Dear Reader,
I was intrigued by some aspects of Jonathan Rosenbaum’s churlish rant against the film Sideways [“Besides Sideways,” January 7] and his colleagues who heap praise upon it. Of the main characters, Rosenbaum argues that “they behave as if the world beyond southern California doesn’t exist, but the movie doesn’t seem to realize it.” And why should it? The film closely observes particular individuals in a specific context, and therein lies its charm. In these particulars, viewers may find self-identification, boredom, humanism, cynicism, humor, small truths, obvious truths, obvious lies, or a world of other possibilities. But the film should be forgiven for being set where it is set, for being about who it is about, and even for not having been directed by Jim Jarmusch.
Steve Burnett
Chinatown