TheScientist
TAG Member
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2014
- Messages
- 3,922
- Reaction score
- 7,154
Aw, it may need a bit more explanation.
Suppose there is a film sequence which consists of 3 scenes. The first scene begins with a woman going into a toilet in her office building. She sits on the toilet seat and starts peeing. The following second scene begins with the closeup shot of a man's face, opening his mouth full. Then it shows that the man is lying on the bed naked, facing up the woman who is also naked and standing above him. She pisses on his face but he keeps his mouth open. The third scene begins with the closeup shot of the woman's face. She then silently finishing her business, flushes the toilet and goes back to the office. What the viewers see the plot of the film in the sequence of scenes 1, 2, 3.
The viewers would feel "WTF?" Some may assume the woman was daydreaming her desire in the toilet. Some may assume the woman was recollecting her past experience. Whichever case, the viewers need to reconstruct the sequence of events in a realistic chronological way from what they are watching. This reconstructed narrative is the story. A film always has both its plot and story.
This being said, I think I understand, and actually like, the OP's view on Totoro - which doesn't need much guessing or assuming to be absorbed into as if there is no story over the plot. The film student probably tried to get an upper hand by being a pedantic show-off.
Now intercut those with seemingly unrelated scenes of "a day in the life" of what appears at first to be an unrelated character and you've become the Toilet Tarantino! Lets call it Piss Fiction why not?