This is such a low-key look at what Chicago was really like in 1968. The director was clever enough to get the cameraman to shoot the Guardmen at City Hall and a couple of the demonstrations. The closing scene is priceless.
This was, no doubt, an important movie. This is, no doubt, a relevant movie. But this wasn't a movie I actually enjoyed until the very end. The last ten minutes made the first hour and fifty worth it all. Such a very powerful image to finish on. The rest of the movie, however, felt disjointed and vague, like it wasn't sure what it was talking about or where it was going. It had so many points to make that none of them seemed to stand out until the very end.
Part documentary, part love story, Medium Cool is a prime example of American cinema in its ascendancy during the late 1960s/early 1970s. Combining societal, political and cultural commentary with innovative shooting techniques and off-beat editing, Wexler's attack on the growing influence and abuse of power by the media is delivered with genuine, raw energy.
Actual footage of the brutal battle between protestors and soldiers/police during the 1968 Democratic Convention effectively creates a palpable tension and captures the emotions swiriling around the US at time. Unfortunately, the overarching love story between the unlikely couple feels rather lightweight given the context it is set in and the relationship feels like more like filler than a strong plot vehicle.
Nonetheless the "documentary" aspect is an invigorating piece of cinema and should prove essential to those interested in the New Wave American cinema period or 20th Century American politics in general.
I do not doubt its greatness. It just was not my cup of tea...in between the sweet opening shots and the REAL FOOTAGE OF THE 68 CHICAGO CRISIS. watch out haskell. it is really cool indeed.
" Fictional documentary" doesn't completely work, but it's fascinating nonetheless. Wexler shows he can direct, and the film looks great as one would expect. Chicago is the setting, and is perhaps the film's main character. One of Robert Forster's earliest films.
MCT:May 4, 2007
MCT:December 5, 2006
MCT:November 16, 2006
