The brutal student reviews of Kelly Reichardt’s college film class
Kelly Reichardt is one of the very few filmmakers who has consistently made films free from the oppressive grasp of Hollywood, working independently as a way of maintaining creative integrity and control over her voice without having to dilute to boost commercial appeal. Through films like Wendy and Lucy, Old Joy and Certain Women, Reichardt has established a language of slowness that immerses audiences in the lives of people who are rarely the recipients of cinematic attention, creating an intimate and introspective feeling as we sit with lonely characters who live on the fringes of society.
Whether through the story of a homeless woman who has lost her dog, a man who is trying to reconnect with an old friend or an artist who struggles to find time to create, Reichardt uses her voice to amplify the experiences of everyday people that go against the mainstream quotidian. She is only able to do this by working independently and choosing artistic integrity over profit.
It is a tragedy that modern filmmakers are faced with the dilemma of either earning a reasonable living by selling out to work for studios or not making a sustainable living and working independently. While many directors choose the first option and understandably prefer to make anything instead of nothing at all, even if that means working for Netflix or Amazon, a tiny bracket of filmmakers have abandoned this model entirely and pulled a giant fuck you to the system, with the likes of Sean Baker and Kelly Reichardt remaining fiercely independent. However, in order to sustain her career as an independent filmmaker, Reichardt is also a film professor at Bard College, sharing her wisdom with budding film lovers and directors.
There is a website called ‘Rate My Professor’ on which students can share thoughts and feedback on their teachers. The reviews range from gushing to scathing for teachers all over the world. But what did Reichardt’s students have to say about her classes?
Reichardt has a consistent philosophy and thematic undercurrent within her filmography, often critiquing the dehumanising effect of capitalism and the patriarchy by showing characters who have been ostracised for not flourishing or conforming to these systems. Her work is deeply moving in a myriad of ways, highlighting our dwindling compassion for people who defy easy categorisation and the hope that persists regardless. Reichardt will contrast moments that obliterate your faith in humanity with stark moments of kindness and genuine care that will leave you speechless.
However, while her philosophy translates beautifully in her films, some students didn’t speak particularly fondly of her teaching practices, leaving some brutal yet hilarious reviews.
One student rated her class a harsh 1.5/5 for its quality, saying, “Terrible sense of humour. Overarchingly misandric. Stupidly affected. Does not care about you personally, just her own strict, unflinching ethos. Did not instill me with a love for film. Her dog’s nice though”.
I hate to say it, but if you’re relying on your film professor to instil a love for film, then you’re probably studying the wrong thing. Her alleged misandry is also hilarious, given the tone of her films, and something that doesn’t entirely surprise me coming from a woman who has worked in the film industry for a hot minute.
Another student said, “Kelly told me to my face not to be a filmmaker. I was 18 years old, and it was the first film class I ever took. I really don’t think it’s right for a professor to say that”. Arguably, anyone who has experienced the inner workings of the film industry would not recommend it to anyone, and perhaps Reichardt assumed she was doing this person a favour by warning them against such a painful and often torturous career path. While harsh, her reviews reflect some of the cynicism within her work and reveal something darker about her relationship with Hollywood and her reasons for staying so far away from it.
