Ebert is the kind of critic who helps people use movies to think about their lives, and who helps people to enjoy and appreciate even deeply flawed productions. Socrates says that the true lover of arguments loves all arguments. Ebert is on his way to being a true lover of movies. Also, Ebert lets movies be a starting point for other sorts of useful comments.
To give you a flavor of his work, I'll quote the last bit from his review of "The Five Senses":
"Interwoven stories like this can have a particular effect on me. Most movies tell linear plots in which the hero moves from A to B, accompanied by human plot devices. They can be very involving, but I also like the messiness of movies that cut from one story to another, showing how lives can intersect and separate.
Some people find these kinds of movies contrived. I think it is just the opposite. A to B stories are obviously plots. Stories like this one show that life goes on all around, and over and beneath, and inside, the artifice of plot."
This is good philosophy and helpful commentary. It suggests what lots of our intellectual life could be like, with just a bit more infused intelligence.
Posted by shea0017 at September 4, 2004 11:59 AM