Hello, my name is Travis Bean. And I’m a cinephile. I’ve seen thousands of movies, and I hope to see thousands of more before I die. As part of that journey, I like to go on little quests along the way by exploring little pockets of film history. Important cinematic movements, director’s entire filmographies, the strangest of subgenres—it’s all fair game as I dive deeper and deeper into movie history. In an effort motivate myself to keep on that path, I’ve decided to keep a diary that tracks all my different quests. Here, I will house my many different ventures, linking out to separate pages where I focus on specific sections of film history.
The aim of this plight is to capture the cinephile’s journey, to record my thoughts as I jump from movie to movie and increase my understanding of film. I hope to challenge myself to think beyond single films and piece movies into a larger whole—I’m talking about the realm of cinema, of course, but more importantly I’m referring to my personal canon. Every cinephile’s journey is different, and my hope is that by challenging myself to think more critically of movies, by putting my story to paper and creating a larger personal narrative, I’ll inspire others to do the same, to think of their own cinephile journeys as important autobiographical examinations. Art imitates life, and vice versa—we should see ourselves in our films, in our art, and that understanding of ourselves only deepens as we not only link movies together, but link the personal effects movies have on us together.
So without further ado, allow me to start my cinephile journey.
The Films of Federico Fellini
First up, I will be diving into the filmography of Federico Fellini. I recently purchase the Criterion Collection’s “Essential Fellini” boxset, so I’m feeling inspired to watch every single movie, as well as every single bonus feature, which includes interviews, documentaries, commentaries, and essays, and record my reactions to Fellini’s filmography as I digest his body of work. I’ve always admired Fellini, but I feel there’s a deeper connection I’m awaiting to discover. Fellini is bold, very visual, and autobiographical in the most exciting of ways. I think Fellini will inspire me to think more deeply about my own story, about how we can embellish the mundane details of life into an extraordinary self-examination.
