to me... the story is just another tool in the filmmaker's box... it's not the whole point of the film... it's not "everything"... (i know many will disagree with that)... but to me, if all that someone cared about was story... they would read a book.... to me, not EVERYTHING has to support the story... to me, everything has to support the experience of the film... including the story (supposing there is one).
akira kurosawa said that he makes a film because of a certain "cinematic moment" that he envisioned for that film... in reading or writing the story.. there was something in there that he thought would be an amazing "cinematic moment"... or cinematic experience.... and THAT is why he made that particular film... everything else had to support that...
so to me... movies are about a particular kind of experience.... that experience is brought about by light and shadow... color... mood... acting... music... dialogue.. .. and yes, story.... two films by two very different directors can have exactly the same overall "story"... and yet be completely different experiences... in my filmmaking, i work towards a particular kind of experience that i am attempting to shape/create/mold for the viewer and for myself... everything else has to support that...
dunno if that helps... but those are my thoughts on it...
Well, without a compelling story to tell and engaging characters,"some" people will perhaps give you a warm fuzzy feeling that you've made art, and they'll validate you as an artist. But if your goal is to make a career out of it and make money doing it, you'll want a larger audience that will actually pay to see your film. So story is extremely important, and structure is only a small part. We humans have a structure, too. Take away all the clothes and flesh, and our skeletal structure looks pretty similar. That's the analogy you really need to keep fresh in mind. Format, spelling, structure, etc., are only half the battle. Learn to generate the desired emotional responses in your readers and in your audience. Flesh out your story and put some clothes on it.