Movies Need to Shut Up | Video Essay

by Panzer
Sponsored by Squarespace
You are looking at the most iconic quiet scene in cinematic history.
Near the end of Spirited Away, protagonist Chihiro boards a train through the spirit world.
After an entire movie inside the bustling bathhouse,
the tranquility of this scene is striking.
And so, for the next minute and a half, we ride with her.
This scene has no narrative purpose,
It's you and your uninterrupted thoughts.
It's a moment to think about life.
This quietness is not foreign to Hollywood.
The 1982 Conan the Barbarian, as an example, features long travel sequences.
In these shots, the film takes a breather, and let the landscape speak for itself.
Conan himself doesn't speak a word until 23 minutes into the movie.
And when he finally speaks, it is epic.
"To crush your enemies, see them driven before you,"
"and hear the lamentation of their women."
In the 1978 movie Superman, young Clark Kent says goodbye to his ma.
The nearly three-minute farewell is told mostly through a single still shot.
Dotted this moment is a few simple lines, which can be entirely removed.
The painting-esque visual, the body language,
and the hesitant pace of the narrative are enough to tell the story.
Today, however, we seem to have forgotten what stillness feels like.
In this flashback from Ant-Man 3,
The Wasp retells her memory of befriending the antagonist.
It's a quiet scene where emotions flow.
"I told her I was coming home."
And yet, instead of sharing a drink or doing anything,
they sit still, and the scene is entirely dialogue-driven.
"We are going to get out of here."
Worse yet, it's a sequence with unnecessary voice-over.
"I saw his mind."
"I felt... what he had done."
"Entire worlds... entire timelines... gone."
"Like they've never even existed."
Everything she says, we can see.
You can almost watch the movie with your eyes closed.
Such is the norm in Hollywood blockbusters today,
even in movies I love...
"You know... when you left, I lost my family."