Sunday, July 4, 2010


I see movies as detective stories.
Outside the visible frame is a mystery – the detective seeks the answer to what hides unseen outside the frame.
The story for the audience is the search to reveal that secret. The frame moves and we discover another clue. We also want to uncover the mystery presented by the characters. ‘She badly wants something and has great difficulties getting it.’ What will Red Riding Hood uncover when she travels to Grandma’s house? She is confronted by daunting obstacles to her goal. And the audience badly wants to know how she will measure up while she struggles to discover what is hidden.
The movie I am interested in spins this yarn as a game at high speed. It captures the images live, so the actors and crew, like skilled musical improvisers, bounce ideas off each other with the abandon of dervishes who dance just ahead of logical thought. The camera surfs these waves, catching the patterns of energy the actors create.
I see movies spinning stories that are astonishing, heartbreaking, spiritual, enraging, encouraging, hilarious, poetic, pulsating. I see movies as dreams, sexy, scary and ridiculous.
Not all movies are like this.