Introduction
In art and entertainment, the term "slice of life" refers to the representation of everyday events. Slice of life relates to realism in theater, while it is a literary method in which a seemingly random succession of events in a character's life is recounted, often missing plot development, conflict, and exposition, and frequently concluding with an open ending.
In 2017, screenwriter and academic Eric R. Williams named slice-of-life films as one of eleven super-genres in his screenwriters' taxonomy, arguing that these super-genres may be used to categorize all feature-length narrative films.
Action, crime, fantasy, horror, romance, science fiction, sports, thriller, war, and western are the other 10 super-genres. Boyhood, Captain Fantastic, Fences, Moonlight, The Terminal, and Waitress are some examples of films in the Slice of Life super-genre, according to Williams. Drama and Comedy are classified as cinema "Types" rather than super genres in the taxonomy.
The list
01. Lost in Translation
Source - IndieWire
Director: Sofia Coppola
Duration: 1h 41m
Year of Release: 2003
Language: English, Japanese
Plot Synopsis: Bob, an American actor, arrives in Tokyo for an ad shoot and meets Charlotte, who has been abandoned by her photographer husband. Gradually, they realise they have a buddy in each other.
02. The Farewell
Source - A24films
Director: Lulu Wang
Duration: 1h 40m
Year of Release: 2019
Language: English, Mandarin
Plot Synopsis: When a Chinese family discovers that their grandmother has only a few years left to live, they plan a wedding for her before she passes away. Billi, on the other hand, is dissatisfied with the family's decision.
03. Minari
Source - Amazon
Director: Lee Issac Chung
Duration: 1h 55m
Year of Release: 2020
Language: Korean, English
Plot Synopsis: In search of their own American dream, a Korean American family relocates to an Arkansas farm. They discover the undeniable resiliency of family and what truly forms home as they face the trials of their new life in the weird and rough Ozarks.
04. Mystery Train
Source - IMDb
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Duration: 1h 53m
Year of Release: 1989
Language: English, Japanese, Italian
Plot Synopsis: Three separate stories are set in a seedy hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, and include everything from a kitsch-obsessed Japanese couple (Masatoshi Nagase, Youki Kudoh) to a trio of amateur robbers (Joe Strummer, Rick Aviles, and Steve Buscemi) who discover the true nature of their relationship during a botched heist.
The hotel's strange and spooky night clerk (Screamin' Jay Hawkins), as well as the spirit of Elvis Presley, connect the stories.
05. The Red Turtle
Source - YouTube
Director: Michaël Dudok de Wit
Duration: 1h 20m
Year of Release: 2016
Language: English
Plot Synopsis: A guy is stranded off the coast of a barren island teeming with turtles, crabs, and birds. Later, he meets a red turtle who has a profound impact on his life.
06. Captain Fantastic
Source - IMDb
Director: Matt Ross
Duration: 1h 58m
Year of Release: 2016
Language: English
Plot Synopsis: Ben Cash and his wife Leslie raise their children at home, far from the contemporary world's grasp. However, when Leslie passes away unexpectedly, he is obliged to expose his children to the outside world.
07. The Scent of Green Papaya
Source - Text + Color
Director: Tran Anh Hung
Duration: 1h 44m
Year of Release: 1993
Language: Vietnamese
Plot Synopsis: A young village girl named Mui (Lu Man San) is hired to work for a well-to-do family in Saigon in this Vietnamese drama. Despite the household's declining fortunes, Mui remains as a servant and develops feelings for one of their friends, the attractive Khuyen (Vuong Hoa Hoi).
Years later, Khuyen (Tran Nu Yen-Khe) hires Mui (Tran Nu Yen-Khe) as a pianist. Despite the fact that Khuyen has a fiancée, he gradually realizes his own close bond with Mui.
08. Frances Ha
Source - IMDb
Director: Noah Baumbach
Duration: 1h 26m
Year of Release: 2012
Language: English
Plot Synopsis: A narrative about a New York woman who doesn't have an actual residence. She works as an apprentice for a dance company despite not being a dancer and dives headfirst into her fantasies.
09. Close-up
Source - The Criterion Collection
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Duration: 1h 38m
Year of Release: 1990
Language: Persian
Plot Synopsis: The film is based on the true story of a destitute man who poses as director Mohsen Makhmalbaf and enters a wealthy family under the guise of wanting to utilize them and their home in his next film.
10. Yi Yi
Source - IMDb
Director: Edward Yang
Duration: 2h 53m
Year of Release: 2000
Language: Mandarin, Taiwanese
Plot Synopsis: The film is set in Taiwan and chronicles the Jian family's lives through the eyes of three major family members: father N.J. (Nien-Jen Wu), adolescent daughter Ting-Ting (Elaine Jin), and young son Yang-Yang (Issei Ogata).
N.J., who is dissatisfied with his current position, tries to gain the attention of a well-known video game firm, while Ting-Ting and Yang-Yang deal with the hardships of a youth, all while caring for N.J.'s mother-in-law, who is in a coma.
Conclusion
The beauty of the slice-of-life genre stems from the simplicity with which it is put forth by the audience.
Instead of championing over-the-top set pieces and larger-than-life characters, it drives home the essence of simply shedding light on some basic human tendencies that make us realize how, at the end of the day, we’re all more similar than we imagine ourselves to be.
Give these films a try if you want to lay back and enjoy the onscreen simplicity of life.
Written By: Janshi
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