Epic

Epic films

Epic films since they started caught on with a huge impact on film making. Today the minimun of what an epic film had to be (70+ minutes) is actually quite short. Films since the 1910s began growing and this has continued to out times. Religious films are the longest I can think of and I can say I personally hate them. When I lived in mexico city I attended a catholic school (not my choice) and one time they made us watch a horrible 3 hour and 45 minute movie about the Ten commandments.

Although, just as in everything, there are ups and downs along the way. And in fact, I love long movies, so long as they are either entertaining, interesting, or at least don't make me sleepy. And I can perfectly fit in here an irony because, I love silent cinema, I'm very keen on them but no matter what it is, it almost always makes me sleepy; yet I love them.

Fantasy mixes with reality

Magic realism

Magic realism, is a hugely important topic for us (spanish speakers) since it influenced Latin American authors so hard, magic realism is often thought about as a latina american movement even though its origins go back to Neue Sachlichkeit.

Anyway, all nationality aside, all magic realism works are, in my opinion, incredibly good. I wouldn't go as far as saying it is better than surrealism in my book; but I am willing to say that it is within a shout of being AS good. And the reason I like it so much is not that far away from the reason why I love surrealism. And it is because, reality, in books, plays, paintings and almost any art form is very boring, and by adding things to it that couldn't otherwise exist, makes it so much better. Things everyone would love to see happen in the real world but can't, if not in books or else. Things that would make the world so much more interesting than it is now, and yet, it is all kept down to earth without exagerating and keeping it realistic. It is a near perfect combination of realism and fantasy. Although, it must be said, complete fantasy and abstraction and senselessness is more interesting.

One, and well probably the only one I'm familiar with and have read, García Márquez, not that I don't know any of the others, is one of my favourite authors. I'd be happy to read all his books and then pretend I didn't get them, so I could read them all over.