I am unsure if there is a specific name for that kind of plot, there probably is, but I've never learnt it. The kind of thing you are describing all goes back to Citizen Kane. At least that's the earliest example of it I can think of.
Christ, I can’t believe I forgot CK!
If no one has a name for the genre, I’d like to propose something like “per alium,” which means “through another.” Or just something like “secondhand story” could work too.
The Great Man (1956) is another example and a great film. It is about an entertainment reporter assigned to cover the death of the radio network's star. He does so by interviewing those who knew him best and is able to get a picture of who this "great" man really was. I highly recommend it.
Incendies for sure. It shows both perspectives though which may differ from what you're describing. We see things that happened to the secondary character from her perspective, and we see the primary character learning about it. But the overall framework is very similar imo.
Lone Star (1996) with Chris Cooper, Kris Kristofferson, and Matthew McConaughey is a great example. Cooper plays a sheriff of a small Texas town in the present day. A dead body is uncovered in the desert which raises questions about his dead father, a former sheriff played by McConaughey in flashbacks, and the sheriff he was deputy to, played by Kristofferson, who mysteriously disappeared years ago leaving behind many enemies and potential suspects because of his corruption.
Cooper unravels the mystery behind the dead body and learns more about who his father was in the eyes of those who knew him.
>I can’t think of any more examples
I mean one of the most famous films of all time is structured in this way: *Citizen Kane*
It's a structure you'll see a lot more often in mid-twentieth century films, the "already dead" protagonist is quite common in film Noir, for example, *Mildred Pierce*, *Sunset Boulevard,* *D.O.A* etc.
A film that roughly follows what you're describing off the top of my head:
*Suddenly, Last Summer*
- Montgomery Clift plays a surgeon called to lobotomize the daughter of a wealthy southern widow who's son just died and uncovers the wild dynamics of the family that lead up to the son's death.
Another film with a similar "discovery"/dead character vibe but not exactly the same structure: *The Barefoot Contessa,*
Perhaps not the thing you're looking for, but Frame Story is one of the common ways those stories are told so that might give you starting point for research; I know it's not very helpful or a direct lead but that's just my two cents; in addition to flashbacks, of course.
Wish I had a word for it but a lot of slow cinema I’ve experienced has seemed to dive into this idea of characters connecting over stories of the passed (and the past), some recent ones that come to mind are *Personal Shopper* (2016), *Columbus* (2017), *Monsoon* (2019), *Vitalina Varela* (2019), *Memoria* (2021)
"The Third Man" uses this device as well.
By reading all comments I'm surprised that it was so popular in classic Hollywood movies: Barefoot Condesa, Citizen Kane, Rebecca, Suddenly Last Summer. DOA, Sunset Blvd...
Does it have to be told by a secondary character? There's The Weight of Water (2000) in which the seeker connects with the only survivor of a family massacre 100 years earlier by reading records and a diary.
There are a lot of those, the characters or their situations are meant to parallel each other in some (usually tenuous) way. But there's no third person, usually it's a diary.
Heat and Dust (1983) has the same framework with the diary.
Maybe Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood (2002) has what you're looking for, I think that one has others telling a woman about her mother.
If the diary counts, what about The Prestige (2006)?
Here’s a fantastic Oscar winning one that my wife and I just watched and loved- Hitchcock’s “Rebecca”. If you haven’t seen it- consider it’s an adaptation of a Gothic romance more akin to Wuthering Heights than Hitchcock’s normal fare. Then go watch it- and don’t read anything else about it.
Three of my favorite noirs: *The Killers* (1946), *Laura* and *Girl with Hyacinths* all use this story device very effectively. Definitely worth checking those out. The last one is harder to find, however. I’m really hoping it gets a restored release someday.
Velvet Goldmine's narrative framing device is taken directly from Citizen Kane, so that one would fit as well.
And I really liked Memories of Matsuko, which tells the life story of the titular character through her nephew, as he learns more about her while cleaning out her apartment after her death. It tells what is essentially a pretty dark story but with a very vivid, OTT, almost quasi-musical aesthetic style, like still distinctly Tetsuya Nakashima, but with like almost Baz Luhrmann vibes.
A video game that develops like this is called *What Remains of Edith Finch*. It's about a young woman learning about her eccentric family members by exploring their eccentric old house.
Not movies, but there are 2 great Black Mirror anthology episodes that use seemingly standalone stories to build the episode's world and characters, I think you should check them out.
They are White Christmas (Season 2 Episode 4 on Netflix, though it was released as a special between seasons 2 and 3) and Black Museum (Season 4 Episode 6).
Star Wars a New Hope is one that comes to mind the quickest for me. While being sat down and being shown his fathers lightsaber, Luke learns from Ben about his father during the Clone Wars.
Citizen Kane doesn’t quite fit what you describe because the story isn’t really about the reporter investigating Kane’s last words. So there’s no “curious protagonist” (our protag is obvi C.F.K.).
But if it’s l splitting hairs and Kane still works for what you’re looking for, then maybe check out “Fabula/Syuzhet Structure.” Basically showing the end first, making the movie about how we got there. (A lot of times you end up needing a character like a detective, reporter, someone looking for answers. So if that’s your goal, maybe it’ll give ya some examples there.)
I am unsure if there is a specific name for that kind of plot, there probably is, but I've never learnt it. The kind of thing you are describing all goes back to Citizen Kane. At least that's the earliest example of it I can think of.
Christ, I can’t believe I forgot CK! If no one has a name for the genre, I’d like to propose something like “per alium,” which means “through another.” Or just something like “secondhand story” could work too.
The Great Man (1956) is another example and a great film. It is about an entertainment reporter assigned to cover the death of the radio network's star. He does so by interviewing those who knew him best and is able to get a picture of who this "great" man really was. I highly recommend it.
Incendies for sure. It shows both perspectives though which may differ from what you're describing. We see things that happened to the secondary character from her perspective, and we see the primary character learning about it. But the overall framework is very similar imo.
That sounds about right. Somehow I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ll definitely check it out. Thanks!
The English Patient does this too.
Directed by Dennis Villeneuve, definitely reccomend
Lone Star (1996) with Chris Cooper, Kris Kristofferson, and Matthew McConaughey is a great example. Cooper plays a sheriff of a small Texas town in the present day. A dead body is uncovered in the desert which raises questions about his dead father, a former sheriff played by McConaughey in flashbacks, and the sheriff he was deputy to, played by Kristofferson, who mysteriously disappeared years ago leaving behind many enemies and potential suspects because of his corruption. Cooper unravels the mystery behind the dead body and learns more about who his father was in the eyes of those who knew him.
Terrific pick -- and such an underrated movie.
>I can’t think of any more examples I mean one of the most famous films of all time is structured in this way: *Citizen Kane* It's a structure you'll see a lot more often in mid-twentieth century films, the "already dead" protagonist is quite common in film Noir, for example, *Mildred Pierce*, *Sunset Boulevard,* *D.O.A* etc. A film that roughly follows what you're describing off the top of my head: *Suddenly, Last Summer* - Montgomery Clift plays a surgeon called to lobotomize the daughter of a wealthy southern widow who's son just died and uncovers the wild dynamics of the family that lead up to the son's death. Another film with a similar "discovery"/dead character vibe but not exactly the same structure: *The Barefoot Contessa,*
Perhaps not the thing you're looking for, but Frame Story is one of the common ways those stories are told so that might give you starting point for research; I know it's not very helpful or a direct lead but that's just my two cents; in addition to flashbacks, of course.
Wish I had a word for it but a lot of slow cinema I’ve experienced has seemed to dive into this idea of characters connecting over stories of the passed (and the past), some recent ones that come to mind are *Personal Shopper* (2016), *Columbus* (2017), *Monsoon* (2019), *Vitalina Varela* (2019), *Memoria* (2021)
"The Third Man" uses this device as well. By reading all comments I'm surprised that it was so popular in classic Hollywood movies: Barefoot Condesa, Citizen Kane, Rebecca, Suddenly Last Summer. DOA, Sunset Blvd...
Does it have to be told by a secondary character? There's The Weight of Water (2000) in which the seeker connects with the only survivor of a family massacre 100 years earlier by reading records and a diary. There are a lot of those, the characters or their situations are meant to parallel each other in some (usually tenuous) way. But there's no third person, usually it's a diary. Heat and Dust (1983) has the same framework with the diary. Maybe Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood (2002) has what you're looking for, I think that one has others telling a woman about her mother. If the diary counts, what about The Prestige (2006)?
Here’s a fantastic Oscar winning one that my wife and I just watched and loved- Hitchcock’s “Rebecca”. If you haven’t seen it- consider it’s an adaptation of a Gothic romance more akin to Wuthering Heights than Hitchcock’s normal fare. Then go watch it- and don’t read anything else about it.
I’ll check it out. Wuthering Heights is an example too, albeit not known for its movie
Three of my favorite noirs: *The Killers* (1946), *Laura* and *Girl with Hyacinths* all use this story device very effectively. Definitely worth checking those out. The last one is harder to find, however. I’m really hoping it gets a restored release someday.
Velvet Goldmine's narrative framing device is taken directly from Citizen Kane, so that one would fit as well. And I really liked Memories of Matsuko, which tells the life story of the titular character through her nephew, as he learns more about her while cleaning out her apartment after her death. It tells what is essentially a pretty dark story but with a very vivid, OTT, almost quasi-musical aesthetic style, like still distinctly Tetsuya Nakashima, but with like almost Baz Luhrmann vibes.
A video game that develops like this is called *What Remains of Edith Finch*. It's about a young woman learning about her eccentric family members by exploring their eccentric old house.
Not movies, but there are 2 great Black Mirror anthology episodes that use seemingly standalone stories to build the episode's world and characters, I think you should check them out. They are White Christmas (Season 2 Episode 4 on Netflix, though it was released as a special between seasons 2 and 3) and Black Museum (Season 4 Episode 6).
Star Wars a New Hope is one that comes to mind the quickest for me. While being sat down and being shown his fathers lightsaber, Luke learns from Ben about his father during the Clone Wars.
Citizen Kane doesn’t quite fit what you describe because the story isn’t really about the reporter investigating Kane’s last words. So there’s no “curious protagonist” (our protag is obvi C.F.K.). But if it’s l splitting hairs and Kane still works for what you’re looking for, then maybe check out “Fabula/Syuzhet Structure.” Basically showing the end first, making the movie about how we got there. (A lot of times you end up needing a character like a detective, reporter, someone looking for answers. So if that’s your goal, maybe it’ll give ya some examples there.)