Review of The Other Side of the Wind (2018) by John M — 13 Nov 2018

The long gestating project finally arrives to a platform after forty years of waiting to be completed. It was something Orson Welles wished to finish but never got around to by the time of his death. This was a common theme later in his life where he started a project but it would sit around on the cutting room floor. This highly experimental film fittingly finds a place on a large streaming platform. His difficulty to find commercial success later in life influences this look at making a movie.

Welles became increasingly frustrated with the studio system and the kind of pictures they wanted him to make. This comes through in this work as a not so slightly veiled dig at the Hollywood system. A lot of the pieces of filmmaking are examined in this documentary style of movie. Everything from marketing to film criticism is keyed on in random scenes.

John Huston plays an aging filmmaker resembling a lot of the characteristics of Orson Welles who is struggling to finish his final film. Welles would probably deny the intention was to resemble his own life but you see the parallels pretty clearly. His struggles later in his life to find an audience and obsession with his legacy are present here. Peter Bogdanovich stars as the young upstart director who has some commercial success and is learning from his mentor. Another parallel as Bogdanovich had considerable commercial success in his career and Welles was jealous of that success. It seems Welles takes a subtle dig at Bogdanovich with one of the young actresses being that Bogdanovich was obsessed with a young Cybill Shepherd.

This movie serves as a collection of random scenes rather than a singular, focused narrative. The play of color serves to separate the two films. Welles experiments with competing camera takes and the film switches frantically between black and white and color. This dizzying take can be nauseating at times and unwieldy to watch the picture. Sometimes, the experimental film works to introduce you to the characters but it also keeps them largely at a distance. Perhaps, he was trying to say something by using the dizzying style but I found myself annoyed at times with the randomness.

There is not much of a semblance of plot except to show the mirror of Huston trying to make one last film in the twilight of his career. The picture within this movie is a commentary on the French arthouse films of the time. Beyond these elements, there is not a lot that is being said in the movie and it can feel dragging on despite the frantic pace. A little more focus would have made this picture more enjoyable.

I wanted to see this film because I have enjoyed many of Orson Welles' films. His vision is unique and unlike most you would find in that bygone era. Unfortunately, this movie is more of a random set of events and you have to pay more attention to grab the meaning of the picture. A more focused narrative would have allowed me to get more from his story. There are films without much of a plot who still had a way of conveying a message impactful and powerful. This appears more thrown together than a cohesive vision. I will always value the contributions of Welles to cinema and look back fondly on some of the better movies he has created. The fun is still there to see another Welles film especially considering the effort it took to bring the film to life.