From Annette Insdorf, Cinematic Overtures:
“When I was on the jury of the Berlin International Film Festival, our disparate group of artists and critics needed shared criteria for judging excellence. With the support of jury president Ben Kingsley, I proposed the following standards, which we adopted:
1. A meaningful or entertaining story, worth the proverbial price of admission.
2. A cinematic language appropriate for the tale being told and, in the best of cases, a stretching of form that widens cinematic storytelling.
3. A resonance that continues after the film is over — a philosophical or spiritual illumination of behavior that (forgive the potential corniness) makes us better human beings.
Most mainstream films fulfill the first category; many art films expand on the second; and a precious few manage to stimulate us via the third as well” (11-12).
As you watch Persona (or another film of your choosing that fulfills “Prof. Dademo’s Arbitrary Requirements for Week Nine Viewing”), I want you to evaluate whether or not the film meets Insdorf’s standards of excellence. Is the story “meaningful or entertaining”? Does the filmmaker use appropriate or interesting cinematic language? Does the film move the form of cinema in surprising or new directions? Does the film have something to say about humanity or existence? Will the film resonate after it’s over?
I think two full pages should be enough for this assignment, though you’re always allowed to write more.
