If you’re not aware, the Oscars are coming up soon and I’m taking this time to try and catch up. It’s been a crazy year and I’m sad to say I didn’t see nearly as many movies in theaters as I would have liked. But that’s OK because I’m using this time before the Oscars to watch as much as I can. And as I was watching some movies, I felt the need to write this post about the duality of movies.
Last night I watched “The Two Popes”. The night before I watched “Marriage Story”. Now each movie is phenomenal and worthy of their Oscar nominations. But at the same time they are incredibly relatable, even for someone who hasn’t experienced those situations. I grew up going to church but now as I’m older, I’m not sure exactly what’s out there. I’ve also never been divorced. And yet these stories are so visceral, so relatable, without having to relate to you personally. Why?
The Duality of Movies.
Every great story has some form of duality. Good vs. bad, man vs. nature, hot vs. cold. Think of any movie and there is bound to be an underlying conflict pitting two forces of nature against each other. It might be a level or two down, but it’s there. Those two movies I watched are perfectly opposed. One is the classic Husband vs. wife, the other old vs. new. We can all relate to those oppositions.
When we go to the movies, we want to see a bit of ourselves in the film. Some films let us in a tiny bit, especially sci-fi and fantasy movies. We can see ourselves as the brave sorcerer or the young rebel. When a film allows you in fully, you get masterpieces, like “The Two Popes” and “Marriage Story”.
Chris' Movie Reviews 