Part 4: Time Is the Element

Daily or weekly criticism is egalitarian, and this is to be expected. Anatole Litvak is as important as Charlies Chaplin; since they are equal before God, they must also be so before Criticism. But time is the element that will put all that right. And movie-lovers will come to see films at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Cinémathèque in Paris, as well as at thousands of art and experimental movie houses throughout the world. So things are all right after all, and I shall wind up my defense of criticism by observing that excessively kind notices, coming from all sides and lasting a career, can sterilize an artist more effectively than the cold shower that wakes one up to real life. That must have been what Jean Paulhan had in mind when he wrote, "Bad reviews preserve an author better than alcohol preserves a piece of fruit." -- François Truffaut, "What Do Critics Dream About?"