400 Blows follows a boy descending into juvenile delinquency, thanks in part to the inattention of his parents, but it moves like a rocket.
La Dolce Vita slams along as it examines postwar Rome's growing decadence and disaffection, but still has moments that tear you apart with silent understanding.
Rules of the Game moves at the pace of a farce even as it delineates and reveals each character in it so very succinctly, leading up to an inevitable ending.
Notorious does not waste one moment in lining up a story about an alcoholic woman being pushed into prostitution for the US government, and setting up that not only is the solution to the story aligned with her use of alcohol, but so is her growing danger.
Late Spring is, of course, the antithesis of all this. Just quiet shots of an older man convincing his daughter it's time she got married, told in ways that are as delicate as a tea ceremony.
I'm hanging onto that as my template.
I have a gentle moment between Brendan and his mother, one without rancor or accusation, where a small part of the past is revealed...quite by accident. Brendan is waiting for word from Colm as to when to meet, so he now has cause to look deeper into his father's past. Because it ties into everything.
Of course, my initial thoughts about what that past is are now just plain common and childish. There's no problem with something being simple; it just has to be honest and real...not melodramatic in any way. So this will need a lot of care in its shaping.
This fucking volume is going to be my test as a writer. If I can pull it off, I'm good. If I can't, I'm lying to myself.
No comments:
Post a Comment