The Story of Film: A New Generation (2021) – Review

If you are a fan of Mark Cousins and his documentaries, make sure to pick up The Complete Story of Film which was just released from Music Box Films. I received a copy for review and it’s wonderful. I’ve recommended The Story of Film: An Odyssey to all of my film students and I think it’s a must watch for movie lovers. This review is for The Story of Film: A New Generation (2021), which focuses on movies released between 2010 and 2021. 

Quick Thoughts – Grade – A – What I love most about this documentary is its dedication to finding and recommending films that offer something new and exciting. I’d never heard of many of these films and now my watchlist has been vastly expanded. 

Opening up with a discussion about Joker (2019) and Frozen (2013), Cousins the director, writer and narrator of this documentary lets the audience know that no movie is too big or small to be discussed in this update to his beloved The Story of Film: An Odyssey. Throughout the 167-minute documentary Cousins references Under the Skin, It Follows, Black Panther, Holy Motors, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Song of the Sea, High Life, The Act of Killing and dozens of other films and documentaries that gave audiences something new. Whether it’s offering something new to the comedy genre (Booksmart, Deadpool, PK), or showcasing bodies in a unique way (Hustlers, XXY, High Life), Cousins is obsessed with finding cinema that excites him and makes him say “I’ve never seen that before.” 

Most importantly, Cousins realizes that interesting movies and documentaries are made in every corner of the world  and they offer important looks into other cultures and people. Growing up I never really watched international films and it wasn’t until a film studies class in college when my world was opened up to the cinema of South Korea, India, China, Japan, Sweden, and Brazil. It was a big moment for me and for someone who had never traveled outside of the United States, these films and documentaries offered me a look into places that seemed very far away from Florida. I love showing The Story of Film: An Odyssey to my students because it does an excellent job of expanding their cinema vocabulary and lets them know how worldwide cinema has been formed and molded into what it is now. 

You really need to watch these documentaries and I hope you add some cool movies to your watchlist.