By

Ephraim Ryan

Published on/by

YouTube

Accompanying text

In their book, Film Art: An Introduction, David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson define form as, in its broadest sense, the overall system of relationships among a film’s parts that are perceivable and how these elements work together to shape the film’s artistic idea. They then go on to argue that the film’s overall form is determined by the interaction of two interrelated systems: the formal system, which includes narrative form, and the stylistic system, which includes the patterned and expressive uses of filmmaking techniques such as cinematography, mise-en-scene, editing, and sound. This essay aims to supply Bordwell and Thompson’s understanding of film form with an analysed illustration, using Kogonada’s 2017 drama film Columbus, and make assessments on how the film’s artistic idea is informed by the relationship between the film’s narrative and stylistic elements.