A friend of me asked me the other day, "can there be an original idea for a movie"? At the time I really had no idea how to answer. It seems counter intuitive to think that there couldn't be a single original idea out there for modern film. It seems that the river for great ideas is in a serious drought. I keep the idea in my mind for a while to see if I could come up with a simple story line which was original. I lay awake at night and lost sleep over this dilemma. To be perfectly honest with you I couldn't, I am not saying that there aren't greater minds out there than mine that I am sure could come up with an original story line, but it does make me reassess the question at hand. Instead of asking have we run out of original ideas for film we should be asking; is it a bad thing that we are improving the existing films of the past? Let me put it another way. Since the invention of the computer we have modified and changed it to suit our current needs and requirements, we have evolved the old fashioned computer into a modern day user friendly PC. Can the same be done with film? I believe quite strongly that film not only can but needs to for the industry to survive. So next time you over hear someone after a film saying it was to much like something else ask that person if that is such a bad thing. Ask them if they know of a great idea for an original film if they can't answer that then you will possible understand why I am of the belief that films within a genre should only be judged for what they are and not what they compare to. Any comments you have about this would be greatly appreciated
Over the last 10 to 20 years we have seen the rise in the number of genres, which for the porpose of these blogs i will call hybrid genres. For example gone are the days of slasher flicks and in it's place has sprouted genre's such as violent horror gore as the latest Texas Chainsaw Massacre films. This change is brought about by a great many things. Continuing with the example above. This changing may be due to the desensitisation of people towards violence on the big screen or it could be due to a change in times such as the 1930’s genre about remarriage from films such as the awful truth, this genre was brought about by the depression experinced just after the great war. In modern times the latest genre to come forth seems to be involving the story of coming home. Two beautiful examples of this come from the two independent films of Garden State and Winter Passing. Both stories involve a character returning home due to some particular circumstance, during their stay they discover there is something more significant to the word home then originally thought. Both of these films experienced relatively good success and I wondered to myself, why? I would like to posit the guess that it’s not that all of the people who have viewed these films have travelled home recently and entered a deep state of self-contemplation. Subjectively I can say that during my viewing of both films I experienced a sense of understanding as to what a home actually was and that in my opinion, which I am not saying is right, home for these films was a metaphor of what has made us the people we are. For example in Garden State the main character, played by the very talented Zach Braff, admits to himself the things which have made him feel numb and emotionless. The question remains did the main character really have to return home to figure these things out. Well you would assume not but it does make the idea of the home being a sanctuary more appealing don’t you think? Regardless these two films were astonishingly wonderful and an absolute joy to watch.
In the past the majority of films that have been privy to success are epic topical tales, for example titles such as titanic, saving private Ryan and the lord of the rings. Although in recent times this has changed, there has been a shift in audiences away from glamorous blockbusters and towards smaller independent films such as garden state, lost in translation and winter passing. I cannot tell you the reason for this shift, as it is a subjective thing, but what I can tell you is that it is doing wonders for film as an art rather than as a past time. It seems that fewer and fewer people go to the movies because it is something to do on a Saturday night but rather they go to involve themselves in the ideas and philosophies of someone else. This isn’t just having a positive effect on the number of independent films getting financed and produced but it is also having an impact on the bigger productions to come out of the USA. A good example of this is the latest batman film the dark knight. A massive budget film that didn’t shy away from portraying a vital moral dilemma to the viewers. I personally found this refreshing and hope that more people who are privy to a career in film use this as an opportunity to use cinema as a vessel for sending an important message to the audience. On a quick final note I also would like to use this blog as an opportunity to ask the readers to support independent film in Australia. Go and google Australian film and grab yourself a copy of something that appeals to you, your fifteen dollar purchase of a DVD will do more than you think.
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