Written by 
What is realism in cinema?
Cinematic realism aims to show life as authentically as possible, with a focus on being believable and accurate and generally avoiding overly stylised or dramatic scenes. There’s a focus on the everyday, which puts it in contrast with the escapist nature of other popular films where we expect to be transported to another world.
With realism, audiences usually feel a connection with the characters or situations on screen, and they might even feel that they’ve seen experiences that mirror their own. It’s worth noting, however, that realism is still fiction, not documentary, even when it takes on some of the styles associated with that.
A brief history of cinematic realism
Many of the roots of realism in film come from European cinema. In places like Italy, France, and Russia, directors and people studying film were developing the principles and the ‘look’ (aesthetic) that would eventually become what we think of now as realism in cinema.
In the 1920s, Soviet Montage was attempting to evoke emotions through the positioning of particular images. The work of Soviet filmmakers like Sergei Eisenstein and Dziga Vertov were early attempts to capture life as it happened, often without any rehearsed performances or scripts.
In France, movements like poetic realism in the 1930s contributed to a growing desire for authenticity in film. Although it was still very much studio-based, poetic realism often featured grounded portrayals of working-class life.
Italian neorealism (a more specific, post-war film movement) came out of the Second World War and was trying to reflect the hard realities of life in post-war Italy. Films like Bicycle Thieves, which you’ll see a bit more about shortly, were hallmarks of this new approach because they broke away from the glossy studio-produced films of Hollywood and were filmed in real locations, with a focus on lived experiences.
As with other types of film-making, people were taking influences from all over the place, and then gradually these movies formed a new, recognisable style that we came to group together under a single name.
What is realism, then?
We know how realism in cinema evolved, but how do we recognise it? There are definitely some blurred lines and overlap, but broadly a film aiming for realism will include some or all of the following.
Natural lighting
Natural lighting is a biggie when it comes to film realism because it’s the antithesis of Hollywood, where artificial lighting is used to flatter actors or heighten tension. Realism embraces the imperfect (and unflattering!) and relies on sunlight, streetlamps, or the lighting available at a particular filming location.
It makes everything feel a bit more real and raw, so it reinforces the film’s authenticity, and we feel as if we’re observing a bit of life rather than watching something scripted. It also makes the whole scene feel unpredictable because the light is responding to the environment and people in it in real time.
Shooting on location
Another thing you’ll find with most films aiming for realism is that they’ll be filmed on location instead of on a set or in a controlled studio environment. In this sense, the place can become a character in its own right, and it grounds the whole narrative in reality. Again there’s that aspect of unpredictability, which is a nice contrast to the more controlled frames we usually see in cinema.
Non-professional actors
Using regular people rather than professional actors is something that came mostly out of the Italian neorealist movement, because directors would cast people who looked like the characters they were portraying. These people were normally chosen from a working-class environment that was being shown in the film, so they had an unpolished and genuine quality to their performances.
Long takes and minimal editing
Traditional cinema can rely on quick cuts, close-ups, and that sort of thing, to help build tension and excitement. With realism, filmmakers tend to favour long, unbroken shots so that we can absorb the place, the interactions between characters, and how time is passing. With minimal editing, the films tend to better mirror the rhythm and pace of real life, and there’s more time to reflect on what’s being seen. It’s a more subtle method, letting the characters’ emotions and reactions unfold slowly.
Realistic sound design
Sound sometimes gets left out of the equation, but it’s always important in film-making, and perhaps even more so when it comes to cinematic realism. The goal with these types of films is to have a soundscape that feels as natural as possible, rather than a composed score or sound effects. Instead, filmmakers might use ambient noise from the place where the scene is being filmed. Things like traffic, birdsong, or the hubbub of somewhere urban can be used to heighten the sense of that particular place or reality.
Some films even scrap a musical score altogether and opt entirely for diegetic sound (sound that exists in the film’s world) to help with mood and atmosphere. It can make us feel as if we’re experiencing things along with the characters, without being pulled out of the moment.
Themes of regular life
The movie’s theme is one of the most important parts of realism in film. These aren’t heroic tales or sensational plots—instead, they centre on the lives of ordinary people, exploring everyday challenges, relationships, and societal issues, particularly those that might be overlooked by mainstream cinema. This is why you tend to find subjects like poverty, unemployment, family conflict, and social injustice come up regularly, with an emphasis on resilience in the face of those issues.
Examples of realism in film through the years
1. Bicycle Thieves (1948): Vittorio De Sica
This film is an Italian neorealist drama telling the story of a man looking for his stolen bike, which he needs for work. It was shot on location in Rome, post-war, and used regular people rather than professional actors, which is part of what makes it feel so authentic. There’s a lot of natural lighting and plenty of long takes to draw us into the story and help us connect with it.
2. The 400 Blows (1959): François Truffaut
The 400 Blows has regularly been ranked one of the greatest films ever made. It features a coming-of-age story about a young boy who feels isolated from those around him. Truffaut used on-location shooting in Paris to explore the idea of disaffected young people living on the edges of society and how they might find a place in the world, particularly when that world seems to be indifferent or even hostile to their existence.
3. The Battle of Algiers (1966): Gillo Pontecorvo
The Battle of Algiers is a great example of political realism. As a recreation of the events leading up to the Algerian War of Independence, it’s filmed like a documentary, with lots of handheld cameras and non-professional actors. Pontecorvo also uses real locations and actual citizens of Algeria.
4. Kes (1969): Ken Loach
Kes is a landmark in British social realism, which is why pretty much every schoolchild in the ’90s was forced to watch it multiple times. It follows a young boy called Billy, living in a poor Yorkshire town in the 1960s, who cares for a kestrel as a distraction from his difficult life at home and school. The book the film is based on—A Kestrel for a Knave—is semi-autobiographical, which helps the whole story feel more authentic and relatable.
5. Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988): Terence Davies
This is another semi-autobiographical production, this time of a working-class family from Liverpool through the 1940s and ‘50s. It’s actually two films, shot two years apart, with the first concentrating on the early life of the family with a heavily religious and often violent upbringing, and the second after the children have grown up.
6. Rosetta (1999): Dardenne Brothers
The Dardennes are big on realism, so Rosetta is filmed with a lot of handheld cameras and natural lighting. The film is about a young woman living in poverty who can’t find a job while she’s looking after her alcoholic mother. The use of minimal editing and non-professional actors makes the film feel very raw and real. Rosetta won quite a few awards, including the prestigious Palme d’Or.
7. The Class (2008): Laurent Cantet
The Class is a French drama set in a Parisian secondary school in a working-class area. There’s a mixture of actors and non-professionals in the cast, and it was filmed in a real school setting. We follow a young teacher and his pupils, and the film focuses mostly on the day-to-day interactions of teachers and students, with some quite dialogue-heavy scenes to emphasise the realness.
8. Fish Tank (2009): Andrea Arnold
Set in a working-class housing estate in England, Fish Tank is a gritty, coming-of-age story set around a teenager called Mia, who has a hard home life. Arnold’s use of handheld cameras and non-pro cast immediately makes the film feel timely and documentary-like. There’s a focus on the minutiae of daily life and the sense of social isolation that comes with stories of this type.
9. A Separation (2011): Asghar Farhadi
A Separation is an Iranian drama that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. It tells the story of the breakdown of a marriage and the various moral dilemmas the characters have along the way. There’s minimal music here and a big emphasis on dialogue and performance, with real locations used to explore themes like justice, family, and class.
10. Nomadland (2020): Chloé Zhao
Nomadland follows Fern, a widow who loses her job and home and starts to live a nomadic lifestyle in the American West. With Zhao’s use of real-life nomads, natural lighting, and on-location shooting, we’re drawn into Fern’s journey. Zhao became the first Asian woman (and only the second woman ever) to win Best Director at the Oscars.
Conclusion
Cinematic realism is a great tool for social commentary and emotional engagement. From the early days of Italian neorealism to today’s works by directors like Ken Loach, the idea of realism has evolved and adapted to different times, places, and stories. However, it’s always kept what it is at its heart, and that’s believable stories that we, the audience, feel a connection to. Whether that’s successful is entirely in the hands of the filmmakers and how they use tools at their disposal, like natural lighting, location scouting, minimal editing, and finding the right people—often not professionals—to play the parts.
More free film theory articles
About this page
This page was written by Marie Gardiner. Marie is a writer, author, and photographer. It was edited by Andrew Blackman. Andrew is a freelance writer and editor, and is a copy editor for Envato Tuts+.