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): 

SINGULARITY:
Does the film feel like it came from a distinct point of view? Does it feel like it came during a specific point in time? If someone else had directed it, would it had suffered? Although personally speaking I find the “A Film By” credit a distortion, I do think the truly talented director puts their stamp on every aspect of the production, they become the filter through which every decision is made. When the director brings the passion for the project, dedicates the time needed to consider all decisions, has the knowledge of the subject, and a real appreciation for the depth of human emotion, one would think that their individual stamp would resonate all through out the film, but it takes something more: they need to have something to say—and it is not just the articulation for the film’s themes. Singularity of a work comes from a filmmaker’s ability, courage, and confidence to contribute their personality into their work, both consciously and subconsciously.

— Ted Hope