I watch a fair few films, though recently I haven’t been going to the cinema as much. That’s more to do with the quality of films available (if there’s anything that will kill cinema, it will be the dearth of quality).
That doesn’t mean I watch more films at home per se, as if I’ve gone in the opposite direction and sided with home releases, but if I do miss out on a cinema release, I’m not as fussed about waiting for the home release.
I missed out on watching Predator: Badlands, which I wanted to see in the cinema, but after a couple of weeks it became increasingly hard to find it at a nearby cinema. I ended up waiting for that to hit Disney+.
But this week, while opening the MUBI app for the first time in a while, I saw that it had Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value on it. I’d added The Worst Person in the World on the service a while ago and hadn’t got round to watching it yet. So, I thought I’d watch that as a primer since I’d not seen a Trier film before, then watch Sentimental Value afterwards.
Sentimental Value is opening in UK cinemas this week, but I found it rare to be able to see a film on streaming before cinemas. A sign of the changing times? Possibly, but I don’t think it’s a good one.
I did not have a great experience watching Sentimental Value at home. And it’s all my own fault.
Too many distractions
My experience watching The Worst Person in the World should have been a clue.
The amount of times I stopped the film, either to have a look at something on another screen, or looking away from the screen to eat dinner – I was in distraction mode. I still enjoyed the film but I hadn’t noticed my own behaviour at the time – it was just the case of watching a film at home, like everyone else. The film fits into my schedule, not the other way around.
Sentimental Value felt different, at least in my head. “It’s a new release, I should pay more attention to what’s happening”, I thought. I need to find a dedicated time – not be interrupted, focus on what’s happening etc.
The first time I watched it, I got through an hour before I stopped because it was late and I was tired. Silly me.
I reconvened the next night. But it didn’t feel right starting in the middle of the film. What if I missed some important detail, a reference, a cinematic sleight of hand that’s repaid in the second, and obviously more emotional half of the film?
I should start again.
I get through even less this time. “I forgot, there’s the Short Skate events going on at the Winter Olympics. That’s live, I can’t miss that. Real Madrid are playing Benfica, I should watch some of that as well. Can’t miss out on live events when I can always come back to this film”.
Off I close the MUBI app. I’ll come to this film later. The next day, in the afternoon at the office. I’m testing a TV, I think to myself, I’ll give Sentimental Value a look on this Philips OLED910. I restart the film, get drawn into the story – lunch is over, back to work.
I restart it again in the evening. Noticed aspects I hadn’t paid attention to the first time. Stop and start the film because I’m getting notifications from my phone through my smartwatch. I’m too connected. I get through the film – it’s really good by way – but the experience could have been much better. And that is on me.
The reason why we need cinemas
Sure, I could turn this into a prayer for why we need cinemas, but this scattershot, stop-and-start experience I had watching Sentimental Value affected my, well, first multiple viewings.
Being able to sit in the dark, in a sort of silence, with no distractions or interruptions, would have made for a better experience. Perhaps I wouldn’t have understood everything about the film on the first watch, I wouldn’t have been able to restart or rewind, but I think it would have stuck in my mind more.
I would have wanted to revisit the film, maybe in cinemas, but it wouldn’t have been spotlit in the way it was. It would have had my undivided attention, and I would have been more invested in its story, characters and emotions.
Ultimately, I still was, but the clutter in my mind from all the devices I have by my side affected the viewing experience. Just because I can look at my phone or laptop and have a conversation with a friend about investments (it’s a thing I’m doing) doesn’t mean I should.
It’s an obvious thought – there’s nothing new here – but this is probably the first time I’ve watched a film at home before it’s been released in cinemas, and the flip-around is not something I enjoyed.
I will likely go to the cinemas and catch Sentimental Value – to give the attention it deserves. While streaming offers convenience, with a good-quality TV and sound system, it’s a decent approximation of a cinema experience, but it can’t beat it in my mind, for no other reason than we’re all slaves to our devices and to what’s happening elsewhere.
Sometimes, it’s better just to be disconnected from the outside world, and that’s an experience cinema offers better than any other medium.
