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The Six-Word Rule

8/14/2014

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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



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