Lúcia Nagib’s Films to Die For is not merely an ode to world cinema and the artists behind it, but an exposition of the setbacks and redirections that are inevitable in the craft of filmmaking. The documentary traces the birth of the term cinephilia (i.e., a profound love for cinema) and the repercussions that come with it through the perspectives of filmmakers Wim Wenders and Walter Salles, film producer Paulo Branco, and feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey, who famously coined the concept of the ‘“male gaze.’”

As it moves through significant periods of film history, from Classic Hollywood (1910s–1950s) to the European New Wave (1950s–1960s), the documentary asserts a central thesis: that filmmaking has always faced timeless threats, ones that persist regardless of the era. The setbacks and redirections discussed in the film will feel familiar to filmmakers today, from the frustrations of running out of film stock and halting an entire production, to the creative tensions that frequently arise between directors and producers. Yet, these struggles extend beyond filmmaking. They mirror the struggles faced by anyone pursuing a dream: limited resources that delay ambition, or the grief and trauma of losing a significant other that forces us to abandon a dream altogether.

Mulvey explains that, while a universal passion for cinema had always existed, it was not until this passion was proven to be enduring across generations that the French coined the term cinephilia which would eventually find its way into the Oxford English Dictionary.

Among the documentary’s most compelling moments are Wenders’s interviews which offer a candid look into his personal struggles as a filmmaker. Inevitably, this includes his well-known dispute with Francis Ford Coppola during the production of Hammett (1982), where Wenders served as director and Coppola as producer. The conflict would later inspire Wenders’s own film The State of Things (1982) which won the prestigious Golden Lion at the 1982 Venice Film Festival. What particularly draws us into his interviews, however, is his’ introspection and transparency. His insights resonate deeply with aspiring filmmakers, especially when he recounts his dark period in Los Angeles, the supposed city of dreams for filmmakers, where he describes feeling ‘“lost in translation’” and was very close to abandoning his career as a filmmaker entirely.

No, this documentary is not just pieces of film history stitched to tell a sob story – ––it also offers wisdom for anyone who may feel their plateauing. Using some classic films as visual aids, the documentary comes from a very objective standpoint and recognizes that resilience is not always easy – that the instinctive reaction to a dead end is to linger, not take action. 

Of course, it would surprise few that these four interviewees, each of whom has significantly contributed to shaping world cinema, deliver such thoughtful and compelling insights. But what is equally admirable about the documentary is the work of Nagib as director and Tatiana Germano as editor, specifically how their creative choices work in harmony to craft a form of storytelling that cannot easily be captured by a transcript, excerpt, or film review alone.

Ultimately, what Films to Die For reminds us is why the possibility of letting go of a dream, or even imagining the death of cinema which often feels impending, hurts so deeply. For many of us, these films are more than entertainment – –these are things we would die for, and unfortunately. many have already died. Perhaps that is why the thought of losing cinema cuts such a deep wound.