Two movies, both alike in indignity, in the ’90s, where we lay our scene. Because neither Videoheaven nor Pavements—both putatively non-fictional pop-culture essay films written and directed by Alex Ross Perry—have officially been released, programmed at a festival, or even announced via trailers or posters, it’s tricky to write about their intricacies, either as standalone works or in conversation with one another. Even if you don’t believe in the scourge of spoilers, it’s different to deconstruct a movie following its Sundance premiere than via a Vimeo link, on top of which a movie like Videoheaven, which unfolds as a three-hour voiceover meditation on the cinematic depiction (and metaphysics) of American video-store culture since the early ’80s, is so dependent on fair-use laws for its excerpt-heavy contents that talking about specific…
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Cinema Scope (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 97 - Winter 2024