More sensual than narrative, A Ghost Story tells or shows the visual experience of being left behind. The plot is about a couple living happily in their home when suddenly the husband dies and comes back as a ghost. Despite the film's initial setup, the movie isn't about the wife struggling to live with the death of her husband but it's about the Ghost Husband trying to connect to her in some way. And that's where things get really cool
It's a fairly slow, calm, contemplative movie with the camera steady and lingering in scenes. I really liked the way it was shot, especially with the film's sound design being acute enough to capture everything in the background: most of the shots conveyed entire story beats.
A character will come inside, bringing sounds of real life in the empty house as a ghost watches them walk past him as if he's not even there, as they leave, the sounds all die out.
Which is really cool because there's hardly any dialogue in the film. Years go by in a single cut, moments and feelings left visualized between strangers but you never get to a part of them.
I think - it amuses me to think this way - that this is how all audiences must feel at some point, we are with the ghost watching the world exist around him and we feel empty but not entirely alone, our feeble human minds wanting to make a connection: it becomes necessary to find something to love or be angry about when the capacity to love or be angry exists and you can't exercise it the way you want to.
In a way, this film must necessary feel hollow and pessimistic, atleast that's the path it's most loud moment seems to point to but it doesn't, the soundtrack's upbeat electronic music played on top of warm classic compositions and the warmer tones of colors always has that hint of nostalgia that makes the whole film a little more heartfelt.
This is a short one, at 1 hour and 32 minutes, A Ghost Story finishes off with a very well paced story and a somewhat sudden ending that I wasn't expecting.