ABSTRACT
Before interpreting the films for their insights in to the nature of virtue, the author explains briefly the assumptions he brings to film criticism and the view of virtue with which he operates. Different kinds of criticism reflect different questions asked and different aims. No one interpretive approach can respond to the spectrum of questions or tangle of interests that movie-goers and critics may have. As the author understands, interpretation stands in between the movie text and the viewer's experience. The text and the experience determine an interpretation's value, but in different ways. Interpretations are appropriations of movie texts, and all are from a perspective or viewpoint. No interest-free, or nonperspectival interpretations are possible. The interpretations of film offered in this chapter are framed by the theme of virtue and the author's interest in virtue theory.
