My Dinner With Andre
This is one of the best movies about philosophy ever filmed. Even if you don’t like philosophy you’re going to like this film. It’s about two friends in a French restaurant. One is the Everyman and the other is Knowledge and they both learn from each other. Nothing but dialogue here and it’s very well written. Anyone who wants to learn how to write good dialogue would be well advised to study the rhythms of words and sentences in this film. Awesome.
The Seventh Seal
A knight (Max Von Sydow) returns from the crusades doubting God and plays a game of chess with Death. Visually stunning and beautifully crafted this film draws you right in and never lets you go. Please, if you’ve never seen this movie get hold of a copy. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
The Virgin Spring
Another Swedish film with Max Von Sydow. I don’t want to give too much away about this story set in medieval times. A young woman is raped. Violence and retribution and sacrifice ensue. There is a scene of violence towards the end which elicited an “Oh, my God!” exclamation from me. That’s not easy to do, my friend. But this film did it. And as you watch you wonder, “So what’s with the title? What’s the virgin spring?” And then you see it and again you think with unbelievable wonder, “Oh. My. God.”
M.K., I have seen both The Virgin Spring and The Seventh Seal; well worth reviewing! Thanks for the tip about dialogue writing improvement by listening carefully to My Dinner with Andre. Here’s a tip I have found helpful: seat yourself where you can hear dialogue between professors in a university cafeteria!
They are great films. There are lots of good places for writers to hear dialog. I think all good writers are always watching and listening to people everywhere. 🙂