Screening Notes: Children of Men

Having seen this movie before, I knew that plot line and I was able to look for subtleties in the story and on camera.

The moment I choose to describe is when Theo and Kee were in the building when it was being shelled. Theo ran into the building to search for Kee and her baby. There is constant shelling and firing between the military and the resistance. Finally, Theo finds Kee in a room and does his best to protect her. They run into Luke, however, and exchange a few reflective words, and then they try to escape. In the process Theo is shot, but one cannot tell too much because it isn't the focus of the shot. They proceed down the hallway after Luke is killed, and all the people in the building become still and reach out to touch Kee and/or the baby. Then Theo and Kee descend the stairs and run into a series of military men. All of them, once they see the baby, stop in awe and everything is still and silent. Once Theo and Kee are outside of the building and passed all of the troops, the fighting begins again. For a short moment, the violence ceased because life had begun.

Screening Notes: Hugo

This movie is visually very stunning and easily captivates its audience. At the onset of the film, I was a bit weary because I thought it would another orphan story done ad nauseum in Hollywood today. Further into the film, however, I began to admire it and enjoy it.

The first 'moment' that I had within this film was in the opening sequence. When Hugo was descending the staircase within the clock room, the shot used was an incredibly well executed tracking shot. Once I saw this shot I immediately checked to see if 'Hugo' won the Oscar for cinematography - which it did. The shot was so fluid and well constructed, it really engaged the audience well.

Another 'moment' that I had in the movie was when Hugo had his dream about going down onto the train tracks and finding the key. A train was approaching, and in order to miss hitting our main character, the train went off the tracks and into the station. Aside from being very neat in effect, when the train was approaching Hugo, I was reminded of the film 'A Train Arriving at a Station'. But here, instead of the audience being afraid of the the train in 2d as was when the Lumiere brothers showed there film, director Scorsese made it appear in 3d to scare the audience. This is a direct commentary of the innovation that Scorsese and other directors wish to take in the new 3d world of film.

A third 'moment' I had was when the Inspector had a romantic moment with his love interest. He built up the courage to go talk to her, and was bumbling over his words and didn't really know what to say, but it worked out well regardless. Aside from the way this scene plays into the plot, I thought it was very interesting being the audience is encouraged to take sides with the Inspector; up to this point he had been a sort of antagonist or enemy. This event and the connection the viewer had with the Station Inspector foreshadows the humanity of his character and makes it more believable that he would allow Hugo to go.

Overall, a really enjoyable movie!

Screening Notes: A Single Man

Upon first reading the summary of A Single Man I was a little weary of it's content, but decided to go into it with an open mind. When my instructor informed me that this film's director (Tom Ford) was formerly and architect and a fashion designer, I knew the film was going to be beautiful to look at, and it was.

I had a great cinephilic moment towards the beginning of the film with all the architecture within Colin Firth's home. The home was built perfectly for the purpose because all of its lines and design were framing Firth's character, George. This moment was cinephilic for me because I know about framing and line designs through film classes. The railing and the sculpture all focused my eyes onto Colin Firth, and I knew that this was the director's intention. The house used was architecturally gorgeous, so immediately I was actively searching for ways that it could play into direction, which it did in focusing solely on George, who was alone. This was Tom Ford's purpose: to have the audience see George all by his self, without his partner. George stands out as the only living thing in the beautiful house.

What is the significance of this film and its relationship to others?

The Prestige is a film that is particularly interesting film in the way it mirrors the subject material at hand. In essay or other critical forms of writing, the strongest writers can reflect the topic therein discussed in their own reflection on the subject material. Christopher Nolan, the director, takes the material of magic and topos of deception in the subject of the magicians at hand, and reflects it in his movie directive style. Within The Prestige, the magicians aim to deceive their audience by sleights of hand, dropped curtains, and many other means. In many ways the magicians – Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale – make their living off of deception. They are so committed to deception that they severely alter their lifestyles; Christian Bale’s character, Borden, goes to such an extreme point as having himself and his twin become one person in order to keep up an illusion trick seen in the ‘Transported Man’. One brother has to even cut off parts of his fingers to keep the chimera going; one twin is always dressed up in the form of Fowler to conceal his true identity. Christopher Nolan, as the auteur, mimics this subject of deception because he hides the truth from the viewer- i.e. we are unaware the Christian Bale has a twin. The film audience is easily likened to the audience in the magic shows because both are present to be deceived and entertained. Nolan really wanted to drive home the theme of deception in the magicians’ lives that he furthers it in his style of point of view and intentionally leaving out information that he could have revealed to his audience. The significance of this film is the commentary that it gives on the idea that directors need to aim to reflect the subject material analyzed within the film in his or her own directing style.

Screening Notes: The Prestige

Every time I watch this movie, I gain something new from it. Seeing as though I haven't viewed The Prestige in a few months, my mind had time to settle matters and revisit them this time. This is one of those films that is never the same, each time you watch it because the story is very complex and has many detailed parts that can only be perceive having seen it a few times.

This time in particular, I paid special attention to the interactions between Christians Bale's characters (Alfred Borden and Alfred Borden) and the two love interests (Olivia and Sara). The first time viewing the movie, Alfred Borden seems to be the textbook example of a cheating husband who lives a double-life and would do anything to keep it this way. This is bolstered by serious events within the move i.e. when Olivia leaves him and when Sara kills herself. All of these things made me originally detest Borden's character. Even watching the movie a second time, I still considered Bale's character evil. This time, however, I noticed that Bale's individual characters (Borden and Borden) were each very true to his respective love interest, and accordingly I gained more respect for his character.

The dialogue between the two Alfred Borden's and the two love interests are written in order to deceive the audience, just as the magic act, until the prestige, or ending. When Borden is fighting with Sara, he implores her to believe him that he is uninterested in Olivia, but all logic and reason make her and the audience believe otherwise and write him off as a liar. Christopher Nolan mirrors the style of deception used in magic tricks wonderfully in his directing style.

Screening Notes: Melancholia

• Opening sequences are in super slow motion.
• Film starts in media res and story development takes a long time to come about.
• The movie doesn't give any background story, which is pretty annoying.
• Melancholia is utterly depressing - Kirsten Dunst lies to everyone that she is happy and then makes extremely rash and crazy behavior (like sleeping with a stranger). Regardless of the acting or how well extreme depression is depicted, the film is so depressing to watch that I could hardly stand watching the whole thing.
• Visually, the film was interesting- it had a good use of CGI, especially related to the planet Melancholia.
• The concept of another planet, basically named Depression, colliding with Earth and destroying it is pretty interesting. It is a great analogy for depression colliding with humans and destroying them.
• The acting is strong, Sutherland is great until he kills himself and even the parents are strong.

Screening Notes: The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker is a movie that I've seen a few times and every time that I have seen it I have tried to like it. Try as I might, I still cannot get past the sense of hopelessness that it portrays and the depressing tones that Bigelow creates while depicting war. This being said, I do believe that The Hurt Locker does depict war scenes and death uniquely that other films do not do- it does not glamorize war, and shows only the negative effects.

In the scene in which a little boy is made into a body bomb is extremely emotional. Jeremy Renner thinks that it is a boy he had once befriended, and instead of blowing up the body, like what the crew assumed would happen, he removed the bomb from inside the body. Renner contemplates what he needs to do, and his actions reflect this extremely well. He walks out of the 'room' made by walls of a plastic sheet and curses. The audience can tell what is going through the actor's mind because he is trying to make a decision of what to do, especially because he believes he knows the victim.

In the scene where our trio finds the mercenaries (or bounty hunters), they are attacked by an Iraqi sniper team. It seems that one by one, characters that we were barely introduced to are killed off, and the audience does not feel closure. The shots do not focus on the people that are killed, just on the people trying to survive. Because of this, the audience feels detached from those who are killed, creating a sense of 'survival of the fittest' and that the living should do anything to survive. This is a sad concept, but in war, as Bigelow shows, it is necessary.

Following the scene where Renner removes the bomb from the child, Colonel Cambridge is killed by an IED. When the bomb goes off, the camera is inside the Humvee, separated from the incident - protected. In one shot, it shows Cambridge standing, and within the same shot, he is consumed by the blast and smoke, and then he disappears. This shot is powerful because it shows the ephemeral nature of life when in war, even if the person is not a warmonger. In one shot, a life can be taken.

Screening Notes: Viaggio in Italia

For this screening notes assignment, we explore the "Shot, Connotation, Myth Production" style of analysis and apply it to a single shot in Viaggia in Italia directed by Roberto Rossallini.

Denotation:
A man and woman sit outside while the woman sunbathes. The couple talks and do not look at each other often, and the woman recounts a former pursuer's efforts to woo he to her husband. The camera shots focus primarily on the separation between the two with very isolating shots.

Connotation:
Katherine is telling this story to Alex, her husband, and it is easy to see that she is unhappy in her current marriage. When looking at the context of this shot, one can understand that the relationship has lost its romance, even to the point of Katherine thinking about how much better her life was before.

Myth Production:
A common thought in humans is the belief that he or she will be better off in another place. Examples include "the grass is always greener in other pastures", one will be happier with another person, the need for the next things in life, assumption of gratification while not being content in the current situation. Journey to Italy isn't dispelling this myth, but promoting it. The audience is meant to believe that Katherine should leave her marriage, and that divorcing is the best option because she'll be happier with another man. The music in the background reflects the mood, it is a somber ditty that adds sense of hopelessness for the relationship's strength and future.

Blog #4 - Essay 1 Outline

(1) Main Argument

Formalism is the best way to approach and study films because it provides the most complete way to view and analyze the aspects of movies. It allows analysts to do a sort of close reading on a sequence or shot, and discuss how the different aspects of the shot contributes to the film as a whole.

(2) Claim #1

Formalism allows us to take an individual aspect of the film and describe the effect it has on the audience.
Example: Focusing on music score in the beginning of Psycho stirs the audience to become very tense. This gives the viewer an intense looming that something terrifying will happen in the future.

 

(3) Support for Claim #1

Further development of example and quote from Wood.

 

(4) Claim #2 [complete sentence(s)]

Compartmentalizing a film's parts through the Formalistic approach can allow the viewer to analyze the internal dialog of Marion. When Marion plays out what the conversations between those parties involved, she assumes the worst. When this happens, the audience recognizes that Marion begins to feel guilty, but tries to shrug it off, creating further suspense surrounding Marion and the stolen money.

 

 

(5) Support for Claim #2

Perkins quote: "[director's resources] neither leap out at us from the fictional world nor impose upon it a rhetoric it cannot sustain."

 

 

(6) Claim #3 [complete sentence(s)]

 

The formalism approach is also the best way to interpret the scene inside the Bates Motel when Norman entreats Marion to food, and continues to spy on her. When he looks through the peep-hole to see her undress, the shot where his eye is nearly fully framed, one can truly appreciate his consumption. The lighting and other effects in the shot emphasize this.

 

(7) Support for Claim #3

Woods: "much of the film's significance is summed up in a single visual metaphor, making use again of eyes, occurring at the film's focal point."

Screening: Psycho

• The music starts off the movie with an incredibly ominous tone.
• Much of what happens in the first 15 minutes doesn't play out the way I thought it would.
• I had expected the police office in the beginning to show up again later in the movie or the man from whom the $40,000 was stolen to be the 'psycho'.
• The cinematography is really enjoyable and the tracking shots are very well done.
• The shot lengths were perfect, neither too long or too short.
• I didn't notice an Alfred Hitchcock cameo in this film... did I miss it?
• I was not expecting Norman Bates to be the psycho... and his mother?
• The ending scene where the psychiatrist was explaining Norman's condition was a really great scene- it gave valuable insight that the audience couldn't have received another way, and it was filmed very strongly.
• Although I had never seen this film, I was very excited too. I was not overly impressed, but it was a very solid movie, and I really want to watch it again knowing the ending.
• Also, I am excited to read commentary on this movie so I can develop greater insight.

Blog Assignment #3: Grapes of Wrath

1) At the end of Grapes of Wrath (1940) the famous depiction of Rosasharn offering her breast milk to a dying man (in Steinbeck's novel) is omitted. Many modern critics may claim that director John Ford is keeping this scene from his film as an auteur, but obviously, this occurrence would not be allowed to be shown in cinema in the 1940's, despite what Ford truly desired. Instead, Ford places a happier spin on the ending of the film. Does this make him an auteur? The simple answer is yes, he is because he creates and 'alternate ending' but does so in order to get his film approved by the board.

2) Auteur theory delves into the idea that an author, or director, has a unique and consistent touch on all the films he or she directs and that a director makes of breaks a film. This theory is interesting, but also cannot be completely confirmed or solidified because of many factors. If one is to believe that auteur theory is completely true, then he or she is likening the director of a film directly to an author of a book or a piece of writing. However, one cannot merely dismiss the fact that an author of a book is the sole proprietor of that piece of work, but a film director is the spearhead and leader of the film, but there are many many other people involved. People who spend their time trying to prove the absolute validity of auteur theory waste their time because the fact that a myriad of people have their hand in the work is unavoidable. Andrew Sarris claims that, "an expert production crew could probably cover up for a chimpanzee in the director's chair," and furthers that in order to find the director's true impact on the outcome of a film one needs to examine what happens "after a number of films, a pattern is established," (Sarris 141). He is correct in asserting that auteur theory is substantial because it emphasizes and recognizes the director's role in creating a film, but is not the absolute truth.

Screening: Grapes of Wrath

• The scene where Tom returns to his home is very dark, difficult to see.
• When Tommy sees his family, they all think that he broke out of jail and only the children hug him, the rest of the people, including his mother, shake his hand.
• There is no music in the film, no soundtrack or score, just music during the dance scene.
• Good commentary on sexes in the last scene in the movie.
• Film has social commentary of misuse of police authority.
• This movie also explores the proletariat / bourgeoisie relationship.
• Much of Grapes of Wrath is dependent on Tommy's stoic character and Ma's strength, by that the film carries on.
• I honestly don't think Ma's character was well developed, seemed a bit forced at times.
• This movie is said to be among the great American classics, but I was not exceedingly impressed, it was slow and the characters weren't well enough developed.

Screening: Midnight in Paris

• Opening scene has great 'montage' (Eisenstein reference) maybe 4 minutes long.
• 'Golden Age thinking' people who have difficulty appreciating there own age desire to live in another.
• The Paul character is extremely pretentious and makes the viewer uncomfortable.
• The viewer relates to Gil's unhappiness with the situation about Paul and Inez.
• "No subject is terrible if the story is true." - Ernest Hemingway
• Gil is caught up in his own environment, but is continually drawn out of it by Inez and her friends and family. He doesn't seem to belong at all.
• Ernest Hemingway continually wants to fight.
• I would probably enjoy this film more if Owen Wilson wasn't the lead character.
• Gil meets: F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, T.S. Elliot, Gertrude Stein, Man Ray, Luis Buñuel, and more.
• Allen (director) is exploring the idea of unhappiness in one's time. It is exemplified by Gil's desire to live in the past, and also by Adriana.

Screening: Masculin Féminin

• Opens with a man (Paul) reading and smoking. He seems very alone and wants a job.
• Paul's persona described the military-industrial complex in a very negative light; obviously a view of the director.
• The film seems centered around sex and sensuality and socialism.
• Many of the shots in this film are very very lengthy- focusing on one point for minutes.
• The following shots are very well done for the available equipment.
• Many of the actors smoke, it gives them something to do with their hands.
• Girl plays with toy guillotine and doll.
• Many 'frame within a frame' shots.