I remember the first time I watched Requiem for a Dream, having recently entered the “teen” years.
The rapid-fire cuts, syringe injecting and pupil extreme close-ups, the agonizing soundtrack, all mixed with great drug-addicted characters and hardcore porn were more effective to keep me away from hard drugs than any advice from my parents.
Ironically, Requiem for a Dream also acted as a gateway drug to other kinds of films.
And I have to confess: I became addicted to them.
New, old; long, short; local, foreign; obscure, mainstream.
Nothing was enough.
Whole director's filmographies. The last 15 winners of the Palme D'Or.
The most representative examples of a film "wave". The counter-examples.
I'd then go into IMDb forums and read about them.
What's the director's background? Who's this character based on? Challenges during production. Fun facts.
It would take me down rabbit holes that would open more and more doors and movies.
I started noticing subtleties, and falling in love with them.
Like long takes.
The average movie shot lasts 2.5 seconds before it cuts to the next one. The reason that's the standard is because it's easier, both for the actors and the filmmakers.
Less room for error and more for retakes.
There's a pivotal scene in Children of Men that lasts 6 MINUTES and 17 seconds before it cuts.
It has explosions, hundreds of people and moving locations. The amount of coordination it took to make that single scene happen is like running a high-growth startup for a month.
There's this part where blood splashes on the camera lens.
Did the director break the fourth wall on purpose? Was it accidental and just decided to leave it in? Did they just not notice?
Whole articles have been written about that single splash.
Or take Iñarritu's Birdman.
The whole movie is made to appear as one long-take, all while exploring the perennial maker vs. critic argument (and encapsulating why I also want to make movies and not only watch them).
I began appreciating the intricacies of choosing a color palette to determine how a movie subconsciously makes you feel.
All that goes behind lighting a scene, and how the art of photography plays a big part in the way a movie looks.
Or details like how the actors, things and background are placed within the frame, called mise-en-scène.
And I quickly realized: the amount of layers and art forms that converge in great cinema is astounding.
Which in turn made me promise to never waste 2 hours on mediocre movies with two-dimensional characters, formulaic use of the hero's journey and easy jokes.
“You must be fun at parties movie theaters, man”.
Fun and great cinema are not divorced.
Take Mean Girls, one of my "guilty" pleasures.
It's a very well-rounded movie: the characters are completely relatable, the script and jokes are so well written and the whole story is so much fun.
I've watched it at least 5 times and I laugh out loud every time, feeling no guilt at all really.
There’s examples of great movies for every angle you can imagine.
Knowing I will never get to watch all the films I want, I'm now very selective on what goes through my eyes.
I research the films prior, but never watch trailers.
There's obviously exceptions, but I’d rather have an open, unbiased mind when I get there.
Leaving room for serendipity but unforgivingly stopping midway through if I realize I've made a mistake.
After finishing it, I discuss it with whom I watched it or a blank page. How did it make me feel? What was surprising? What did I learn?
I then go read some reviews, interviews or whatever information I can get on the movie, enriching and reliving the experience. All while looking for the next hit.
Looking for your gateway drug? Try Sorrentino's La Grande Belleza.
I try to watch it at least once a year and every time I learn something new.
Even if you don't like it, you'll get the most eye-pleasing visuals of Rome while listening to the most beautiful language in the world.
It might also cure your midlife crisis, or show you a much deeper world that exists beyond mediocre movies.
Ugh, this is so good.
"Requiem for a Dream also acted as a gateway drug." I've been putting off the film for a long, long time. Perhaps I will finally watch it on a long flight, so there' s nowhere to run.
You are giving me some great ideas to share in my Movie Club :)
Amazing. I'd love to see a list of the films you love, and how they've influenced you. I'd follow you down those rabbits holes you've followed.
Reminds me of this quote from Stephen King: “If a writer knows what he or she is doing, I’ll go along for the ride. If he or she doesn’t . . . . well, I’m in my fifties now, and there are a lot of books out there. I don’t have time to waste with the poorly written ones."
But it makes me wonder, is there something we can learn from studying bad movies? e.g. What does Michael Bay do wrong? etc.