Movies

Making Contact: Steven Spielberg and Physical Touch

By  · Published on October 23rd, 2017

The filmmaker’s power comes from his willingness to show affection in all its forms

Steven Spielberg makes movies about family and togetherness. Even his most pulpy adventures boil down to the connections people have with others – whether they’re right next to them or died hundreds of years ago.

Much of this power comes from touch. A hand on the shoulder. A kiss on the cheek. The small held hand of a child. Vince Di Meglio’s video describes Spielberg as a filmmaker whose warmth is conveyed through the casual intimacy he asks his actors to display, but also how he frames this display.

There’s so much weight put on these shots, which are often cut apart from the main scene to draw focus to the act of touch itself, that it’s easy to associate these small gestures with the larger themes of human kindness permeating the director’s work.

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Jacob Oller writes everywhere (Vanity Fair, The Guardian, Playboy, FSR, Paste, etc.) about everything that matters (film, TV, video games, memes, life).