Almost every Telluride tweet reaction for Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light” describes it as a “love letter to cinema.” It’s a bit redundant, but, I get it, Mendes is making a statement about the movies with an added tinge of romance.
This is just one in a string of personal stories from major filmmakers these past few years, to the point where it’s become its own Oscar sub-genre; “Belfast,” “Bardo,” “The Fabelmans,” and now Mendes’ ode to movie theaters.
“Empire of Light” is getting Love/Hate reactions from the Telluride crowd. Oscar pundits are loving it, while film critics aren’t liking it all. This year’s “Belfast”? It is giving off similar vibes.
Firstly, the awards pundits who love “Empire of Light” include Sasha Stone, Clayton Davis, Erik Anderson, Jeffrey Wells, and David Canfield.
The ones who dislike it are THR, Scott Menzel, and David Ehrlich, David Poland.
Reviews will start to pop up in a few minutes for “Empire of Light” which is one of the three BIG world premieres at Telluride 2022. The other two (“Women Talking” and “The Wonder”) already screened yesterday.
Update: Positive reaction from Variety