Critics have not been kind to “Empire of Light,” the film about cinema.  Sam Mendes’s film is not a “Cinema Paradiso” redux nor, I think, does it aim to be, but comes across as a more unequal treatment of what the medium gives us and has always given us, this immediate entry into our dreams, the world as we see it, remember it, as it affects us, the images that in certain films become so iconic as to define us to ourselves and sometimes make us see ourself within

The stars and directors of “Empire of Light” held court from Los Angeles recently, following the American premiere of the new film held there. Writer-director Sam Mendes was joined by stars Olivia Coleman, Michael Ward, Toby Jones and Tanya Moodie.

The intriguing film, which comes out today, stars Coleman as Hillary, a movie theater employee experiencing mental