Film is truth.
In a single viewing, the viewer surrenders him or herself to the filmmaker and their world. This world consists of a set of rules and ideas of what is true that is reserved for a particular film. If what is presented is not accepted as truth, then the film is ultimately ineffective and meaningless, for the audience is meant to set their ideas aside and adopt the direction of the film itself, regardless whether or not it is making a statement of the so-called real world or is attempting to be highly representative of such.
When you write about your beliefs and worldview, to simply start with “I believe that…” restricts you to a hesitant character with no definition. You must say that “this” is how the world is and “this” is why it is.
A filmmaker can attempt to make the audience believe how fast a car is. A good filmmaker will show us how fast the car is and how far it can go. Attempting to persuade and present a series of beliefs and ideals of what truth is, constitutes a lifeless film.
I heard dir. James Gray talk about how actors should not perform a certain way in front of the camera while winking at the audience - that is a sign of an actor who is unwilling to accept his character and instead chooses to cast judgement on whom he is meant to represent. Like he said, no matter the film, the audience believes what the actor believes. If an actor believes he is flying a bicycle over the moon, then the audience will believe that he is flying a bike over the moon.
This is essential to the establishment of truth in a film. Actors in live-action narrative film provide a pivotal link to the rules of this filmmakers world. Actors are everything.
A good film does not end in both it’s sense of reality and idea of truth. Film triggers a realization of truth through the sharing of a filmmaker’s perception of it. It provides us with a continuously organic understanding and pondering of such.
Truth defines us as human beings, as said by Werner Herzog. Film as truth, challenges us to personally explore the possibility of a reality with a gained interpretation.
