Movies compress time and events. A movie can portray an entire life within 120 minutes. For example, for a biography, the screenplay writer chooses a few actions from the millions that make a life. The episodes chosen will act as symbols that show how the main character lived most of his or her life. Rarely does a movie cover real time, an actual 120 minutes.
Movies use actions to symbolize events or emotions.
Art purposely exaggerates life to communicate an effect, emotion or idea. Art may also purposely distort the facts, or shuffle them around to communicate. The many different kinds of elements of a movie mix simultaneously. The book explains how to write a movie. Learning the structure of a movie helps understand how a movie works - how it succeeds at communicating its message.