Category: Notes

To understand what cinema has become, one need only ask: who would read a work of literature written by multiple authors? The answer is very simple: someone looking for entertainment. In a story written this way, there’s no doubt that even the smallest details would be carefully crafted: the story might be an ingenious puzzle, and the plot would unfold by revealing “mysteries”; but, as surely as morning follows night, the story would lack authenticity. And that is exactly why, no matter how advanced and perfect it becomes, no one will have the slightest interest in a story written by artificial intelligence. Art implies a connection between two and no more than two souls; otherwise, it does not happen.

The moment a film production relies on a team of screenwriters, it forfeits the possibility of producing a work of art. It is the most obvious of the obvious: the filmmaker and the screenwriter must be the same person, and the work must be an individual creation. Cinema, however, has turned the former into a sort of manager, a specialist in scene composition, the person who decides where the camera should be placed; the latter, on the other hand, no longer exists, because he has multiplied into a team. No matter how talented the screenwriter may be, in a collaborative work, his talent will be diluted. The team will certainly produce a well-rounded screenplay; and it is precisely for this reason, because consensus will prune out the eccentric elements, the scenes that do not fit, the “nonsensical” dialogue, and the idea “that won’t work,” that the film loses, from the outset, the uniqueness that characterizes a work of art. A screenwriter, without a name, cannot become a filmmaker. A filmmaker, without money, cannot produce a film without a binding contract. So, there is not much more to say.

This past July, I reached seven years without watching a single movie. I didn’t miss them. And when I think back on that old habit of watching at least one a week—on a Saturday or Sunday night—I don’t feel any nostalgia. After all, how many hours were wasted on disappointing experiences? The evolution of cinema is regrettable: productions have become much more expensive, and obviously they have to pay for themselves. As a result, stories need to strike at least one chord with the average viewer; otherwise, they won’t succeed. Thus, it’s impossible not to give in to ready-made formulas, which immediately trigger a whole range of emotions. Dozens of staff members are hired and trained for this very purpose. Production companies invest astronomical sums, and the filmmaker can do nothing about it. Let everyone do whatever they please with the time they have; for my part, however, since cinema has become good entertainment, I am better off looking for something else to do.