My Film Philosophy: 6 elements I like

This is a first attempt at a Philosophy to guide my film work. It is by no means complete, but it mentions 6 elements I would like to use to build. In writing this, I discovered something important — a worthy purpose of making films — which had not previously occurred to me.

This article builds on the thinking of my previous piece, “An important lesson from DeRose — one’s professional philosophy gives structure and focus to creative work.”

The first 3 elements are more about the visual, the story, and the surface layer, and the last 3 are more about the roots, the underlying substance, and the purpose of the films. Here we go:

Caricature films

I group Wes Anderson, Woody Allen, and Paolo Sorrentino all into this category. These are three of my all-time favorites. The Coen Brothers could be grouped in here too — well at least maybe half of their filmography anyway (Oh Brother Where Art Thou?, Burn After Reading, Hail Caesar!, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, etc.).

Attractive visual palette, that matches tone

Wes Anderson is an obvious example here, as the colors are effective stimuli. Besides simply stimulating, the colors complement and add to the tone of the picture. The red hats and blue jumpsuits in Zissou reflect an overall goofyness on the one hand, and an ethic of work on the other. This reflects a broader theme, that Zissou and his films are at once something to laugh at, and also something to admire.

Another example is Christopher Nolan’s use of color in Dunkirk. If you look closely, there is a certain blue that is baked into the whole film. It’s a blue-green shade, maybe you could say aqua blue-green. It fits and accentuates the tense and cloudy tone. It also reflects this idea that the soldiers are low on resources, and low on time — like an ill patient would have a blue face. Third, the blue also reflects the thing that stands between them and freedom: the sea. They have become the thing they keep looking at to an extent, and this is true in life. The truth of the color makes it beautiful.

Another note on color, drawing not from film, but from a real setting —color is certainly one of the things that is attractive about the city of Lisboa. Many buildings are painted reds, light blues, yellows, and pinks. Most of the roofs are orange tile. The colors are stimulating, and match the sunny light of the City. I like that.

Ensemble casts and cameos

They are just fun. It’s fun to say, look at all these people that are in this! Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel and upcoming French Dispatch, for example, are great examples of this. Seeing lots of talented people in films is exciting. It’s a tribute to the Director that such a familial environment has been created, and that all these actors want to be a part of it.

Curb Your Enthusiasm has been brilliant with cameos and guest stars. The John Hamm episode is hilarious. Again, it makes it fun for the viewer because it’s a surprise, and you see actors in roles you wouldn’t expect. Entourage was great at this as well. On the film side, two examples that come to mind are Anchorman 2 and Tropic Thunder.

A side note — casting actors in roles you wouldn’t expect, cameo or not, can have a lot of energy to it, whether it is a “cameo” or a proper role. This is counterintuitive. When an actor is challenged, they are likely to bring a lot of energy to the table. This can contribute to overall energy for the film. The trick is that the energy is subdued, instead of “trying too hard.”

Single guiding theme

For example, Iñárritu’s Birdman is about ego. Hitchcock’s Vertigo is about romantic delusion. Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums is about a dysfunctional father.

The audience wants to know what happens next, so the story itself should stand on its own two feet. But it’s also enjoyable when a film has this thematic undertone to it, and makes us think because it has multiple levels of meaning.

An element of classic feel, tone, or backdrop

I enjoy visuals and things that have a classic feel to them. This one is a little tricky to describe. One way is to say classic means things that have stood the test of time. A good suit. A comfy sweater. An old, yellow road bike. A red Guzzi motorcycle from the 1970s. Celluloid photographs. Tipping the valet with cash. A fire, and the dogs. Vinyl records. Crooners, like Elvis, Sinatra, and Muddy Waters. Arnold Palmer shirts, with the bigger collar point, and with an extra button. Leathers and woods.

But I also like the colors, as mentioned above, and I appreciate technology. So maybe the best way to describe it is a juxtaposition of modern and classic, or brighter colors (like an orange sweater) and a classic backdrop (like brown wooden floors). It should be intuitive that we are living now, but that the roots are deep. We are not holding onto the past, but rather, have good taste.

I can’t deny the attraction of Europe, especially as it relates to this idea of classic. It’s soulful.

Synchronicity, or “meaningful coincidences”

This is a theme I read about recently, but have always been vaguely aware of. The book was by Carl Jung. He was a tremendous thinker who explored many novel concepts. Synchronicity is his word for “meaningful coincidences.”

One example he gave was when you see the same number several times within a day or so. In the example he gave, he recounted the case where someone saw the exact same number in a phone number, then on a train ticket, then on another document. It’s really too improbable to be just “chance,” but it can’t quite be explained in physics terms. It speaks to the inherent intelligence of the universe.

Another example he gave was around a fish, a symbol which showed up in several places in day. First it was prominent in a dream, then it figured in a story an acquaintance happened to tell, then fish was served for lunch, and finally, a fish was inexplicably flopped up on a stone next to a pond during a walk. Jung also wrote a lot about symbols and the significance of dreams, including symbols that frequently show up, one of which is the fish.

The synchronicity concept seems linked to the concept of “duality” that I have observed on screen. One way of defining this is that an element that is introduced comes back around later in an unexpected way. This is always evident in Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. Funkhauser’s nephew is killed running with the bulls, then Larry screams “gun” at the funeral, and people trample over the photo in the same way. What goes around, comes back around.

The synchronicity concept can be taken in different directions. It is about a psyche connecting to the real world. It is about the world, or nature, talking back to you. It explains and gives credence to serendipity. It is an important and interesting concept.

Conclusion: realizing a worthy “purpose” of making films

It occurs to me that the last 3 elements, theme, soul, and synchronicity, can be grouped together. They are important film components that are part of the “roots” of a film. In other words, they are not as directly seen as “surface” elements like character, color, and plot.

These “roots” components inform the purpose of the film. One thing I have thought about for a while is, what is the purpose of making films? In other words, how does it serve? How does it contribute? It can’t just be for me.

We seem to have plenty of “entertainment” these days, so that didn’t seem like a sufficient answer.

However, through this writing, I can now see a purpose that is meaningful and impactful.

If we can convey a sense of soul and aliveness (which is what synchronicity is basically about), I think that in and of itself is a worthy purpose for a film.

Sometimes we fall into the trap of going through the motions, or seeing life as mundane. A reminder, or an inspiration, that points us to the incredible, vast, life force of which we are apart, is worthy. For that is the direction of evolution, and all things positive.

I will continue to write and expound on these ideas and others, with the purpose of developing my personal Film Philosophy.