"Realism is always subjective in film. There's no such thing as cinema verite"

Realism in film is shaped by the lens of interpretation, perspective, and the inherently artificial processes of filmmaking. Camera angles, editing, sound, and even the mere presence of a filmmaker influence what audiences see as “real.” The notion of cinema verite, French for “truthful cinema”, emerged with the hope of capturing life as it happens, unfiltered and objective. Yet, as Crispin Glover asserts, such objectivity is ultimately an illusion.

Every step of making a film, even the most observational documentary, is an act of selection and mediation. The director chooses where to point the camera, what to frame, and which moments to include or omit in the edit. Each choice bends “reality” to fit a narrative, mood, or thesis, no matter how unbiased the intent. Subjects may act differently in front of a camera, conscious of the invisible audience. Microphones catch some sounds but not others. In editing, hours of lived experience are condensed into digestible minutes, with chronology and emphasis often rearranged for impact or clarity.

Audiences seeking absolute realism sometimes point to films employing natural lighting, non-professional actors, handheld cameras, or unstaged scenarios. While these tools can heighten a sense of authenticity, they cannot erase the filmmaker’s presence or the ways that aesthetic choices and unconscious bias color the recording and presentation of reality. The sense of realism is thus a feeling achieved through a collection of creative decisions rather than an unmediated window onto truth.

Glover’s observation acknowledges that cinema’s potential for objectivity is always compromised by subjectivity: the filmmaker’s, the audience’s, and even that of the camera as a technological intermediary. Rather than lamenting this, it can be seen as liberating, a recognition that every film offers not just a version of reality, but a personal, interpretive experience. The power of cinema lies not in showing life as it “truly” is, but in revealing how we see, understand, and imagine it.