originality is dead, or had they inadvertently confirmed it by making a derivative Marvel-adjacent superhero movie in indie drag?

Why did it take so long for the west to acknowledge the depth and sophistication of a national cinema that had already been undergoing steady developments for half a century?