The Story of Looking

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The Story of Looking

2021

1h 30m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

89%

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18 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

On the day before an operation to save his eyesight, Mark explores what looking means to him, and the role our visual experience plays in our individual and collective lives. In a deeply personal meditation on the power of looking in his own life, he guides us through the riches of the visible world, through a kaleidoscope of imagery across cultures and eras, drawing on art history, biology, neuroscience, psychology, poetry and philosophy. As he goes under the surgeon's knife, he suggests that we are in the midst of a looking revolution more powerful than any which has gone before, which has the potential to change the world -- for better or for worse. At a time when we are more assailed by images than ever, when the value of looking is increasingly under question, he reveals how looking makes us who we are, lying at the heart of human experience, of empathy, discovery and thought. He shares the pleasures of seeing the world, in all its complexity and contradiction, with eyes wide open. And as the Covid-19 pandemic brings another dramatic shift of perspective, he reaches out to other lookers for their vision from lockdown. And in a startling final shift, he travels to the future to consider how his looking life will continue to develop until the very end.

Ian Freer

Empire Magazine

A persuasive argument that we see differently in different stages of our lives.The Story Of Looking isfascinating,thought-provoking stuff,told in Cousins' engaging, typically impish way.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 18, 2021

Full Review

Donald Clarke

Irish Times

Another oddball pleasure from an utter original.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 17, 2021

Full Review

Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

Typically accomplished work.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 17, 2021

Full Review

Javier Ocaña

El Pais (Spain)

Captivating and hypnotic... [Full review in Spanish]

Jun 15, 2022

Full Review

Laurence Boyce

VODzilla.co

Mark Cousins’ beautiful, moving and inventive exploration of how we see is his most personal film to date.

Rated: 4/5

May 5, 2022

Full Review

Alan French

We Live Entertainment

To elucidate his fears about losing his vision, Cousins expertly recreates his nightmarish reality for us.

Rated: 7/10

Nov 18, 2021

Full Review

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Mark Cousins

Director

Mark Cousins

Self

Mary Bell

Producer

Adam Dawtrey

Producer

Mark Cousins

Screenwriter

Mark Thomas

Executive Producer

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Synopsis

On the day before an operation to save his eyesight, Mark explores what looking means to him, and the role our visual experience plays in our individual and collective lives. In a deeply personal meditation on the power of looking in his own life, he guides us through the riches of the visible world, through a kaleidoscope of imagery across cultures and eras, drawing on art history, biology, neuroscience, psychology, poetry and philosophy. As he goes under the surgeon's knife, he suggests that we are in the midst of a looking revolution more powerful than any which has gone before, which has the potential to change the world -- for better or for worse. At a time when we are more assailed by images than ever, when the value of looking is increasingly under question, he reveals how looking makes us who we are, lying at the heart of human experience, of empathy, discovery and thought. He shares the pleasures of seeing the world, in all its complexity and contradiction, with eyes wide open. And as the Covid-19 pandemic brings another dramatic shift of perspective, he reaches out to other lookers for their vision from lockdown. And in a startling final shift, he travels to the future to consider how his looking life will continue to develop until the very end.

Director: Mark Cousins
Producer: Mary Bell, Adam Dawtrey
Screenwriter: Mark Cousins
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 2, 2023
Runtime: 1h 30m