The Soul of the Story
If the plot is what happens in a film and the characters are who it happens to, the theme is what the film is truly about. It is the abstract idea or universal truth that the story investigates. Theme is not the moral or a simple lesson, but rather a central question or proposition that the film explores from multiple angles through its characters, plot, and imagery. It is the intellectual and emotional foundation upon which the entire narrative is built, giving the events on screen a deeper, more resonant meaning. While a film can be entertaining without a strong theme, films that endure for generations are almost always those that explore profound and universal human ideas.
A theme is typically expressed as an abstract concept, such as ‘justice,’ ‘love,’ ‘identity,’ ‘redemption,’ or ‘humanity vs. nature.’ The film then makes an argument or explores a question about that concept. For instance, the theme is not just ‘justice,’ but the thematic argument might be ‘justice is impossible to achieve in a corrupt system,’ or the thematic question might be ‘Does the pursuit of justice require one to become unjust?’ This exploration is rarely stated outright by the characters; instead, it is woven into the very fabric of the story.
How Theme is Expressed in Cinema
Filmmakers use a variety of cinematic tools to communicate and explore a film’s theme. A strong, unified film will have all of its elements working together to reinforce its central ideas.
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Character Arcs: The most important way theme is expressed is through the protagonist’s journey. The internal conflict of the character is often a microcosm of the film’s larger thematic struggle. How the character changes (or fails to change) by the end of the story serves as the film’s primary argument about its theme. In Groundhog Day (1993), Phil Connors’ transformation from a cynical egoist to a compassionate altruist makes a powerful statement on the theme of finding meaning through connection and selflessness.
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Conflict and Resolution: The nature of the central conflict and how it is resolved makes a strong thematic statement. In Parasite (2019), the central conflict between the wealthy Park family and the impoverished Kim family is a direct exploration of the theme of class struggle. The film’s tragic and cyclical ending argues that escaping one’s economic class is a brutal, perhaps impossible, endeavor.
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Motifs and Symbols: Recurring images, sounds, objects, or lines of dialogue (motifs) can be used to represent the film’s theme. A repeated visual of a cage could symbolize a character’s feeling of being trapped. In Inception (2010), the spinning top becomes a powerful, tangible symbol for the film’s thematic exploration of reality versus illusion.
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Cinematography and Production Design: The visual language of a film—its color palette, lighting, and composition—can be used to create a mood and convey thematic ideas. The stark, desaturated colors and oppressive brutalist architecture in Children of Men (2006) constantly reinforce the theme of a world without hope.
Major vs. Minor Themes
While a film typically has one central, unifying theme, it can also contain several secondary or minor themes that support, contrast with, or add complexity to the main idea. In The Godfather (1972), the major theme is arguably the corrupting nature of power and violence. However, the film also explores powerful minor themes such as family loyalty, the immigrant experience, the perversion of the American Dream, and the tension between the old world and the new. These layers of thematic exploration are what give the film its incredible depth and richness, providing audiences with new insights upon each viewing.