The Importance Of Artistry In Film
Recently, I rented a movie called The Ultimate Gift, produced by the new division of Fox, FoxFaith. The Ultimate Gift is about an affluent young man who is leading an absurdly self-centered life. The movie opens at the funeral for the young mans very wealthy Grandfather, who has left him a gift on the condition that he can first make it through the series of challenges that were arranged by the Grandfather before he died. These challenges involve hard work, developing charitableness, giving up the wealthy lifestyle (for a short time at least), and learning about true friendship. Fast-forward two hours and predictably, the young man has had a change of heart and has found God, in part through his friendship Tigerbalm a mother and her young daughter who is seriously ill with leukemia. It is all conveniently wrapped up for us when the young man, having proven himself worthy receives 2 billion dollars from his Grandfather which he uses for philanthropic purposes.
After watching the first few minutes I wanted to call it quits, seeing clearly that for the remainder of the movie I would be bombarded with over-acting, tasteless direction, and schmaltzy dialogue. I finished the movie irked at the waste of money and time that had been poured into a auto insurance rate that had potential, but lacked any form of subtlety or artistry. One good thing did come out of this frustrating experience for me; I began thinking about how important it is for films with good messages to also possess artistry, and sensitive delivery.
I am a very firm believer that when making a film (or any work of art for that matter), artistry is the number one component to its success, not financially, but in it's ability to influence people. Far too many films with good messages exaggerate their delivery in an attempt to force their messages into the minds of the audience. I find that this is unfortunately, especially reflective of many Christian artists who would be far more successful in getting their messages across if they would instead rely on the powers of metaphors, imagery, subtlety, symbolism, and beauty to deliver their message, and then let the audience come around to it on their own. In the realm of art, few people want to be told what is good or bad; they want to feel like they Space 1999 discovering it for themselves.
To be very simplistic, I see there being four main categories that films fall into...
Category 1: This is where a movie like The Ultimate Gift, would fall. It has a good message, but its delivery is very poor. It is my opinion that works like these actually do more harm to their messages than good. People who believe in the films particular message and enjoy the preachy delivery and feel-good dialogue consolidate stafford loans be content, but they are already convinced of the message being delivered. People who are on the edge, or do not believe in the message in the first place will be even more turned off after seeing it. They are likely to say to themselves "I don't want to be like that. If (insert message) means being sentimental and sappy, then no thanks."
Category 2: Here falls a film such as Brokeback Mountain. The morals in the film are not good, but its delivery possesses all of the artistic qualities that a film like The Ultimate Gift lacks. A movie like this is dangerous, not necessarily to people who truly enjoy movies from the first category, but to people who enjoy an original script and subtle and artistic delivery, such as myself. After seeing a movie from this category, it is difficult to separate it's artistic value and emotional appeal from it's overall message; a message which tries to disguise wrong as right, and does so with skill. Those who know themselves and their values will not be swayed, but the viewer who bases their opinions on their emotions may be influenced by these movies.
Category 3: One of my very favorite films, The Lives of Others, is a wonderful example of a film with a good message and great delivery. I say "good message", but in truth, a film such as The Lives of Others does not preach a message; instead it tells a story and does so with subtlety and artistry. It does not tell; it shows - one mark of a sensitive artist. The Lives of Others takes place in East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall. It examines the life of a playwright, his girlfriend who is an actress, and the man who is sent to spy on them through the communist government. The lives and the relationship of the two artists is beautiful. They have love, fulfillment in their work, and even in the midst of sadness, they find comfort in what is true and deep. The life of the communist is empty - his only relationship is one with a prostitute - and his life seems grim and bleak contrasted with the artists he is spying on.
Over time, the spy is moved by the lives of the artists; through observing them, he begins to see how vacuous his own existence and work for communism is, and instead of reporting the "crimes" of the artists, he hides their crimes - at great risk to himself - from the communists that he reports to each day.
Without giving away the film, I can say that it is a beautiful work, which never once preaches. God is not mentioned and yet, you come away from the film with new appreciation of God, sacrifice, our free wills, and democracy, because good is portrayed as good, and evil as evil. There does not need to be any preaching - you don't need to have it spelled out to you: "this is good, and reflective of God, and this is bad and it's the Devils work." Instead, you see the good and evil in the film for what they are. The film is tragic, deep, and serious, and yet there are so many things to inspire! Because it was made with a commitment to be real and true in showing good and evil, it moved me.
Category 4: Not worth wasting time on - American Pie or Jackass the Movie (i.e., the majority of Hollywoods big studio movies) are examples of movies with both bad delivery and a bad message.
These thoughts are my long and yet oversimplified way of saying that a little artistry goes a long way. It is my conviction that films that are too seeped in a message risk turning the viewer away. Films that wish to inspire, influence, challenge, and remain with the viewer need to possess the qualities of artistry and subtlety in order to do so.
Fauna Gille, Minneapolis, MN
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posted by sekvvam @ 5:58 AM
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