Advantages of Films

We have discussed how most of the time people say: “I liked the movie but the book was better.” We also need to look at films and recognize that there are many beautiful films that could never be written as a book, or not succesfully. Errol Morris’ Gates of Heaven is one example of the power of film, and he captures the essence of how a film can tell a different story than a novel. There are so many subtle meanings that can be drawn from both the characters, how he juxtaposes them, and their settings, that even though they can be described in a book it would be hard for them to have the same weight that they have in the film. A book could describe the manner in which neutered was said but the finality of the edit changes the viewers response completely. This led me to think of other directors who instead of limiting themselves to adapting writing to film, have tried to use film to tell stories in unique ways that were previously unimaginable. The director that immediately jumps to mind for me is Alejandro González iñárritu. Like Morris his films deal more with themes, than a tightly drawn narrative, and while it does have elements of novels, it combines them in ways that are only available in film. I recommend Amores Perros to anyone who wants to see the difference in his style to that of a traditional writer. He also has directed Babel, which does have a plot but like Gates of Heaven the movie is not about its plot.