THE WORLD IS FULL OF SECRETS: THE ART OF STORYTELLING

 

   

 

 

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started THE WORLD IS FULL OF SECRETS. It’s the directorial debut Graham Swon and those can either offer a premonition of things to come or make you wish said director was never allowed near a camera again. In this case I’m hoping for the next step he takes. While I can’t say I loved this movie it was interesting.

The story takes place in current times and 1996. The narrator lets us know she’s going to inform us of what took place way back when. A group of young pre-teen girls has gathered together for a sleepover in the days before there were so many items to distract them. Instead they decide to tell one another of the scariest stories they know.

Each one is darker than the last with the first being about a martyr during the early period of Christianity, the longest of the stories, through witches being hunted. Of course being teens they get involved in some occult curiosity as well. But something else happens among these girls other than simple storytelling. A tragedy that affects their lives and is referred to by the narrator but not quite explained.

Now that description of the film might seem simple but the fact is that it truly IS that simple. Almost the entire film is made up of single shots of each girl talking and telling her story. No re-enactments or panning shots of the other girls as they speak but each individual talking as if you were sitting there listening to her. Accompanying each story is a meandering synth score that never intrudes but subtly plays in the background.

Some will watch this and find it an incredibly boring movie. No action, very little dramatic interaction among the cast members and the majority of it these still storytelling arcs. But the fact that this group of young actresses can pull off these long winded tales is pretty amazing when you consider it. And their tales range from interesting to boring making you feel like you are there among them knowing some are thinking let’s get on with this while others are listening intently.

Movie making is in itself storytelling. But movies tend to tell stories via images that move past the camera at usually breakneck speed, taking us from one location to the next, pulling us into what transpires between characters. This film instead uses the words and telling of the stories to pull the viewer in rather than the images. That might be part of what makes moments in the film seem a bit chilling, the fact no one is moving, just talking. It can create a sense of discomfort.

The movie is almost promoted as a horror film but I never really got that sense from it. I never felt frightened or expected a jump scare and none were delivered. But it is an interesting film that viewers, especially teen viewers, might enjoy.

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