I think this thread could quickly die, but it’s a question that has recently occurred to me.
I’m wondering how many movies in which “nothing happens” are out there and whether people love/like/hate them?
First, let me define “nothing happens”.
As an example, I’ll pick a recent (last weekend) movie I saw, Honeyjoon. In the film, a mother and daughter travel to a (somewhat quirky) island resort that was beloved by their late husband and father. They flirt with a guide, meet locals, and visit places important to their late loved one. They come away with a deeper relationship, but if I had to sum up what happened in the movie, it would be “nothing happened”. The movie ends with no great disruption, change of character, or life changing event having occurred. They each get into situations that in a standard plot, would lead to something life changing and/or devastating but…”nothing happens”. I quite enjoyed the movie, but afterwards had difficulty explain (to myself) why.
I realized that the way plot points and twists were set up but not exploited reminded me of another, more celebrated film, Aftersun, where the major plot points can be summed up as “nothing happens” (IMHO). I don’t think I need to point out just how good this movie is, though. This got me wondering how many movies are out there where they can truly be described by “nothing happens”.
I’m going to narrow my definition a little by excluding documentaries (yeah, I know all about Frederick Wiseman) and excluding plots in which the main character goes through significant, disruptive events but remains unchanged/unrepentant at the end (Marty Supreme is a very good example of this).
Any thoughts? Other movies that fit my definition? Is my definition reasonable?
This was going to be my suggestion. I’ve not seen it, either, but it’s well-known for being, in essence, just a dinner conversation and debate, in which I don’t think either man really changes their POV or world view as a result.
Another kind of ‘slice of life’ movie is Nomadland, where Francis McDormand plays a woman who packs it up in her 60s and lives as a van-dwelling nomad. Stuff happens, but there’s no typical ‘setup - conflict - climax - resolution’ of a fictional movie. She drives around, she hangs out with people, she does temp work for Amazon to make some money, her van breaks down, she visits her sister and borrows money to get the van fixed, and so on.
It was kind of like a ‘fictional documentary’ of the Van Life thing.
There are movies in which literally nothing happens, like Andy Warhol’s Sleep and Empire, but I don’t think that those types of films are what is being asked for here.
Thinking of Nomadland, how about About Schmidt? The titular character has a series of things that happen that are just normal. At the end, I’m not sure he’s changed, but he’s more at peace. Does that count as something happening? I don’t know.
I think this one falls more into the exclusion of not much change in the main character. If I recall correctly (and its been a long time since I saw this), there are a number of narrative points where characters have life changing encounters (a violent argument in which the past is dragged up and resolved, a character has an abortion, a romance blooms) but in the end, the main character’s life goes on much as it has in the past.
Possibly not; Warhol’s films were largely, if not entirely, experimental art films, and not really ever meant for a wide audience, nor to be entertaining in a traditional sense.
Yeah I agree with your assessment, these fall into the documentary category, even though the footage has been edited and enhanced to create an “art film”, they are still at hear just edited documentaries, not scripted films.
About Schmidt is another one where a lot happens, but the character makes it through. Adultery is uncovered, arguments that lead to flight or fight happen. Major disruptions in the main character’s plans. But in the end, not much change is evident, but you could describe the events in the film and no one would say “so nothing happens”.
I think Nomadland fits, though. stuff happens, but not to the main character and the main character changes but in subtle ways and to an outside observer, you’d say “not much happened”.
While it’s been 40+ years since I saw this, I can’t recall any scripted plot for something to happen in. It’s pretty much an edited and enhanced documentary.
Emanuelle, with Sylvia Krystel. I saw this back in 1977, and had heard about how beautiful the music and photography were.
I was never so bored in my life. I sat there for over an hour, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did, and even the soft-core porn bits were dull. When the lights finally came back on, I looked around me in bewilderment and said “That’s it? That’s the flick? NOTHING HAPPENED!”
I’ll add Nine and a Half Weeks, which was nothing more than Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke having a fun romp that was supposed to titillate the audience. I wasn’t titillated.
