Richard Linklater discusses the wonders of storytelling: “It’s so huge”
The true visionary of the cinematic medium, Richard Linklater, has carved out a brilliantly unique style of narrative that makes him one of the all-time great storytellers in the film world. Defined by a warming sense of realism and a keen perception of the importance of the passing of time, Linklater is an authentic weaver of tales, unrivalled in his ability to document stories of all kinds.
For example, his Before movies with Ethan Hawke and Julie Deply take place over the course of almost two decades, detailing the complex romance between Jesse and Celine. Boyhood, meanwhile, was genuinely filmed over 12 years and shows the story of a young boy called Mason, with audiences witnessing his growth into adolescence.
In an interview with Pop Matters, Linklater once spoke of his understanding of the nature of storytelling, beginning, “We’re very comprehensible, pattern-seeking, storytelling creatures. We take limited visual data and create sense out of stuff that fundamentally makes no sense. But that’s how we’re able to move on and achieve anything in the physical world.”
The director continued: “I think we’re able to ascribe a lot of meaning to something that maybe has none. Or you have to at least acknowledge that, when you search for meaning, that there is none, that it’s a completely random coincidence, biologically speaking. But whatever it takes to keep us going.”
And there’s real meaning that runs throughout the films of Linklater, an emotional connection with audiences that so many of his contemporary directors could only ever dream of achieving. Even in the likes of Dazed and Confused and School of Rock, there’s poignancy amongst comedy at every turn, a feature that Linklater is wont to express in all his works.
Linklater then said that storytelling is the precise reason human beings are around on earth at all, “It’s communicating, a way to share our experience,” he said. “Art’s [the] tip of the iceberg in terms of how we get to know one another. It’s the way the tribe breaks out and shares culture; it’s kind of amazing. And that’s the thing: film is the most incredible way to communicate, and it’s so new. It’s so huge.”
The legendary filmmaker signed off with his thoughts on the wonders of the cinematic medium, noting, “I think we’re still grappling with that possibility that you can reach billions. Maybe only Titanic‘s done that. That’s why I think that it doesn’t make sense when filmmakers say, ‘I only did it for myself and my friends.’ If you’re in the film medium, you have to, on some level, be hoping for a bigger communication.”
