Existential Cinema: How Do You Write an Existential Film?

For the most part, cinema is a form of entertainment. But this is not to say that films cannot and should not concern themselves with some of the more serious aspects of life. It doesn’t get much more serious than existentialism. And an existential film, whilst often tricky to define, can be one of the most powerful ways to get an audience to muse on themes of life, death and existence.

So how do you begin to filter such a complex idea as existentialism through a screenplay? And what does existentialism in cinema even look like? In this article, we’ll seek to answer these questions. Whilst existentialism may leave you pondering the meaning of life, this article won’t leave you pondering the meaning of existentialist cinema.

What is Existentialism?

As a philosophy, existentialism questions what it means to be a human being, and what it means to live and die. In a world in which ‘God is dead’, existentialism grapples with the disturbing possibility that we may simply be a bundle of flesh existing on a large rock that floats through a desolate universe.

“a chiefly 20th-century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad.”

Merriam-Webster

In this way, existentialism entails a search for the meaning of life in a world that increasingly seems devoid of meaning itself. It focuses on the individual in this search, which is one of the reasons it can lend itself well to existential films, despite its lofty and complex premise.

Why Does Existentialism Matter?

As will become clear, most existential thinkers argue that the meaning of life is intimately connected to your own subjectivity. In other words, only you can ascertain life’s meaning. It is a call for self-reflection and expression.

In fact, broadly speaking, existentialism demands the rejection of all exterior structures of meaning, the Church and the State providing just two examples. It places the burden of ‘meaning’ directly onto the individual, forcing them to reckon with and take responsibility for the decisions they make and, subsequently, the trajectory of their life.

The first half of the twentieth century saw two world wars resulting in the deaths of millions of men and women. The second half was dominated by a Cold War in which the threat of nuclear armageddon loomed perpetually. In the face of such death and destruction, existentialism arguably provided a road out of such darkness. It was a reclamation of life, a way of transcending the pitiful state of humanity.