When it comes to cinema, there is always the unfortunate realization that it will come to an end (just like everything else). However, there is still some life to it. And filmmakers Wim Wenders and Lubna Playoust have crafted two films that express the highs and lows of this ever-evolving art form, one that continues to equally surprise and confound people.
Buy Room 666/Room 999 Blu-rayIn Room 666 (1982), Wenders gathered such legendary directors as Godard, Herzog, Fassbinder, Spielberg, Antonioni, Susan Siedelman, and Yilmaz Guney to wonder and come up with their own interpretation on the future of cinema with the essential question: “Is cinema a language about to get lost, an art about to die?” In their own way, they explain the future of cinema while expressing concerns about the medium and how television and video is kind of taking away the essence of watching movies in theaters.
In Room 999 (2023), Playoust expands on this idea while asking contemporary directors like David Cronenberg, Claire Denis, Lynne Ramsay, James Gray, Baz Luhrmann, Olivier Assayas, Ruben Ostlund, Asghar Farhadi, among others, to answer the question in their own terms.
Both films insightfully capture the state of cinema and ponder the so-called “advancements” of technology (streaming and physical media) and how distributions can make or break the film industry. They also showcase the politics and culture that are also evolving (for better or worse) which are changing this art form as we know it.
Despite both films only taking place in the one room, I think you will find something very stimulating and challenging about them, especially if you find film talk illuminating. Cinema itself always has that effect on you, to make you think about the world, and that’s one of the many reasons why it is always, in my opinion, the best art form.
Supplements include a new interview with Playoust, and trailer. There is also an essay by writer and artist Michael Joshua Rowin.
