As someone who’s sometimes lost by the opposite problem (i.e. overly “artsy” films) however, I think it’s also possible to go too far in the other direction. Especially with fringe theatre and a certain type of “extremely indie” film, I know that I’ve been left feeling someone “abandoned” by stories with main characters drowning under a mountain of obstacles, but never seeming to make any progress. While it may not always be the most realistic path for the story, one of the things that I often look for in a narrative is characters who make more progress through the story than they might necessarily in real life. I think I mostly agree with your point, but while I have no objection to stories without neat *resolutions*, it is often difficult to walk away from a story feeling satisfied if the characters have made no appreciable *progress* of some sort in how they perceive or relate to their world.

There is a part of me that sometimes feels (hopefully not to cynically) that I can turn elsewhere in the world (even the news) for portraits of people purely overwhelmed by hopeless circumstances. This may of course be a lack of perceptiveness on my part, but when a story feels like it fails to advance a character along his or her journey, it’s hard to avoid leaving feeling rather empty and disheartened.

Thank you for the post – I hope you’re doing well these days.

- David