Movies for the Writer
By Sandra Lee Schubert
There must be hundreds of movies based on books. Finding one that
reflects the writing life is a little trickier. Movies, if they are good can be
inspirational and spark creativity. Growing up, I spent many Saturday
afternoons at the movies and they fired up my imagination.
They allow you to imagine personas and observe facets of life and
human nature that you might not get to observe on your own. But
movies can also reflect an aspect of your life that you may not have
been able to name. In some ways, movies can bear witness for us.
For all you seasoned or budding writers, here are five movies that spark
creativity or allow you to peek into the writer's life. My skill at writing
movie reviews is limited so I have included short synopsis of each movies I
picked these particular titles because they told stories about families
and relationships. It is interesting to see how someone else interprets
a life story. Try to view movies as catalyst for creativity. Explore how
the story unfolds, where it works and how it doesn't.
Big Fish
(book by Daniel Wallace)
Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites,
enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge
mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins
piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing
adventures in this marvel of a movie.
In a New York Times article, Daniel Wallace said he didn't intend to write
about his father but viewing the movie for the first time he realized he did
just that. This movie is about finding the truth of your family. The movie is
a grand story woven with imagination and vision. I like the idea of coming
to terms with the tales we were told as children. These tales may be quite
different as adult nonetheless they provide a foundation for the stories we
tell about ourselves now.
In America
Director Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In The Name of the
Father) wrote this drama of resilience with his daughters Naomi
and Kirsten based on their own experiences of coming to live New York
City in the 1980s.
Our childhood is not just idealized images of bike riding and ice cream. In
this story, the children view the world differently then their parents as they
all deal with the loss of younger child and coming of age in a new land.
Radio Flyer 1992
Two young brothers' lives are turned upside down when their new alcoholic
stepfather enters their world and begins to beat young Bobby. Devoted to
their mom, they come up with their own solution and attempt to build a
working airplane from their ordinary red wagon. In the process, they
transform their own lives into an extraordinary adventure.
This movie is difficult for some of its content but it is also provides
inspiration. The two brothers take on a legend about a boy who could fly.
That legend allows them to create a goal to rise above their situation. It
is about loyalty, love and hope.
Stand by Me
Based on Stephen King's novella THE BODY, director Rob Reiner's STAND BY ME
is the disarmingly tender and subtly sublime story of four kids on the precipice
of early adulthood who embark upon a quest.
In Stand by Me we are allowed a snapshot of a boys life. That life is not all
sweetness but it is about adventure, growth and coming to terms with what
life has handed you. Also the movie begins with a writer relating the tale of
this childhood experience while his own boys are each creating their own.
The Hours
(book by Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title by Michael Cunningham)
"The Hours" is very nearly unrelentingly downbeat with almost no
humor. In fact, all three stories deal in part with suicide, and the movie
handles the subject in a resolutely unsentimental way that forced me to think
the issue through in terms of different situations: one character has a
debilitating terminal physical illness, another has recurring mental problems
that are ruining the lives of loved ones, and a third has an innate inability to
meet society's expectations.
English novelist and essayist Virginia Woolf (1882 - 1941), 1925 novel
"Mrs. Dalloway" provides the structure and inspiration in the
movie, The Hours. We also see Virginia Woolf
creating the novel as we see how each character in the movie is
influenced by the story years later. I was intrigued to witness the idea
of how a writer and the characters they create can still influence years later.
Shakespeare is long gone yet his work still has life and
breath in it. We might not ever know how we have influenced
someone and how that effect can trickle down through the years.
To view a film from that perspective makes the movie more worthwhile.
We might certainly rethink how we treat each other knowing what affect
our choices might have in the future.
To view some spiritually literate movies, visit
Spirituality and Health.
The website provides some
nice reviews on both movies and books.
Creative Writing Prompts
Try writing an outline for the movie of your life. Would it be a drama
or comedy? Maybe your life is a little of both.
Sandra Schubert is the creator and instructor for the Self-Healing Expressions
e-course
Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own.
To learn more about Sandra and her course, click here:
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Copyright © 2004 Sandra Lee Schubert. All rights reserved. If you are interested
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