SMALL PRINT:IN THE last decade, everything from book-clubs to the internet has contributed to the idea that everyone is a critic.
The soapbox leveller of sipping wine while arguing about characters, or ranting online has buoyed up Harry Callahan's line in The Dead Pool:"Opinions are like assholes – everybody has one." A new IFI initiative taps into our collective urge to opine and tub-thump about cinema. Not just for Dirty Harryfans, or flaky book-club members who rent film versions of unfinished tomes, The Critical Take is interesting on various levels. Every month, a panel of three people (an IFI programmer, a filmmaker and a film critic) will discuss three movies with anyone who feels like turning up on the night. A mix of new and old work will feature and participants, as in a book-club, are expected to have seen the work in advance. Recent films from the cinema's schedule will feature, and including an IFI programmer on each panel should provide interesting insights into how the cinema chooses the work it screens.
"We hear so many conversations about film in the IFI bar after screenings," says IFI director Sarah Glennie. "Some people chat afterwards with friends over a drink, others have come on their own and often want someone to talk to about what they've just watched." There's plenty to talk about with the inaugural choices: Werner Herzog's The Cave of Forgotten Dreams; Before the Revolution, an early Bernardo Bertolucci work; and Essential Killing, a mostly dialogue-free film starring Vincent Gallo.
As well as the emergence of 3D in arthouse and wordless narratives, the audience won’t be short on discussion prompts. The format is loose, with audience participation central to how Critical Take develops.
"Of all art forms, film is the one people are most confident about expressing an opinion on," says Glennie, "and we want to hear those opinions." There's much to be said for face-to-face discussion over anonymous online fuming, not to mention that the internet doesn't allow for a potential in-person "I Am Spartacus" moment – "I hate this movie." "No, Ihate this movie."
The Critical Take takes place at the IFI, Dublin on April 27th. It’s free, but tickets must be reserved in advance. ifi.ie
