erotic, comic, pathetic, furious, heroic, terrifying, odious, marvelous - and peace
What the movie must accomplish:
The viewer wants to be engaged, entertained, stimulated, enlightened, occasionally challenged and provoked and disturbed, but finally, satisfied. How does one do this? By creating an experience on screen that is, a) interesting, b) convincing, and c) complete.
- An experience will be interesting if it is unusual and/or dramatic.
- An experience will be convincing if it unfolds plausibly (and the viewer is happy to suspend his disbelief for an experience if it’s interesting enough).
- Finally, an experience will appear complete to a viewer only if it is meaningful in some way, either by giving him an insight into life or simply the general feeling that he is better off for having seen the film.
The Four Layers of the Screenplay:
- The most basic level is the seed or the germ, which to translate into concrete terms, would be the concept of the story. The very concept must contain the potential to develop into a screenplay that can have various sentiments in an organic mix.
- The second level is that of character: who are the people that inhabit the story? Do they represent a cross-section of the society in which the story is set?
- The third level is that of the sequences or the incidents that are used to tell the story. As we know, the story in a film unfolds via incidents and a screenplay is nothing but a series of incidents strung together to make a whole. The very choice of these incidents must be such that they are able to capture the essence of life via a variety of sentiments.
- The fourth level is that of the scene. The scene is the smallest unit of a screenplay and can be seen as akin to a moment in the script. The moments that a screenwriter chooses to tell the story must be exactly appropriate, ones that, when seen together, reflect a variety of sentiments.
The rasas in more American understanding:
sexuality, comedy, pathos, fury, heroism, terror, disgust, wonder
- Does the concept feature one of the rasas?
- Does the Protagonist display all of the rasas? Do minor characters embody at least one of them?
- Do the incidents serve one of the rasas?
- Do the scenes evoke one or more one of them?
Re: The Scene
If the first 3 levels are in place, the scene can become the difference between a good and a great script. In fact, several films become popular primarily on the strength of their scenes, because even when the story and characters are less than compelling, absorbing scenes can give the viewer an entertaining enough experience. With the first 3 levels in place, a brilliant script can use the scene to great effect. Let’s look at the first sequence – the entire wedding sequence – from The Godfather.*
The first scene itself seems almost consciously to be following the tenets of the rasa theory, in the way the sentiments are evoked. The erotic sentiment is evoked via Bonasera’s description of his daughter’s experience with her boyfriend, where he tried to take advantage of her. (Yes, the image is not a pleasant one, but unfortunately, even rape holds an erotic fascination for human beings.) Also evoking the erotic is Don Corleone’s reference to his daughter’s wedding. The comic sentiment is evoked by the way Don Corleone toys with Bonasera, finally bullying him into accepting Don Corleone as godfather. The pathetic sentiment is evoked via the experience of Bonasera’s daughter. The furious sentiment via Bonasera’s anger, as well Corleone’s at what he perceives as Bonasera’s insults. There’s the heroic sentiment in Corleone’s love for justice, albeit of a primitive kind. His persona, emphasized by the respect that he is shown by other men in the room, too drips heroism. Corleone’s power and manner evoke terror and the act of Bonasera’s daughter’s assaulters is odious. Other than astonishment, all the other seven sentiments are evoked in the first scene itself!
Now let’s look at the rest of the twenty-six minute sequence, sentiment-wise.
- Erotic: The conversation between Michael and Kay; Sonny and his girlfriend making out against a door; the wedding itself.
- Comic: The mirth of the wedding; Johnny Fontane’s song; Luca Brasi and his fumbling dialogue with Don Corleone.
- Pathetic: Sonny’s wife’s sorrow; Kay’s situation on discovering Michael’s family; Johnny’s situation vis-à-vis his sinking career.
- Furious: Sonny and the FBI; Sonny and the photographer; Don’s reaction to Johnny’s situation.
- Heroic: Michael’s uniform; Don’s dispensing of justice; Michael telling Kay that he is not like his family; Michael pulling Kay into the photograph.
- Terrifying: Don’s power as a criminal who controls judges and politicians; the realization that a criminal can be so powerful, charismatic, and ‘respectable’.
- Odious: Sonny thrusting in a vulgar manner, as he has sex with a woman against a door; vulgar dancing and drinking; Michael’s story about brains on a contract and the offer that cannot be refused.
As is obvious from the above, the sentiments have been given a glorious opportunity for display by a seed (a combination of the pain of a man forced by circumstances into joining the mafia and the saga of a powerful criminal family) that has given rise to a world peopled by varied and interesting characters.
- Marvellous: The astonishing cake and the general spectacle of the wedding.
more complete version here
original article here
*("The Godfather," 1972; directed by Francis Ford Coppola; written by Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola; based on the novel, ‘The Godfather’, by Mario Puzo).
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