Movies Without Plots

I was thinking about No Country for Old Men, one of the best movies I’ve seen all year, and how it has a plot, but really … it’s not about the plot. And how if you ask me what my favorite stories are “about” I can’t say they are about any particular event, but people. And should that be unusual considering that when we talk about a real person’s life, we don’t usually sum it up as a plot. Most lives aren’t about one big thing that’s happened. Sometimes we get caught up in a chain of events, sometimes we set those events in motion, but at the center of every life is a person.

Comments

4 Responses to “Movies Without Plots”

Sara on December 5th, 2007 10:24 pm

Yes, and yes. When I am struggling with our daughter, or when I am frustrated with a student, I do have to stop and remember this.

P.S. Here’s the link to the Dickinson Black Cake recipe I’ve made:
http://tinyurl.com/2g8st2. It makes about 4 very dense cakes. I think I have to get moving on my own…
claire on December 6th, 2007 8:46 am

i’m totaly with you, about no country for old men, and favorite stories being about people. i’ve been watching DVDs of the HBO show “the wire” and one of the things i love the most about it is how incredibly rich the characters are. when i go from one episode to the next i am eagerly anticipating seeing more of character X more so than how the plot moves forward. in that show the plot moves the characters forward more than the other way around. they writer make things happen because it will show how X reacts to it. can you tell i’m infatuated? haha.
Alex on December 6th, 2007 8:51 am

My favorite movie without a plot is Coffee and Cigarettes by Jim Jaramusch.

No plot at all. Just awesome pairings of great actors and musicians smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee and talking. Ultimate fanboi excitement. There is a certain amount of voyeurism involved. Like when you listen in on some one’s conversation at the table next to you.

Similarly, Waking Life. One part documentary about dreams and one part art project. Really makes you think about the brain’s connection with “Reality”.
hafidha sofia on December 7th, 2007 3:30 am

Whoo hoo - thank you, Sara! I won’t be able to make this till Spring, but so very much looking forward to it!

Claire - Haven’t seen “The Wire” at all, but have heard good things. I think how you feel about The Wire is how I felt about “Homicide: Life on the Streets.” I still think it was one of the top 5 tv shows of the 90s. Maybe #1. That show was incredible, and primarily because of the character interactions.

Alex - Thanks for the movie recommend; so far my favorite movie without a plot is The Company by Robert Altman, “about” a ballet company. Hopefully Coffee and Cigarettes won’t be too hip for me to get something out of it. I’ll check out Waking Life, too. I didn’t care for A Scanner Darkly but I liked the earlier films of Linklater’s that I’ve seen, e.g. Before Sunrise, Dazed and Confused, even SubUrbia.