What is it that we love when we love a film? What is my taste and why is it not your taste? Is there really something that makes a movie good? I went a long time without asking these questions. I think most of do and probably a large share of us never really ask these questions of ourselves. We watch, walk away, ponder, but are content to just feel it in the moment. But yet, if art film is a film which we feel compelled to talk about after we see it, what is it that we want to talk about? What makes it work, or not? THIS IS PART OF AN ONGOING SERIES IN AN ATTEMPT TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS (AT LEAST FOR ME PERSONALLY):
CLARITY OF INTENT:
I’ve watched so many films that I felt got made mainly because they could get made – a director wants to direct and actors want to act. When something gets done simply because they can, I am left awash in other people’s cynicism. I want to experience something because the creative team had something they felt it was urgent to express, that they were passionate to get out and communicate. Even still when they hit this level, they don’t always succeed in getting whatever it is they have to say across.
Does the audience walk away from the film feeling they understood what the director wanted to say in a full and deep way? To me, this is one of the key qualities to a film resonating with audiences and audiences not getting pissed off. Audiences rebel when they think a filmmaker hasn’t done their homework or taken the tale to its conclusion. If the audience struggles through a sequence unsure of where it is leading or a with a character whom they are not able to anticipate action or sympathize with, audiences appreciate learning why the filmmaker felt the audience needed to take this journey.
A filmmaker does not have to spell it out in its entirety but they also shouldn’t leave key elements within the realm of the unknown. An audience doesn’t require complete understanding of a character’s psychology, but they look for some framework as to why they are being shown and experiencing what is presented.
