Trouble following films?

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Yes sometimes I find that I misinterpret or miss important points in a film since I see the details. Sometimes it seems that certain details can even distract from the "bigger picture" when watching a movie and it just depends. I was very intrigued by the movie Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. It was a good movie to me since it had so much mystery and all the characters had a mysterious past that added to the intrigue. For example, I did miss part in the film where one character had to clean up his act which meant "clean up his personal life" . This movie could be difficult for anyone to follow and that was the point of the film I suppose. It is a good movie to watch more than once in order to better understand it.

Yup. I find it much easier to follow foreign films with English subtitles. Or maybe foreign films are just inherently slower and easier to follow.

I can't follow most movies. Often I find myself paying more attention to the visuals and totally missing what people are talking about. Or I can't figure out exactly what's being implied when things aren't explained, or you're expected to piece things together from a single line that I probably missed completely. I also take forever to pick up on the characters' names, so when one character mentions another character in the third person I have no idea who they're talking about.

Last edited by marshall on 16 Apr 2012, 10:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I'm notorious for asking way too many questions during movies, thereby ruining the film for others. I control my urge more now but, as a younger child, I would get everyone angry at me. I just didn't seem to understand what was going on and I cared to much about small details.

I need to watch a movie at least 5 times before I get the gist of it. And I need to do tons of research beforehand and after the movie. Plus I find subtitles helpful and the little interviews in the Special Features section. But I only go to SF if for the REALLY confusing films.

I am having trouble watching movies and dislike it most of the time.
I guess, it is because of a too low "Theory of Mind".
I cannot enjoy watching them, I am - in a way - "too hyperactive" to watch them and I am loosing interest very quickly.

They usually put me to sleep, regardless of how "action-packed" they are. It's only since the past few years that I can now actually complete them in one sitting.

Although I love movies (especially films with stirring music) and can get completely immersed in them, I do have trouble. As an avid reader of fiction and a writer, following the mechanics of the plot doesn't bother me. What I have trouble with is catching and remembering character names - and heaven help me if two characters look even vaguely similar. I have trouble telling them apart. It goes without saying this can get extremely confusing. (I now wonder if this is why so many of the characters I write about have striking physical features.)

Subtitles are a great help, as is watching a film more than once. If I know the story of the film very well, and thus the characters, there is no confusion. Lord of the Rings was a doddle for me because the book was one of my obsessions as a teenager.

I have real problems following movies with a lot of characters, especially if the characters look similar - like in a gangster movie where all the men are dark haired and wearing suits.

I also find it easier to follow rapid speech by watching with the subtitles turned on.

If the film that I watch for the first time is very difficult to follow and understand, I would re-watch it at a later time. In addition, I would turn on the English subtitles in order to better understand the story (since I'm a visual learner).

It's so funny how much we all have in common here!

Yep.


Gah, I have trouble when even two people have similar hairstyles. You know what's funny? That actually ruined some of Fight Club for me. (I'd tell the story, but this forum doesn't have spoiler tags.)


Yep.


Yep. I feel my mind wander after a few minutes. Then I have to kind of "snap" myself back and try to pick up on the story despite what I missed.


Actually, I find action films put me to sleep even more than other kinds of films. I'm not entertained by violence, and I find fight and conflict scenes hard to follow, so I zone out. By the end of it I sometimes have to ask somebody, "So, who just won there?"

As has been mentioned several times, I also watch with subtitles. Without them, I either completely lose track of fast conversations or I miss some really important details/plot points because I just can't process it all.

I can't stand movies sometimes. Whenever my boyfriend says he wants to watch one with me, I either fight it (if I'm in a bad mood), or ask what I get out of it (if I'm in a good mood.) I also often complain that movies don't have intermissions. "It's only 90 minutes long," my boyfriend will say. "Yeah. Exactly. It's NINETY MINUTES LONG. It needs a break!" I counter. Does anyone else feel that way? It's like I need a break to process what happened. It's also just really hard to pay attention nonstop for so damn long.

... Too bad this doesn't help me get along with NTs any better. As if being in a group or at a party isn't awkward enough, one of the main things NTs like to talk about are movies... and I've never seen (or even heard of) most of them.

Trouble following movies? not really. Reading novels? absolutely.