The Six-Word Rule

The Six-Word Rule

Coming out of a cinema the other night, a friend asked me if I thought I understood the film we'd just watched. I said I didn't know.

"You do know", she said, "It all comes down to the Six-Word Rule: if you can describe it to me in six words you have understood it. If you can't, you haven't. Not yet, at any rate."

As it happens I couldn't have described the film in sixty words, let alone six, so I guess she made sense.

After that night, I found The Six-Word Rule to be a good exercise when thinking about the essence of films, or of anything else, for that matter.

And I discovered something else.

I discovered that the six words you choose tell as much about you as they do about what you are describing.

They are the kaleidoscope through which you choose to look.

Here are some of my favourite films in six words:

1. A Clockwork Orange – A Glimpse of Humanity’s Violent Future
2. A Good Year – Brit Inherits French Villa Rediscovers Life
3. A Matter of Life and Death – Pilot Pleads Heaven for his Life
4. All That Jazz – Talented Choreographer’s Autobiographical Self-Destructive Musical Odyssey
5. Amélie – A Girl’s Parisian journey of Self-Discovery
6. American Beauty – Middle-aged Man Finally Re-Evaluates his Life
7. American Graffiti – Nostalgic Look at America’s Sixties Youth
8. An Englishman Abroad - An Actress, a Spy, an Era
9. Apocalypse Now! – A Dark Journey into War’s Madness
10. Apocalypto – One Man’s Fighting Chance for Survival
11. Army of Shadows – Legendary French Resistance in Wartime Exploits
12. Barry Lyndon – Social Climbing in 18th Century Ireland
13. Blow Out - When a Photo Becomes a Mystery
14. Bronson – Violent Tale of Infamous British Convict
15. Brother – Yakuza Gang-Member Joins Brother in US
16. Casablanca – Love and Sacrifice in War-Torn Africa
17. Citizen Kane – Rise and fall of American Press-baron
18. City of God – Violent Favelas’ Life and Death Legends
19. Conspiracy – Nazis plan Final Solution over Dinner
20. Days of Glory – Heroic Algerian Unit Fights for France
21. Defiance – Jewish Belorussian Brothers Become Resistance Legends
22. Deserto Rosso - the Rural Face of Industrial Progress
23. Die Brücke – War Comes to Conscripts Defending Bridge
24. Drive – Stunt-driving Criminal Finds Love and Trouble
25. Empire of the Sun – Boy’s Dramatic War Experience in Asia
26. Enigma- Code-breaking Maverick Risks All for Love
27. Forrest Gump – Simpleton’s Journey through Modern US History
28. Four Weddings and a Funeral – British Humour Celebrates Love and Death
29. Funny Games – Rewriting the Rules of Film Terror
30. Fur – Creative Interpretation of Iconic Photographer’s Life
31. Gone Baby Gone – Missing Child Unites Community, Divides Couple
32. Goodfellas – Mafioso Witness Reminisces the Good Times
33. Hana-Bi Fireworks – Ex-cop’s Tale of Wife and Death
34. High Society – American Heiress Bride-to-be Gets Cold Feet
35. Hommes Femmes: Mode d’emploi – Policeman and Tycoon Cross Vital Paths
36. House of Games – Psychologist’s Dark Journey into Conman’s World
37. In the Electric Mist – Past and Present Crimes Haunt Louisiana
38. In the Mood for Love – A Love Born through Shared Secrets
39. Inception – Mind-Travelling Sortie in Sleep Goes Wrong
40. Julie & Julia – Culinary Icon Transforms Blogger’s Manic Life
41. Julius Caesar - When Ambition Makes the Noble Fall
42. L'Avventura - When an Island Trip Changes All
43. La Crise – Man is Reborn through Losing Everything
44. La Notte - A Couple's Journey Into the Night
45. Le diner des cons – Patronising Parisian’s World is Turned Upside Down
46. Le gout des autres – Comic Stories Intertwine to Celebrate Tolerance
47. Margin Call – The Eve Before Bankers Kick-start Recession
48. Master and Commander – One Captain, One Ship, Many Adventures
49. Memento – A Mystery Man with No Memory
50. Moon – Man Mining Moon Uncovers Vital Mystery
51. My Favourite Year – Screenwriter’s Tribute to Cape-and-Sword Idol
52. North by North-West – International Conspiracy Involves Unwitting Advertising Executive
53. Our Man in Havana – Salesman Risks All by Impersonating Spy
54. Pulp Fiction – Crime Meets Comedy through Surreal Caper
55. Rear Window – Voyeur Photographer and Fiancee Spy Crime
56. Reindeer Games – Ex-convict’s Dream Turns into a Nightmare
57. Renaissance Man – Man Teaches Shakespeare to Military Underachievers
58. Saving Private Ryan – Adventurous War Mission of Brotherly Principle
59. Solaris – A Couple, Another World, Another Beginning
60. The Deer Hunter – America’s Vietnam War through Friends’ Lives
61. Sunset Boulevard – Murdered Screenwriter Recalls His Final Days
62. The Devil’s Double – Dictator’s Psychotic Son Hires Headstrong Double
63. The Fallen Idol – Hero Falls Victim to Boy’s Imagination
64. The Godfather – Mafia Family’s Struggle in Modern America
65. The Ides of March – Political Campaign’s Brutal Reality Tests Loyalties
66. The Leopard – Chronicle of a Sicilian Nobility's Fall
67. The Lives of Others – Man Finds Dignity Despite Spying Others
68. The Men Who Stare at Goats – Operative Recounts US Army New Age Experiment
69. The Pianist – Pianist’s Odyssey through Warsaw’s Wartime Ghetto
70. The Shawshank Redemption – Wrongly Imprisoned Man Chases a Dream
71. The Shining – Writer Possessed by Hotel’s Evil Past
72. The Silence of the Lambs – Psychiatrist Turned Serial Killer Plays FBI
73. The Third Man – Crime Writer Chases Friend, Finds Spy
74. The Town – Bank Thief Finds Dignity in Love
75. The Truman Show – One Man, One Life, One Reality-show
76. The Usual Suspects – The Eloquence of a Criminal Imagination
77. Two thousand forty-six (2046) – A Lover’s Trip to the Future
78. Vertigo – Man Scared of Heights Searches Truth
79. Waltz with Bashir – Israeli Ex-soldier’s Trip into his Subconscious
80. Zatoichi – Wandering Bone-setter Swordsman Defends the Oppressed

Alberico Collina