Pompo: The Cinephile tells the story of Gene Fini, a cinephile working as the assistant to young movie producer, Pompo. Gene’s passion for film comes from drawn out, thoughtful character study pictures. Pompo’s interest is in producing short, B movie quality action flicks. If Pompo were real, she would have made Geostorm and loved it.
Pompo specifically dislikes when movies are over 90 minutes long. This quirk is due to her grandfather, a film maker that made her watch long masterpieces from a young age. This exceeded her personal limits as a child and pushed her towards shorter, action driven features.
Despite Gene referring to Pompo’s pictures as B movies, Pompo never frames her as bad at her job or profit driven. The movie instead celebrates Pompo as a creative with an eye for talent. Stressing that there is no right way to enjoy cinema. There is no project that isn’t worth loving if you have fun with it.
Gene strikes a nerve with Pompo as she joins him for a screening of the 1988 film Cinema Paradiso. The viewing encourages her to write a new script for Gene to direct. This film is a more serious, character focused movies that aligns with his own interests over hers.
Once Gene enters the directors chair and begins trying to piece the project together we get a burst of character. Everyone on set has their own belief in what this film stands for but Gene struggles to figure out why he is making this movie and who he’s making it for.
Speaking to Times London, Wes Anderson spoke of a specific scene in his film Fantastic Mister Fox where everything stops for just a moment as the characters take in the sight of a wolf.
“There were some people who didn’t like the wolf scene. In particular one very important person. And he said, I don’t understand what this scene is doing in the movie. And I would always say to him, I’m not cutting it. That scene is why I’m making the movie.” – Wes Anderson
Times London Talks to Wes
Gene has to fight for this understanding within himself. Editing the movie has Gene slicing through the film stock and piecing it all together. Everything has value to someone from the production but Gene’s job is to bring it together. Keeping what matters and removing anything that doesn’t add to the whole, regardless of value it has as a single piece.
The blend of Pompo’s interest in pure entertainment and Gene’s desire for character driven story becomes one. A love for film production carries the load but it’s this real passion for character that drives the story home. Gene is making Pompo’s movie for her, marrying their passions to create something new together.
Pompo isn’t a perfect movie, almost derailing itself part way through and landing on a middling score overall. But for a select few, this will be a hit. There’s so much exploration of passion clashing with professional business requirements and the glue that holds it all together is Pompo. She writes the script, she spots the talent and in return, they deliver a 90 minute movie for her enjoyment.
There’s something exciting about movies that focus on the arts, like they’ve bottled a feeling of wonder you haven’t felt in years. Movies in love with characters that are passionate about the art of creating something from within themselves are a comfort and Pompo delivers this on all fronts.
Purchase Pompo: The Cinephile on Blu-Ray from AllTheAnime
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