-- quote by an un-named director in Kenneth Turan's book Sundance to Sarajevo
Ah so true! In an instinctive way, people have the ability to decipher what is going on in a film even if they don't speak the language; audiences can atleast make out the nature of the conversation from the expressions and body language of the characters despite not understanding the words. This is unlike a book where if one does not know the language, no amount of staring at the page will help. Words and languages written on a page require a good deal of literacy if one is to understand the meaning.
Ofcourse, people's level of literacy varies when it comes to cinema. One can say that in the classroom of international cinema, we are all students. Some might be at an undergraduate level, some chasing a post doctorate while others might be enrolled in a masters program. And even if a person can claim expertise in one genre or nation, there are plenty of other cinematic cultures to study.
In a way, Acquarello's and Michael Guillen's blog names point towards such a cinematic education.
I can't speak for Michael but most of my education in film has come from evening and some late night classes. Very rarely have I found the time to attend day time classes, but as soon as the sun goes down, well my makeshift film school comes to life.
PS: Even though Girish's blog does not have a 'school' in its title, in reality it is a film education and continuing cinematic learning center in disguise :)
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