曾获普立兹奖的影评家罗杰.艾伯特(Roger Ebert)于上周在芝加哥去世。晚年,他因甲状腺、唾液腺和下巴的癌症接受手术,切掉了大部分的下颚,从而失去了饮食和说话的能力。患病前,他主持电视节目《西斯克尔和艾伯特电影评论》(Siskel &Ebert at the Movies)长达二十年,并在节目中创作了标志性的“拇指表决” (thumbs up/ thumbs down) ,以拇指朝上朝下的方式表示对被评电影的总体价。然而,他失去说话能力后,并没有停止在其他媒体上继续进行电影评论。他的最后影评是泰伦斯马力(Terrence Malick)新作《爱是神奇》(To the Wonder)
他在评论中写道:
There will be many who find “To the Wonder” elusive and too effervescent. They'll be dissatisfied by a film that would rather evoke than supply. I understand that, and I think Terrence Malick does, too. But here he has attempted to reach more deeply than that: to reach beneath the surface, and find the soul in need.