When you make a film, you steel yourself for reviews. You know intellectually that not everyone will be a fan. Like real life, most documentaries are flawed. Your characters aren’t make believe. There’s no script for them to follow. You can’t just make shit up.
And indeed, as expected there have been 2 kinds of reviews – love and hate. Luckily, for my emotional well-being, the positive reviews run at 75%. I’m happy with that. Especially when they come from film critics whose opinions I respect.
What I wasn’t prepared for were the personal attacks. Yes, I know that I set myself up for it. After all, I chose to put myself into the film. Frankly, I tried everything not to have to do that. But the film needed a narrator to tie it together and well, I didn’t think a celebrity voice over would do. How would I explain their connection to the film? So I tried to limit my on screen time and voice over so as not to take over the film but rather guide it along. And most people got it.
But this past week, I saw this comment on a blog “review” of the film: “her shrill nasal tones were totally inappropriate as the narrator. “ Really, he didn’t like my voice? Another reviewer thought I looked and talked like a schoolteacher. Must be the glasses. I made this movie to start a conversation about issues. Real issues. And some critics really get it: “Beer Wars is a pretty damning indictment of not just the beer industry but contemporary unfettered unregulated capitalism’s disturbing excesses.” Now you’re talking. So you can insult me all you want. But can we please focus on the issues? And how to fix them. Because much as I try, my voice is here to stay. And yes, I’m working on closed captioning…
Tags: criticism
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Oh, man. I actually started laughing when I read this — because it made me think of all the truly weird criticism my books have come in for:
“I didn’t like the characters.” (Really? They’re real people. It’s history.)
“The paper is too thin.” (Get over it.)
“I couldn’t keep all the characters straight.” (Uh, turn on your brain?)
“The font is ugly.” (Get over it.)
“I didn’t like the ending.” (Get over yourself.)
“I didn’t like her philosophy.” (Uh — history is factual, not philosophical?)
You get my drift. As you and I know, writing and film making require thick skins. (We’ll keep commiserating while we wait for those who “get it.”)
don’t let the personal attacks get to you. as you know, i appreciated the documentary and thought it was well done. in a few years, i’d love to see a follow-up. what’s changed? what hasn’t? was it for good or for bad?
thinking never hurt anyone. at least, it never hurt me, and Beer Wars does a good job of engaging/encouraging people to think which goodness knows we need more of that these days.
keep up the good work!
I do have thick skin. I’m still amazed by the audacity of people who are not qualified to be critics to voice their opinion as though just having online access gives them credibility. I’m more amused than upset.
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Just watched the movie last night, downloaded it on the PS3.
I thought you did a brilliant job.
Not once did I feel like you were forcing your views on me. Indeed the film is on the side of the small guy in the beer buiness, but you make that clear in the first 10 minutes; a person can digest that and get on with watching the movie.
It’s the internet….put your tinfoil hat on, and get ready for the most asinine comments you have ever seen.
Good luck with it all and hope to see more productions in the future.
You know, I thought this movie was good but had its draw backs as well. However, I don’t expect anything to be perfect and I respect the fact that Anat took the approach that she did. I think it is an interesting subject and there is a lot of information out there that needs to be brought to the public eye.
I think the reason it comes under so much scrutiny is because it seemed to be marketed as more of a craft brewing movie and people went into it thinking they were going to learn more about beer and the people that make it, not the politics and business behind it. This beer was targeted at craft brew drinkers when it should have been targeted at mass produced commercial beer drinkers.
I think it might have gotten a better review overall that way.
I did watch it, twice, and like most people had a few things to say about it.
You can check out the full review on my site.
Thanks
Review of Beer Wars
I enjoyed Beer Wars but I was hoping there would be more focus on the really…really small entrepreneurs who were making beer in their garage and then opening up brewpubs across the country. These are the folks in the trenches that we can relate to…instead we see small business people investing millions of dollars in breweries. Small they are when compared with AB or Coors…but still… a bit beyond the normal realm of small mom & pops. And Anat’s focus on Rhonda’s caffiene laced beer….she spent too much time on someone who isn’t a brewer but a marketer simply selling a “concept drink” instead of a bonifide microbrew. Not the same folks…not the same. Oh and by the way…Anat …I’m not an allergist but if you’re allergic to “alcohol” then you are in trouble..’cuz the human body produces alcohol on its own… I think you might be allergic to either the yeast or some other malt-beverage component.