Monsoon Wedding and Daughters of Dust don't conform to Hollywood conventions

Monsoon Wedding and Daughters of the Dust were different from nearly every American movie I’ve experienced- both of these films differed little in standard movie length, yet they managed to accomplish more than the typical single-plot, single-protagonist Hollywood movie.
Monsoon Wedding had numerous narrative points of view. The audience experienced situations from the point of view of the bride, her father, her cousin, her brother, the event planner and other characters, seeing moments from perspectives that no other characters could experience. The multiple narrative points of view allowed for many plots to be underway simultaneously, making for a more complex and meaningful film than most I have seen.
Daughters of the Dust also had no single protagonist for me to relate to, recording the experiences of numerous family members at once. This film was less effective than Monsoon Wedding because its complexity made for a confusing narrative and I felt unattached to any characters instead of feeling as though I was sharing all of their experiences. However, I imagine that the meaning that was meant to come across in this film could not be limited to the narrative point of view of a single character. Unlike the traditional Hollywood film with a clear establishment of a conflict and progress towards a simple resolution, Daughters of the Dust created an experience where the characters’ progression towards a final decision was unclear. There were scenes of conversation that seemed to contribute little to the ultimate problem they were facing. Perhaps it better reflected life in its jumble of characters and dialogue than a typical Hollywood film with a main character following a clear-cut beginning, middle and end.
Both of these films are more similar to classical European narratives than they are to classic Hollywood narratives. According to Hollywood, a narrative should maintain a clear and understandable perspective for the viewer and include a clear conflict and resolution. Both films have numerous perspectives, and Daughters of Dust is especially difficult to follow. According to The Film Experience, “The European model tends to situate the story in large and varied social contexts that dilute the singularity of a central protagonist and is usually less action-oriented than its U.S. counterpart” (263-264). Monsoon Wedding works through many conflicts, and Daughters of Dust has several underlying issues that the characters must deal with. These particular films worked with a similar technique, but Monsoon Wedding was most successful in creating something enjoyable that I would watch again. After watching this film, I would like to see more directors deviate from the classic Hollywood narrative style and achieve more depth in the allotted two-hours.