Kelly Reichardt’s films could not be more far removed from “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” so it’s not that surprising to hear the “First Cow” writer-director criticizing the ‘Barbenheimer’ movement.
Reichardt’s “Showing Up” is being released in Finland this week and she took the time to speak HS about the current cinematic zeitgeist, the inevitable ‘Barbeheimer’ question popped up.
Reichardt is actually surprised that hardly anyone seems to be criticizing the way these two blockbusters have dominated the conversation and screens all over the world:
"They are part of a huge marketing machine, but they are sold as art. And all this is just celebrated. As a filmmaker, I wonder what this will do to people's expectations for future films."
She has a point. What’s next? The industry is on strike and we are now in a post-‘Barbenheimer’ phase at the movies. Will things actually get better, or was that phenomenon just a last hurrah to a medium that many believe is slowly dying.
Audiences were very slowly returning to theaters since the pandemic, and the ‘Barbenheimer’ success is obviously noticeable. Reichardt makes films for the big screen, but they don’t make money. Her highest earner grossed $2 million:
"Movies are expensive. Even a low budget is a lot of someone's money. And no matter how tight your belt is, the distributor still has to spend money so that anyone knows the film exists."
For now, Reichardt is content with what she’s achieved in “Showing Up,” an intimate treatise on time, life choices and friendship. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year and was released this year to glowing reviews.