Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Lightdeossk Captivating movie !

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain This film means I no longer feel bad about how many films I watch. It's a rather depressing tale about how far obsessions really can go, but also how they can comfort those with mental disorders. Clearly there's some debate as to what is normal. The people themselves justify their actions by saying that normal is just what everybody else is like, and who wants to be like everyone else. While this is certainly true, there are limits. They live on the cheap, have very few social skills, and even plan their diets to make sure their bathroom stops are predictable. There are some genuinely sad moments, such as Roberta's reaction to being comforted about the horses dying. She seems genuinely taken aback and devastated when she is told "They weren't really hurt, it's just a movie." "Why would you say that?" comes her response "You can't suspend disbelief for everything else and not that.". We also hear testimony about her physically attacking a woman that tore her ticket stub. When it reaches a point that dreams are films and nightmares are on video, and saying that sex with real people would be disappointing because it wouldn't be in black and white, it all gets a bit sad. Cinema should be an escape from life, these people need a life to escape cinema.

mcshortfilm We've seen these types of people before. I used to work at an old movie theater where one of these "cinemaniac" types was a regular customer. He would arrive very early between shows, waiting in the lobby and eat popcorn. Occasionally he would strike up a conversation and repeat a lot of the same stories like "you know, one of my best friends is William Shatner's personal secretary!" This man and the people documented in "Cinemania" are not people we want to pay much attention to. When we hear them, we may be amused by their quirkiness but eventually we just want to get away from them. We feel pity for them because they seem so oblivious. One minute of looking at these people and we know what their problem is. They need to get a life. Instead of investigating their inner demons, the filmmakers decide to show the attractive qualities of these characters which is that they all love films. These are not the typical film buffs who obsess over Star Trek or Lord of the Rings. These are the types that are obsessed with "art" films. Despite their obsessive compulsive behavior, it is nice to see Americans who are passionate about films by Wim Wenders, Jean Luc Godard, Tarkovsky, and Truffaut. Their taste in films is rare in this country. One of the characters, Roberta takes film culture so seriously that she feels it is an insult to serve popcorn and snacks at the theater. Eric calls a theater and asks if the film playing that day is being shown on a new 35-mm print because otherwise, he won't see it. Another guy has a business card with a title like "philosopher, French New Wave, Godard expert". At one point in the film, we see him writing a blurb for an online dating service and one of his other film geeks is critiquing it. Unfortunately, we know he's not being very objective. The problem I had with this documentary was that it seemed to be mocking these people to the point where it was disturbing. There's not much we learn about these people other then the fact that they all share a form of obsessive compulsive behavior. One of the most depressing scenes was when two friends were sitting in a messy apartment watching an old movie on the VCR. The scene runs too long and the camera zooms right into their faces to show off their twitches and creepy expressions. It seems as though the film was trying to be therapeutic to these characters. At times, there are bits of revelations that we hear. "I watch these old films of Greta Garbo because it's a better alternative to watching porn all the time". That was a positive sign but by the end we just get a hopeless feeling about them. They're living as if they were in a movie, stuck in fantasy and never able to get out. Maybe, that's good for them but this film didn't make me think so.

LeRoyMarko This documentary tells the story of five New Yorkers obsessed with movies. They live for films, doing nothing else. At some point in the documentary, I ask myself the question: do they have a depressing life or do they live in a dream world? Because, I think I would be able to live this kind of life. I'm a big fan of lists, of IMDB of course and of movie houses. Cinema truly offers an escape door to our daily life. At the same time, to find refuge in films, I would have to abandon a lot of things. Then, I'm not so sure I want to live this life! One fact is for sure, after seeing this documentary, you want to see more movies! And explore new fields. It's voyeurism at its best because the documentary doesn't give us too much information about the five movie buffs. It stays on the surface, using the five New Yorkers almost as freaks, deconnected from real life. There's a certain lack of details to the documentary.Out of 100, I gave it 76. That's good for **½ out of ****.Seen at home, in Toronto, on May 2nd, 2004.

pozzi-3 A homage to the obsessive-compulsive essential New York normal schizophrenic in the form of a film buff. How better to characterize this great town than with portraits of it's neurotic citizens. We love New York and New York loves the movies.