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A Culture called “Conversation”: The beauty of conversation oriented and dialogue driven movies

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Conversation is like an art of exchanging thoughts, ideas, dialogue and approval between two or more people. And disappointingly this beautiful culture of dialogue between two or more people is no longer existentially as strong as it used to be. People these days don’t have time to engage in a head to head or a heart to heart conversation and hence failing to realize the importance of communication to understand and acknowledge the other person.

Amidst of all this, cinema has been a great medium and influence to promote this culture through some of the intricately crafted films. Certain thoughtful directors have appreciated this culture and created movies that need to be cherished before the art of ‘conversations’ is wiped out from this field as well.

Two directors who have been the most prominent in promoting this culture are Richard Linklater and Woody Allen. They truly and carefully depict the beauty of conversation oriented and dialogue driven movies. The dialogues are casted as the hero of such movies while the conversation acts as the action and the plot.

It is important to talk about such movies created as they provide a platform to value ideas and give everyone’s mind a push and space to think, question and contemplate. Sometimes these movies may be short on plot but heavy and strong enough on dialogues and character to get the audience engaged. One can find them extremely relatable and impactful.

With a Parisian score, nostalgic cinematography and an inventive fantasy plot, Woody Allen’s ‘Midnight in Paris’ still manages to dominate the movie world with dialogues, passionate enough to inspire artists and writers. A major reason for citing this movie as an example is because of its enticing fictional plot which completely makes the viewer drift off reality. And what contributes to that most, are the thoughts narrated by the protagonist, his conversations with the other subjects that attracts the viewers in such a way so as to create a make-believe world one is desperate to escape to throughout the movie.

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The film talks about a young man’s great love for the city of Paris and a common illusion people have that a life different from theirs would be much better. Never before have history, fantasy, time-travel, and romance come together in the way they do in this film. But the best aspects of the film still remain its conversations which are effortless and charming, subtly serving reality on a dream platter.

It is pleasantly surprising to see how the essence of a plot so fictional is created on the base of crude reality. It deals with multiple important facets of life starting with love towards people, art, time and life in general, about an artist’s passion, work and life, and nostalgia. Nostalgia and escape being the central theme, the ardent vocal exchanges justify the dilemma of being stuck between the nostalgia for the something familiar yet out of reach and the urge for something foreign and exciting.

Another great feature which cites to be a pertinent example is the ‘Before Trilogy’ (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight) by Richard Linklater starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy as lovers Jesse and CĂ©line at three different parts of their lives. The movies is filmed and set at nine-year intervals, each film takes place over the course of a few hours with the couple walking around in the respective cities discussing about love and life in general. The movie starts with an argument and ends with one, and the meager plot kicks off with a character describing another’s future.

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The idea of romance usually presented in movies is not just unreal but also very mainstream yet what Linklater depicts with this series is path-breaking and unconventional for a romantic movie. He presented romance in its most realistically believable beauty. Not only that he assumes intelligence on both the part of his characters and his audience but content in a strong belief that idle conversation is great medium to convey the earnestness and sweetness of developing a bond between a man and a woman through a heart to heart with each other. It builds up the required connection between the audience and the characters as they contemplate the possible and the necessary through their interaction with each other.

The plot and action of the movie is literally the dialogue between the protagonists and how it sets the pace of the entire film. The director rationally balances the burden of reality with the promise of romance and argues that real love can also be real life. And this is solely established by the conversations and dialogues between the couple.

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Both the movies stand contrasting to each other in terms of plot, direction, and theme, but have the similar concept of putting ahead the strength of dialogue between individuals. Such movies serve with such realistic flavor that one is reminded of how beautiful simple talking can be and how everyday exchanges between people while ordering food, having coffee or traveling can make a lot happen. It is a privilege to have such movies being made by some great minds in the world of cinema and how carefully and considerably their work makes people realize such small and beautiful pleasures of life.


About the Author: Shreyasi Pareek is a hopeless daydreamer passionate about art, tea and long walks. She is fond of travelling, movies, music and writing about them. Being a former history student, she loves digging in to the past and finding out stories related to every place visited and enjoys documenting the small and often ignored observations and insights about people, places and life in general. She is an obsessive cleaner and believes that a lot can happen over a cup of tea or a long walk. Find her at spareek0739@gmail.com


 

STREETTROTTER

StreetTrotter is a Travel, Culture & Lifestyle blog, inspiring people everyday with real stories to look good and travel even better. Founded in 2012 by Shraddha Gupta, Founder & COO, this space is all about experiencing new things in life, be it a daring mountain trek, a frugal backpacking trip, a runway look made local, or simply anything that scares you enough to live a little more deeper.

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