I was excited when I discovered the existence of this sequel to "The Story of Film: An Odyssey" at the library. Unfortunately, it comes nowhere near the greatness of the original series, as it's a thinly connected mess of little coherence. I was excited to see the last decade of cinema summed up and have lines and threads I might not have thought about before drawn up for me, but unfortunately there are few big lines to see throughout the film. Cousin's just rambles on from one thing to the next, connecting the films only by his own stream of consciousness. For the most part, he just narrates what's going on onscreen in a single scene he's decided to feature, without telling you why this film is of any interest at all. There are some parts that connect more than others, and after talking about "The Look of Silence" and "The Act of Killing", he keeps his act together for a while, before the film starts rambling again. Unlike the original series, I haven't gotten the urge to watch a lot of the films I hadn't seen before, because the film gives me too little insight into what's good about the films, or why they're important.
Review of The Story of Film: A New Generation
