Film Language Tag: complex storytelling
Forms of complex storytelling may range from the interweaving of multiple plotlines to forking-path narratives and network naratives, with plots often involving failures or tricks of memory experienced by a character that are narrated from that character's point of view.
22 Film Clips
Anna and Katerina, Eternity and a Day
Alexandre (Bruno Ganz) visits his daughter Katerina (Iris Chatziantoniou) and gives her letters from her mother Anna (Isabelle Renauld). Katerina reveals she has sold the old family home.
Are You Watching Closely?, The Prestige
John Cutter outlines the three stages of a magic trick to a young girl while Angier drowns in a water tank in front of Borden.
Austrian Immigration, The Dust of Time
A terrorist attack diverts A's (Willem Dafoe) plans in Berlin. Eleni (Irène Jacob) and Jacob (Bruno Ganz) cross the border into Austria on New Year's Eve 1973.
Bucharest, Ulysses' Gaze
A (Harvey Keitel) and Kali (Maia Morgenstern) arrive in Romania, and A addresses a woman as his mother (Mania Papadimitriou).
Butch's Watch, Pulp Fiction
Butch (Bruce Willis) is shown as a child receiving his father's watch from world war 2. The watch is given to him by Captain Koons (Christopher Walken) a friend of his who explains its origins.
Closing Sequence, Rashomon
The woodcutter offers to take the abandoned baby and raise it as his own.
Closing Sequence, Minority Report
Burgess decide whether to spare Anderton or to kill him, with his freedom or his life’s work hanging in the balance.
Dead Men Don't Lie, Rashomon
The priest, the commoner, and the woodcutter wonder about the plausibility of the dead samurai's account.
Happy New Year, Ulysses' Gaze
A (Harvey Keitel) celebrates many New Year's with his family, including his "mother" (Mania Papadimitriou) and his "father" (Giorgos Konstas).
How Long Does Tomorrow Last?, Eternity and a Day
Alexandre (Bruno Ganz) revisits the empty family home and recalls Anna's (Isabelle Renauld) letter.
I'm Not Going Back, Dunkirk
British civilian Dawson (Mark Rylance), his son Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney), and teenage hand George (Barry Keoghan) are headed toward Dunkirk to save soldiers and pick up one (Cillian Murphy) in the water from a wrecked ship. The soldier, shell-shocked, doesn't want to return. George is fatally struck in the head during the disagreement.
Ontario Bar, The Dust of Time
A (Willem Dafoe) drives Spyros (Michel Piccoli) to an Ontario bar where he proposes to Eleni (Irène Jacob).
Reunion, The Dust of Time
A (Willem Dafoe) reunites with his mother Eleni (Irène Jacob).
Souvenirs of a Killing, Vertigo
Scottie (James Ferguson) and Judy (Kim Novak), now transformed as Madeleine again, revisit the bell tower.
The Besieged Free, Eternity and a Day
Alexandre (Bruno Ganz) tells the boy (Achileas Skevis) about the poet Dionysios Solomos (Fabrizio Bentivoglio) and his poem "The Besieged Free."
The End of the World, Nostalgia
Andrei (Oleg Yankovsky) imagines himself as Domenico (Erland Josephson), who kept his family inside his house for seven years to save them from the end of the world.
The Noblewoman's Testimony, Rashomon
The noblewoman recounts her version of the incident in the woods at court.
The Radio Station, The Conformist
Marcello visits his friend, Italo at the radio station.
The Ruse Revealed, Vertigo
Judy (Kim Novak) writes a letter to Scottie (James Stewart) explaining her con as Madeleine, but rips it up instead of leaving it for him.
Vaniushka, Ulysses' Gaze
A (Harvey Keitel) awakes naked in a widow's (Maia Morgenstern) ruined house.
Wars and Earthquakes, Rashomon
The woodcutter, the priest, and the commoner reflect upon the story they just discussed.
Yesterday They Were Still Here, Eternity and a Day
Alexandre (Bruno Ganz) goes to the hospital to see his mother (Despina Bebedelli).