My films have been progressing towards a certain kind of minimalism, even though it was never intended. Elements which can be eliminated have been eliminated.
Interpretation
Abbas Kiarostami reflects on his filmmaking style, emphasizing simplicity by removing unnecessary elements.
In this quote, Abbas Kiarostami expresses how his approach to filmmaking has naturally evolved towards minimalism over time. He suggests that through a process of elimination, he focuses only on the essential elements of storytelling, leading to a purer and more impactful cinematic experience, even though this evolution was not a deliberate choice initially.
In practice
During a film discussion, one could quote Kiarostami while analyzing trends in modern cinema.
Digital photography is, by definition, unfinished. You don't feel that after every 24 or 36 shots you have to change your film - you know you can go on for ever if you want. You can see the result immediately, and find out if your original idea is worth going on with or not, whether it can be corrected, whether it can be improved.
When I talk to some of the younger filmmakers, they are so worried about their films that, eventually, this state of being worried reflects itself in and helps the final work. Whereas, with projects that are meticulously planned, you look at the end result and it is full of emptiness.
From my very first movie, what was my concentration, my inspiration, was I didn't want to narrate something, I didn't want to tell a story. I wanted to show something, I wanted for them to make their own story from what they were seeing.
Good cinema is what we can believe, and bad cinema is what we can't believe.
As film-makers, it is very important for us to find common ground between cultures, and maybe that's less the case for politicians who benefit more from finding the conflicts and differences between us.
Cinema gives you the opportunity to be both a grandparent and a grandchild whereas in life you cannot be both at the same time.
Now that the black experience isn't viewed as box-office death, people are catching up to untapped auteurs.
Older people say, 'Oh I loved you in 'Sense and Sensibility,'' and that's the only film they want to talk about. Equally, there are people who only want to talk about 'Galaxy Quest.' And there's a whole bunch of teenagers who only want to talk about 'Dogma.'
To the children who loved Harry Potter, I want to say your enthusiasm was the real magic. I so enjoyed being on the journey with you. And to the adults who bought the Harry Potter books and devoured them, I just want to say, those books were for children.
When I became poet laureate, I was in a slightly uncomfortable position because I think a lot of poetry isn't worth reading.
There are places where writing is acting and acting is writing. I'm not so interested in the divisions. I'm interested in the way things cross over.
For me, purity of movement wasn't enough. I needed expression, more intensity, more mind.
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