MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > I have ONE or rather SEVERAL confessions...

I have ONE or rather SEVERAL confessions to make about me watching FILMS these days, or years.

posted 2 years ago by TheMan18 (12675)
26 replies | jump to latest

It being - nowadays, when I watch movies, whether ones I've seen before or otherwise, I am often on my phone checking WhatsApp messages and sites so I often don't concentrate. Ooh, silly and naughty me here mates, aaaagggh.

ALSO - and I don't just mean bizarre and weird films like those directed by David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Fernando Arrabal, Guy Maddin, Ken Russell, Abel Ferrara, Atom Egoyan and many others, but I at times, especially for foreign films including those subtitled in English or with dubbed voiceover, nowadays, tend to LOSE the track of events, including who or what certain characters are (I have at certain times confused one character for another), what they are doing, why they do what they do, what the main storyline overall is, in other words, I literally and figuratively lose the plot in the process. And I don't just mean film's plot.

Even in some easy to understand films I fail to see who at one point one character is to another, as in, how are they related, why some guy did this instead of that and why did that event happen etc.

And people may be surprised by how not very good for instance I am at spotting say "misogyny" in movies as in it being a feel, vibe, streak or a de-facto happening although here its all a matter of perception, perspective and personal opinion. Similar for stuff like racism and whatnot. Or even if the movie does or does not, inappropriately and at times offensively, make light or certain subjects. Albeit we rarely hear about if the "over the top vengeance" was REALLY worthy although we do at times too - although that matter often is counteracted but let's discuss THOSE bits later, shall we?

Anyways, do you often get confused when watching movies nowadays and not just confusing movies? And do you also tend not to concentrate when watching a film by being distracted by your tablet or smartphone? Thanks.

[–] rushington (735) 2 years ago

It's one thing to get distracted by electronics, confusing characters or failing to understand a plot silly as it may be is a another subject matter. That being said, I suggest that you lay off films for a while,as you may not be cut out for it.

[–] Daisy (3022) 2 years ago

I don’t use my phone at all if it’s something I really want to see. I always have something on in the background though when I do feel like playing around on my phone. Likely something I’ve seen before.

[–] TheMan18 (12675) 2 years ago

And let's not forget the late provocative, at times often male gaze oriented by focusing on female nudity, sex and even exploitation nature here of women in jeopardy, but also downright bizarre French filmmaker Alain Robbe-Grillet (his last surname is pronounced as "Gri-yay" or "Grilley"), particularly his 1975 ultra bizarre and erotically charged black comedy "Playing With Fire" and also his other works like 1983's "La Belle Captive" ("The Beautiful Prisoner") and other works of his, CAN INDEED be hard to follow if you don't pay attention, especially since, the sexual aspect of his films briefly put aside, a lot of his films have a dream-like logic to them not too dissimilar from the likes of David Lynch, Luis Bunuel and Jean Luc Godard, and you often can't tell what is real and what is imagined, what is fantasy and what is reality etc.

Its like he wants to be appealing both to male fantasies and to the minds of various intellectual viewers out there, decide for yourselves.