There aren't many films that I have recently resonated with, but recently I sat down and watched one that I've wanted to see for a while, Kodachrome, and I'm glad I did as it resonated with me on a personal level, and why I'm picking up my film camera more in the digital age.
Kodachrome is a Netflix movie about Ben, a famous photographer estranged from his son Matt for over a decade, who is terminally ill with liver cancer. Despite their strained relationship, Ben asks Matt to drive him to Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas, USA the last place that's developing Kodak's famous Kodachrome film, before the service is discontinued forever. Ben has four rolls of film he urgently wants to develop, capturing his life's work and legacy.
Below you can see the official trailer on Netflix:
Their journey is not just about developing the film but also about reconciling their broken relationship. Ben insists on taking back roads to savor the scenery and take photographs, reflecting his passion for capturing moments. Despite their conflicts, the trip becomes an emotional journey of forgiveness and understanding.
Half-way through the movie, Matt asks his father why not just shoot digital, and Ben's response is just how I feel, and why I wanted to go back to shooting film, looking at his son while loading his trusted Leica M4-P Ben responds:
"People are taking more pictures now than ever before, billions of them, but there are no slides, no prints. Just data. Electronic dust. Years from now when they dig us up there won't be any pictures to find, no record of who we were or how we lived"
As they finally reach Dwayne's Photo and drop off the film, the pair run into a lot of photographers that are from famous organizations such as National Geographic, and Reuters to name but a few they all share a moment with Ben to appreciate what he's done for the photographic community
This is where the second quote of the film comes into its own, discussing the shock that Kodachrome film is being discontinued Ben describes why they are all photographers and why they have all shot film in the first place:
"We're all so frightened by time, the way it moves on and the way things disappear. That's why we're photographers. We're preservationists by nature. We take pictures to stop time, to commit moments to eternity. Human nature made tangible."
*Spoiler Alert*
Unfortunately, Ben's declining health culminates in his death shortly after. Matt is left with his father's developed photos, discovering a poignant collection of images that include many of Matt's own childhood and moments with his mother. This revelation provides Matt with a deeper understanding of his father and their shared history.
Read Kodachrome: 11 things you need to know and our rundown of the best films about fictional photographers
