A decade after his fifteen hour long magnum opus Story of Film: An Odyssey influenced global film thought, the esteemed critic and filmmaker Mark Cousins has returned to Cannes with an ambitious new chapter in his analysis series: The Story of Film: A New Generation.
In his widely lauded update to cinematic innovation around the globe, Cousins examines the most relevant, groundbreaking world cinema from 2010 to 2021. He gazes upon a surprising range of works to explore the evolution of filmmaking technology, themes and motives – including Joker, Frozen, Black Panther, Parasite, Midsommar, and Holy Motors.
Among these titans of culture, Cousins also cites 5 Indian works as some of the most influential films of contemporary cinema. These include Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur, Rajkumar Hirani’s PK, Anand Patwardhan’s documentary Reason, and Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus.
Ship of Theseus, with its theme of illness, healing, and renewal, is held up by Cousins as a cinematic exemplar of the transitions that mankind is witnessing today as it sits on the brink of a process that could change it beyond recognition. Nearly a decade after its release, Ship of Theseus continues to be hailed by critics and audiences as one of the subcontinent’s greatest modern films.
