Some things movies can’t capture

I used to see a lot of movies and assumed life was pretty much going to be similar. Besides being incredibly wrong about that, here’s a list of some things I don’t think a visual medium can get.

1. Talking in the dark. Almost every movie scene with dialogue has lighting. Which makes sense, you want to convey emotion, power dynamics, reactions. But the feeling of lazing in bed with someone when it’s dark and cold outside, and there’s nothing distracting or pushing you towards any which way, only to have comfortable silences sprinkled with questions and reflections. Good wandering conversations in utter darkness.
2. A group of people working in silence for hours. There’s a man out there with many flaws who said one of the greatest joys he’s had is solving problems with people in the same room. I’d agree. You’d need a room without clocks (hard mode: no windows), a blackboard, and a list of hard problems. There’s an ebb and flow of focused work, sharing ideas, goofing off, and absorbing silences. I didn’t know there could be quiet joys like this.
3. Canadian summer skies. Cameras are cool but I haven’t seen a video that captures the big red warm skies I see in Canada. Wise purples, cool blues, clouds drawn by winds, and lines in the skies where the colours mix and meet.

That’s all I have.