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Are these filmmakers making Hollywood films or European ones?


This and Crime Ferpecto feel like American made, or at least heavily influenced, movies, not European films as I've come to understand them. Though I may only have a stereotypical notion of what a European film is, and perhaps completely wrong. But European films have always seemed much less concerned with tight, coherent plots and having dreary endings. Lots of time they can be unconnected scenes, perhaps exploring a theme, a meandering story that ends happily for all. Whereas American movies tend to focus on pleasing and audience, which means giving them a typically happy ending. And also keeping the story moving forward at a ferocious clip; cutting things that don't do so.

I don't watch a ton of European movies, but have felt that way about many French and Spanish movies that I've scene recently. And I wonder if it's because, perhaps, the films are partly subsidized by the government and the director/producer/whoever doesn't have to please the audience the way his American counterpart does. He can make a movie that, basically, only pleases him and not get drummed out of the business if few people see it. This, perhaps, results more in different styles of movies. I ask this because these filmmakers seem to by making Hollywood style movies. They feel like they could have been made over here -- especially Crime Ferpecto -- so I'm wondering if that's because they're influenced heavily by this type of filmmaking/storytelling.

Or perhaps there is no real difference and I'm just getting the stereotype wrong. Or perhaps there is a difference but I'm drawing the wrong conclusions as to why, and that it's just a cultural difference in how we like our stories told. These guys just struck me as "American type" filmmakers/story tellers, which is probably they appealed to me so quickly.

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The stereotypes are unuseful. Here in Spain you can find commercial movies made like the Hollywood ones, and others made with an artful feel. As happen in every country in the world that I know. French, german, chinese, or indian make movies the Hollywood way and also the arty way. Heck, even America makes a lot of boring art movies that nobody cares of. Like happens here.

Stereotypes don't work anymore...

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Well, I'm Spanish and I think the OP is completely right in every line. De la Iglesia loves the American cinema and what he ahs in mind when making a movie is mainly to entertain the audience. Many Spanish directors, on the other hand, seem to make movies mostly to themselves.

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