Kapitel 52: Theme
Clark's question made Levi smile bitterly in his heart.
His questions are sharp enough and tricky enough. Compared to Alexander, who is desperate when he hears that he has money, and Bob, who gets carried away when he sees a good script, this guy with the most artistic temperament is the most difficult in answering the questions he asks.
What is the theme of all the films? This question seems simple and general, but in fact, it is the deepest torture for the director: You want to make a movie, you can, but you have to say it; what do you want to shoot, right?
A good director only makes one movie in his life.
In the director's industry, there has always been such a saying. This sentence does not mean that a director can really only make one movie in his life, but that no matter how much a director changes the subject matter and content of the movie he shoots, it is impossible to change the core idea in the film.
Maybe an artist has many works in his life, but there is always only one theme in the true sense. What is the most significant difference between a film director and those who shoot TV dramas, variety shows, and even romantic action movies? The difference is that no matter what form the great directors adopt to express, what method they use to show it, and what story they put on to tell it, their inner things are the same, and the spiritual core will never change.
"D. W. Griffith is talking about partisanship and dissent, let Jean Renoir talk about disillusionment, Ingmar Bergman is talking about original sin and redemption, Andrei Tarkovsky is talking about nostalgia and sacrifice, Martin Scorsese is obsessed with the struggle between man and nature, the eternal theme of love is carried through in Steven Spielberg's films, Stanley Kubrick likes to look at society from an alternative perspective, no matter how Woody Allen makes a film, he cannot do without his beloved New York..." Clark elaborated counting the themes of those great directors, having a few glasses of wine at the party, he is also in high spirits, and now he is even more eloquent, "Different people must shoot different things. There is no rich understanding of art. If you copy Woody Allen, that's like drawing a tiger from a cat. The same one-off story outline allows the director to play. For Woody Allen, that may be Vicky Cristina Barcelona; for Hitchcock, that may be Rear Window; for Scorsese, it's probably going to be a man-to-man fight, but for Spielberg, he's definitely going to be able to go back to the theme of family and love. You want to make a movie; what is the theme of your film? Don't talk about your script. I just ask you, how would you shoot the same story?" Clark's question is the most fundamental question: the film is called the seventh art because the film in itself, there is enough beauty, and at the same time, it also has enough emotional transmission. Through movies, directors can spread some of their own ideas for the audience to accept or criticize. This is the reason why movies are considered art, and it is also the persistent pursuit of great directors: Is there anything greater than directly affecting other people's lives and changing their thoughts?
Directors use movies to express their thoughts. Without thoughts, no matter how good a movie is, it is an empty shell. Even if Spielberg sold well at the box office in the early days, he was still unpopular because his films lacked their own ideas at that time. Works without their own thoughts, no matter how ingeniously decorated, are just superficial, empty, and lacking in soul. In his memory, Michael Bay, who is known as Bomb Bay, is ranked among the top three in the world at the box office, but still, no one regards him as a top director because the explosion he is obsessed with is really not a theme.
This question is much more complex than that of Alexander and Bob. Movies are easy to copy, but ideas are hard to replicate. Shooting other people's movies is not difficult, but how can it be so simple to copy other people's ideas completely? Thoughts are only their own, and they cannot be reproduced. For other people's problems, Levi can use the experience and knowledge of his previous life to deal with them, but for this problem, his talent is tested.
Scripts can be bought, money can be earned, and shooting techniques can be learned, but thoughts and talents can only be your own. That's Clark's only question: do you have that talent?
If he had no thoughts at all, Levi would bet that if he dared to blurt out at this time that his movie was after the box office or that he was after the process of filming, then Clark would really dare to reject him on the spot, maybe even quit the company directly. It is really boring to talk about making money to someone who takes art as the highest pursuit. Clark is a man who sees movies as art, and he would be outraged if he were to tell him that making movies is similar to making commodities.
However, for Clark's question, Levi also showed a smile: He has thought about this question for a long time. Before Clark asked him, he had asked himself many times, and the answer was already in his chest.
"The eternal theme is a big topic. I haven't even shot a movie, so talking about the eternal theme is incorrect." Levi thought about his previous life in his heart when he had been long forgotten in the corner, "About this, I can only say that I have thought about it, and I dare not say that I have thought it through. In fact, you have read my script, and you can probably know my thoughts. You can see there are not many things that are regarded as eternal themes, but fortunately, I found one: Loneliness."
"Loneliness?" Clark repeated, "What is loneliness?
"In a busy city, people will also feel lonely in the crowd. No two people are the same, and there are differences between people, which determines that there will always be a distance between people, incomprehension, and inability to agree. When there is distance, there will be loneliness. Loneliness will always exist in people's hearts, and this is one of the most eternal themes."
"I'm not asking what loneliness is in theory. I'm asking, do you know what loneliness is?"
"Me? Believe me, Clark. No one knows that word better than I do."
On this point, Levi is quite sure: he is a traverser and has always been incompatible with his surroundings. Although he can carefully blend into the crowd, as if he is the same as them, he knows he is different from others. Although he can mingle with the friends around him, deep down in his heart, he knows that he is different from them. He has too many secrets, and those secrets cannot be shared with others.
He would be moved and sad about his friends and happy and excited about their thoughts—but, deep down, Levi always felt that he didn't belong here.
He doesn't belong in this world, doesn't belong in Hollywood, doesn't belong in the name Nicholas Levi, doesn't even belong in this skin. If you want to talk about the taste of loneliness, who can have a more profound experience than him?
Ever since Levi started working on his own film, he's been thinking about how to pursue the subject matter of his film. Some people may think that if a movie is good-looking, sells for a high price, has a good box office, and makes a lot of money, everything else doesn't matter. Artistry doesn't really matter, but Levi couldn't quite buy that idea. He chose to become a director because there were indeed some movies that had a profound impact on him. He believed that good films could change people's souls. Some people, on the one hand, say they love this industry, and on the other hand, they only want to make money from it. This kind of approach is shallow.
Levi hasn't had any works, but he has pursuits. He always wants to prove that he is a good director. Be it the past life or the present life, his pursuit has not changed. He has often asked himself such a question: What is his pursuit? What kind of movie do you want to shoot, and what kind of theme can you shoot?
If a movie doesn't have its own thoughts and it just copies the gorgeous appearance of other people's movies, no matter how they are shot, they are just a beautiful empty shell. Only after figuring out what is one's own ideas to shoot, only then can one produce a good enough film.
Like love, struggle, and exploration, loneliness is one of the themes that human beings will always face. This theme is a thought that can be carried through from beginning to end. This is Levi's tragedy; he has said it to himself many times, and now he has said it to Clark.
This is his own idea, his own talent, not copied or learned.
Levi's words made Clark nod and stop arguing with Levi, "Remember to show me your script. I'd love to see what kind of loneliness you understand. Now, let's not talk about these; so many beauties are here. Talking about loneliness is too boring."
"It's a bit of a bummer." Levi laughed, "It's not what I wanted to talk about... Now that you've said that, what are you waiting for? The party has already started. I will feel sorry for myself if I don't have a carnival here and go back."
His friend not only agrees with his idea of wanting to make a movie but also agrees with his theme of the movie—for Levi, this is a pretty perfect day. How can you not celebrate it?
Soon, in the crowd, Levi was chatting with a model. Clark, in the distance, watching Levi in just a few minutes, already made a model laughing all over the place, and his own hand is showing on the other's waist, just let out an exclamation.
"Lonely? How is this guy lonely? I hope his movie script won't disappoint me. I've been looking forward to it for a long time."
*****
Thanks and kudos for my patreons Cherif Doghri and Abdishakur Hasan.
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