The Film Section Manifesto

I had intended to start this article with the definition of “manifesto”: a declaration of policy by sovereign, commander or body of persons. I used the little “Collins English Gem Dictionary” kept on my bedside to look it up. It is a little beat-up pocket dictionary that is older than I am. As I picked it up, I opened it to the “How to Use this Dictionary” section and accidentally read a few sentences. “Words and language are animate things and contain within themselves the quintessence of their own immortality… language does not die, nor can its growth and expansion be contained or halted.” If you replace “words and language” with Story, then I think you have an approximation of my thoughts on film. It is humanity’s need and desire for Stories that tell us some kernel of “truth” that drives so much of our culture. Film is one of the newest forms of Storytelling—different from theatre, different from novels, different from photography. Videogames are a form of Storytelling in its infancy (who can deny that BioShock is a story?), but who can tell what other nascent forms of Story are out there?

So what does this all mean? We’re going to be reviewing movies – and pretty much any movie at that. In the next few weeks there should be reviews of “The Fall”, “Star Trek”, “Observe & Report”, “My Neighbor Totoro”, “All About My Mother”, “The Road Warrior” and “Kingdom of Heaven”. As you’ll see, our reviews won’t be quite the typical sort of review – a bit more in depth than usual. We won’t be as prolific as Roger Ebert or as controversial as Armond White, but we hope to give you a different perspective than you’ll find in your local paper (if they still have a film section at all). We’ll post some older articles looking at some of my favourite movies of each year. We’ll post some lists of things to look forward to this year (“The Lovely Bones”, “Martyrs”, “Avatar” or “Inglourious Basterds”). Any interesting movie news I come across, I’ll post here first and finally, but not least, we’ll post a list of what I think of as my Film Canon – My Top 100 Films for 100 Rainy Days. This list will be a work in progress, so check back to see when the next one is posted.

And remember, Story does not die, nor can its growth and expansion be contained or halted – thank God!