Why I like boring films
There's always something going on in my brain. So-called boring films have more going on than computer-animated sensory overload. But yes - you can overdo it with the boredom.
My German teacher at grammar school was a film fan and an admirer of Stanley Kubrick. The whole class had to watch "2001 - A Space Odyssey" on a tube screen that was huge by the standards of the time and tiny by today's standards. A spaceship spins around in space, accompanied by the waltz "On the Beautiful Blue Danube". Half the class fell asleep. I was thrilled.
To tease me, a classmate wrote me a letter asking me to watch the film with her at the cinema. Unfortunately for her, the oldie from 1968 was actually shown in the cinema a little later. It was a great evening for me. For her - well. She took it with humour.
Since then, I've known that my taste in films isn't quite average. I don't have Netflix, I don't know anything about series and I'm not in the mood for the umpteenth sequel to a Hollywood film. I mainly love films that others often find exhausting. I'm more the type for weird, experimental or even "boring" films.
Distraction or stimulation?
For me, there are two types of films. Some films aim to make you think. The others want exactly the opposite: to stop the audience from thinking.
Distraction is welcome from time to time. Especially in bad moments when my brain is just thinking rubbish anyway. But basically, I prefer it when a film makes me think.
I like films that give the brain some time and space. Why does the hero react like that? Ah, that could be the reason. What is the film trying to tell me with this strange plot? There are parallels here, the threads come together. I find it exciting to think and empathise like that.
Paradoxically, this kind of tension is much more likely to occur in films that are considered boring. This is because I can only think during the film if I can follow the plot without effort. A typical Hollywood film tries to prevent this by all means. It is edited quickly and distracts with loud, spectacular effects. The story is often told in a confused manner: With flashbacks, embeddings and flash-forwards, with changes of perspective and dreams.
In short: it's total sensory overload. A kind of DoS attack on our brain.
The discovery of slowness
If I have to give examples, films made around 1970 come to mind. Back then, the pace of storytelling was generally slower and the possibilities for visual effects were very limited.
In westerns like "Once Upon A Time In The West" (1968), the slowness is what creates suspense. Precisely because nothing happens, you are eagerly waiting for something to happen.
"Pat Garrett chases Billy the Kid" (1973) goes one step further: For a chase, this is incredibly leisurely paced. It's not even exciting - but it's surprisingly relaxed, just like Bob Dylan's soundtrack.
"The Godfather" (1972) is not considered a boring film. But it is also slow. It takes a lot of time to tell a long family story. The seemingly calm dialogues are atmospherically dense, eerie and full of suspense.
Boredom is often confused with slowness. I feel a little sorry for cinema-goers who can't tell the difference.
Whether I find something boring depends above all on my inner state and my expectations, not on the film itself. At the right moment, simply looking at a landscape can also be interesting. The term "slow TV" has recently emerged as a counter-trend to fast-paced, hectic filming. This takes meditative uneventfulness to the extreme.
Planet of effects
A film that got me thinking is "Planet of the Apes" (1968). It shows a world in the distant future in which the apes have evolved. They form a society that is similar to our 16th century. Power relations are religiously legitimised, there are a lot of taboos and dogmas that cannot be discussed. At the same time, however, there is resistance, and researchers hold different views.
Humans enter this world, astronauts who have fallen out of space and time. The apes treat these humans in exactly the same way as humans normally treat apes. As inferior beings and as research objects. The exciting and disturbing thing about this is that the captured humans cannot prove their intelligence. From the apes' point of view, the treatment of humans is completely logical.
This is a thought experiment that holds up a mirror to humanity and forces us to reflect. The film's plot offers plenty of food for thought.
I don't see the modern sequels to "Planet of the Apes" as an exciting, thought-provoking experiment. In "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" (2014), two hostile groups fight each other - just like in a hundred other films. The fact that one group is apes and the other humans doesn't matter at all. The film would work in exactly the same way if two human tribes were fighting each other. There is nothing more to think about the reversal of roles. The main thing is that the film bangs, crashes and splinters. Add a bit of family kitsch and the Hollywood film is finished.
But the film offers spectacular computer animations and effects, it's a pleasure to watch. The film is so well made that it's easy to overlook the poor content.
Slow films still exist today. But they are no longer mainstream.
I miss the arthouse cinemas - and bring them home
There are two types of cinemas for two types of films. Popcorn cinemas for Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse cinemas for everything else. As the popcorn munchers are in the majority, arthouse cinemas have had a hard time for a long time. Most of them are time-honoured, somewhat run-down but charming places. In Zurich, some have already had to close.
I still remember the Morgental cinema in Wollishofen, the Plaza (yes, that used to be a cinema, you snoot!) on Badenerstrasse and the Nord-Süd on Limmatquai. At the Nord-Süd, the seating used to make it clear to visitors that they weren't here for fun. The wooden seats were just as painful as the dark French love tragedies that were shown there. In today's marketing speak, this would probably be called an "immersive total experience".
Yes, at some point it becomes too alternative, too exhausting and too artsy-fartsy for me too. A good friend of mine recently went to see "Satantango" at Xenix. He didn't dare ask me to come along. And rightly so. The film lasts seven and a half hours. If I've understood correctly, the fascination lies in the fact that nothing happens.
Nevertheless, I think it's good that there is such a thing. Unfortunately, the weird cinemas for weird films are gradually disappearing.
But the right films are still available - and they can be watched at home on the filmingo.ch platform, among others. I'm currently testing it out. More on this in the next few days.
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David Lee
Senior Editor
David.Lee@digitecgalaxus.chMy interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.
