A cinephile is someone who loves films with more than ordinary fondness, and who treats cinema as an art, not only as a night out. The word was borrowed from French and still feels a little proud, even tender. A cinephile hunts out old prints, foreign films, restorations, a director’s early work; they talk about shots and cuts, not only about stars. It sits above cinemagoer: a cinemagoer goes; a cinephile builds a life around going, and around remembering. People wear it as a badge. Reviewers use it for an audience that will notice craft. It is not an insult, but it can sound insider, as if you have joined a club. Though actually, no diploma is required. Plenty of cinephiles learned by sitting in the dark, week after week, and reading a little afterwards. It also does not mean “I liked that blockbuster.” Liking one film is taste. Cinephile names a habit.