Monday, September 5, 2011

The Future

Miranda July's "The Future" is a film of incomprehensible prattle that has something to do with a couple adopting a dying cat (who provides narration) which drastically alters their future together. July garnered a lot of buzz a few years back with her debut film "Me and You and Everyone We Know", which was praised for its offbeat quirkiness. That was miles ahead of this, but still an example of critics overpraising something simply for being anomalous. I think we should look at July's films, as well as the films of her husband Mike Mills come to think about it, and ask ourselves what it is we are praising about these films. I came across a quote from July where she stated, "I'm not a cinephile. My films don't reference films. I'm more interested in rhythm and feeling." It would be in her best interest to familiarize herself with films made by qualified writer/directors who know how to achieve rhythm and feeling in their work, among other things.