The Story of Film: A New Generation

Mark Cousins's 2021 documentary was made as a continuation of his fifteen-part history of cinema. This part covers the second decade of the two thousands and the period before and after the health crisis. Cousins's method is to build no hierarchy. A large-budget animation and a small independent film are compared in the same passage; the measure is not box office or prestige but how a film solves a particular problem. Cousins narrates and the text is close to essay. Some choices are personal and open to argument; the documentary does not conceal this and says outright that it offers a point of view. Films shot on phones and the serial form are given their own space. Who it's for: those who like histories of cinema and the essay documentary. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a comprehensive survey of the period; the selection is narrow and rests on personal preference.