Sorry, I'm late to the party… I should have known Yoda would have started an interesting discussion of this film. At the time, I should have stopped by. I was dying to talk about it.
The essay was an interesting read. I think the debate over whether Boyhood was art, or even worthwhile, is exactly what the discussion should be.
All I have are questions. No answers.
For me, I wanted a story. As we watch films, we're used to it being a story. Even documentaries are telling a story. To be honest, I turned the film off. And I never do that. Boyhood, for me, was a tedious and torturous experiment that I could no longer even watch. I joked," why should I watch a film that isn't anything more than my life? I raised two boys." I wanted a story -- a narrative structure reaching up to a climax. I kept waiting for something to start.
I'm programmed that way. Ooops, maybe that is a bad thing.
So then, a question would be: if art is an exploration of human nature and if stories are also said exploration, why did I hate this so much? If art is reflective of our lives, why did an actual life feel tedious?
Maybe I want art to encapsulate life? To capture in a moment the feelings of a lifetime like a piece or art? To capture a theme -- say of love and war -- in a photo of a man standing at the Vietnam memorial (which I tweeted today for Shakespeare Sunday, quoting a part of St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry V)? So is that my problem?
Boyhood is a failed piece of work to me. So does it make it art? To answer what I think was Yoda's question in the essay (if I understood) was that I don't think the filmmaking itself is art. I do believe the final product is what defines the art.
BUT… then again, look at this thread. There are some who love this film. They see a story. They felt something. I have no understanding of that at all. Yet, some look at a particular painting and feel something while others don't.
So last question, if art is reflective of life, and humans all have different feelings, then this film was art?
LOL, that felt like cerebral exercise and not sure I said anything.
Interesting essay, Yoda.