“I didn’t see Knight of Cups when it came out because, I told friends, all I needed to do was close my eyes and imagine it. I already knew it by heart. But time and VOD and an ex-critic’s sense of obligation forced my hand and tonight I watched it. All of it. I can be as much of a cinema snob as the next fellow. I even have soft spots in my heart for Brackage and Tarr. But really?” — Paul Schrader, Facebook-posted on 6.25.16.
Schrader responder: “The film reminds me of what Brando did when he parodied himself in The Freshman. He was saying ‘fuck you, I never cared about any of it’.” [Wells intervention: Which is a complete lie. Of course Brando cared during his Streetcar-to-Waterfront heyday & again during his early ’70s comeback period (Godfather, Tango) — he began to lose interest after that but he was obviously invested before.]
“It’s easy to forget that Days of Heaven was considered experimental and non-linear and people reacted to it by saying it was incredibly boring to sit through.” [Wells intervention: No, it wasn’t. Not by people with brain matter. It was generally regarded as a close relation of Badlands, lovers on the run fused with that dreamy, pastoral thing. Anyone who called Days of Heaven “boring” when it opened in ’78 was immediately discredited.]
“Similarly 50 years from now people will consider Knight of Cups to be supremely narrative and not experimental in the least.” Wells interjection: Bullshit.
“Malick is also saying ‘fuck you’ to the people who’ve been rejecting him for decades.” Wells interjection: “Decades”? The Great Malick Rejection began with To The Wonder and reached gale force in the wake of Knight of Cups.