Dumb and Hot vs. Smart and Ugly - What's More Important?

Going off of the Holy Motors review from yesterday, a glaring topic came into mind. There's an ongoing debate, it seems, as to what exactly is the most important aspect of a film? Is it the story? Is it the visuals? Is it the stars? 

I have debated this idea in many discussions with fellow film students and have come up with my own philosophy. I believe that the importance of a film all hinders on what you, yourself, place the most emphasis on. For screenwriters, it's generally the story that they key in on when they watch a movie. For cinematographers, the visuals dominate their thoughts. Basically the question of whether the visuals or the narrative are more important than the other is something that does not truly have a definite answer. There are some films that are able to achieve a balance between the two ends of the spectrum, but there are often times where films veer towards one end only. But at the end of the day, the question still lingers. Is it more important to make a impact in the film visually or within the story? While it's hard to justify a singular answer, here are my thoughts.

As a wannabe screenwriting, I tend to steer more towards the story end of the spectrum. In my mind, I don't fully feel emotionally satisfied with a film unless is has a good story. That's not to say that I don't appreciate the visuals of a film, I do, but when push comes to shove, story will always be the top in my book. That being said, I can fully understand where the other half comes from. If a film isn't visually engaging, then what's the point in shelving out loads of money to watch it? Cinema is inherently a visual medium so the image must look good, but does that come at the expense of the storyline? Movies depend on the visual, but without a story, movies end up just being sequential pictures without any real resonance of emotion in them. Beautiful images can only get you so far, but if you have a narrative that is just as beautiful, more times than not, you'll have a memorable film experience.