What makes a great movie (part 1)? Show don't tell
I’ve been wanting to put these ideas out there for a while, and I think I need to flesh them out more. I’d cross post this with a ~writing or ~fiction territory if they were around since this will also apply to good writing in general, but the movie territory will do for now.
Principles of show don't tell
One of the keys to story telling is when the story teller shows you the story, not tells you the story. This is a stereotype of the Irishman whose stories go on and on. But, why do we keep listening? Because he brings us along. We don’t get bored (well, maybe we do sometimes) because it’s not a robotic rehashing of a plot. It’s touch and feel. It’s drama. It feels like there is something behind the story that he is trying to get to.
Great movies show you the story, they don’t tell you it. This is why people who like watching hallmark movies even know they are lame. It’s not just that all the stories follow the same arch. Most great stories follow the same arch. It’s that they tell you what’s happening. They tell you how the characters are feeling. They tell you what type of person the character is. They tell you what is happening and what is going to happen next.
Some specifics.
make me cry, not feel bad
Probably a place you can really feel the difference between good story telling in a movie and bad is sad moments. Does the sad moment make you feel bad for the character, or does it make you want to cry. Think about when Gandalf dies in Fellowship of the Ring. Did you feel bad for Frodo and crew? No, you felt bad for yourself. You just lost Gandalf! Great stories make the sadness of the story your sadness. It’s a beautiful thing.
make me laugh, don't tell a joke
In that same vein, great story telling doesn’t add in jokes, but it does make you laugh. It’s not a gag or a setup. It’s the absurdity of the situation or the dialogue, but like in life, you don’t know how you got there. There is no feeling that the story teller is nudging you with their elbow going “see what I did there? Pretty funny, eh?”. The humor just bursts into the scene.
make me experience it with my mind's eye, not with my eyes
This final point really summarizes the main idea. Great story telling, and great movies, make you experience them with your own mind’s eye. Not just with your eyes. Yes, everyone say all the same pixels, just like with a book, everyone saw all the same words. But, your experience is singular because the story made it passed your eyes, and into your mind, and not to sound too dramatic, also into your heart.