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The Seasons in Quincy: Four Portraits of John Berger

2016

Bartek Dziadosz, Colin MacCabe ...

Documentary, Self: John Berger, Tilda Swinton

6.3

64

Documentary 'The Seasons in Quincy' is the result of a five-year project by Tilda Swinton, Colin MacCabe and Christopher Roth to produce a portrait of the intellectual and storyteller John Berger. It was produced by the Derek Jarman Lab, an audio-visual hub for graduate filmmaking based at Birkbeck, University of London, in collaboration with the composer Simon Fisher Turner.

	Media	Author	Review
		Nick Schager Variety	"[It] is something of a tease, raising intriguing topics and insights before turning frustratingly cursory and skimpy (...) A for-aficionados-only companion piece to his pre-existing paintings and writing."
		Boyd van Hoeij The Hollywood Reporter	"Scattershot but not without interest (...) The shorts offer some scraps on Berger the man and the artist and thinker without really supplying a full overview"
		Glenn Kenny The New York Times	"A challenging, sometimes poignant engagement with the man and his work (...) For all its shortcomings, 'The Seasons in Quincy' is an essential document of an exemplary intellect"
		Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"This film is refreshingly serious and pays due tribute to an important public intellectual (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Helen O'Hara Empire	"A worthwhile experiment in documentary filmmaking, but not an entirely successful one (...) [It] might have benefited from a little more traditional documentary context and shape (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		Clayton Dillard Slant	"It insists that it’s in moments of small talk, between life’s larger events, that one finds vitality (...) [It] instructs us that conversation, whether spoken or sung, is always liberating (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"
		Farran Smith Nehme New York Post	"'Seasons in Quincy' is for intense John Berger fans (...) The film can be rough going for those who know little of Berger’s work (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"
		Leah Pickett Chicago Reader	"The first [short], Colin MacCabe's 'Ways of Listening', is the most evocative (...) This might have worked better as a more cohesive documentary."
		Dave Calhoun Time Out	"Fond and thought-provoking (...) This sense of improvisation makes the film feel alive (...) Berger is such a compelling personality that it’s easy to enjoy simple chats (...) or small moments (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Melissa Anderson Village Voice	"A warm and heartfelt but too often desultory and disorganized tribute to the down-to-earth intellectual."

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