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Reviews
Morvern Callar (2002)
Student Review
This film directed by Lynne Ramsay displayed an internal struggle of a woman coming to age and her own personal desires. The films main character Morvern own being is shown through the entire film enabling her to be a dependant individual whom has carries no baggage of life. The character's lack of moral insight may seem disturbing to some yet to others it may bring a sense of freedom. The film starts with Morvern lying beside her dead boyfriend. Slowly the scene shows the boyfriend's wrists amongst the flashing colored bulbs of the small generic Christmas tree. After a few moments the Morvern realizes the note left behind by her lover, on the computer screen is there is a list of directions that and feelings offered to her. His only explanation was it felt right and that he loved her. Finally there is the issue of his novel in which he asks her to send to a publisher. Morvern's first sign of independents or in some case lack of morals is seen here, instead of calling the police or something of that nature, she rather decides to go out with her best friend. After the night of partying is over she returns home ignoring the body still lying in the same place. From here the film becomes drawn on this subject of her and her conscious ignorance of the body. As she sits and silently opens her Christmas packages Morvern finds a necklace, a jacket, and a tape made to her. Throughout the entire film these possessions never leave here, and she plays the music on the tape sporadically throughout. This is where the film begins to pick up the pace, after going back to the computer she decides to take the novel of her dead boyfriend and make it as if she wrote it. After doing so, she cleans up the body and her apartment, and she along with her friend take a trip to Spain with the money that he had left for his funeral. While in Spain the two venture the country side as if looking for something. Eventually after running low on funds the two end up walking on a deserted road in the middle of nowhere. Her friend and she go to sleep after arguing about what to do. The next morning Morvern wakes, leaves her friend some money and heads out on her own path. Eventually, she meets with the publishers and receives a hundred pounds for the novel. She takes the deal, heads back to England and pack her things to leave again for Spain and to other places. She takes one last stop to ask her friend to come. Her friend tells her that there is nothing out there that is not already here as Morvern then starts her travels again. The final scene, a shot of her moving through a crowd of people dancing with flashing red light focused on her. This leaves one feeling a sense of confusion of the character; she is viewed as a lost soul looking for something, without knowing what it is. This film carries a few interesting themes. The first major one of course is the theme of independence and that of a female character showing strong convictions toward freedom. Through her utter lack of emotion toward the suicide of her boyfriend the leaving of her best friend in the middle of nowhere, and the taking of his novel as her own the films shows not just her dedication and strong personality but also the decency that she has toward her only relationships that should be strong ones. Her character feels nothing for these relationships which in the film is fine because she also feels no remorse breaking them either.
Monsoon Wedding (2001)
Film review
Contains Spoiler Universal's Monsoon Wedding is a vivid film portraying of the life and culture of an Indian family centered on the only daughter, Aditi and her wedding. Mira Nair, a female director of India decent, directed the film. This film carries her unique style of filmmaking along with a theme of romance and love which is usually a constant in most of her films. Her style of filmmaking in Monsoon Wedding can be described as very contemporary film, yet with it she brings a documentary aspect to the film. Her incorporation of cinema verirte systematically appears through out the film, but in form does not relate at all to the plot or story line itself. Which is one of the reasons that this film can be criticized for falling short of an international film, for the basic reason that Hollywood cinema style can easily be seen, taking away from the different aspects to the Indian life and culture. Throughout there are many scenes in which the film incorporates this contemporary theme of how America is starting to influence India and its people. A portrayal of contemporary cinema is seen in the added dramas' needed to be in place of this wedding for affect. The absolute stand out in the film is the unnecessary aspect of a relative who comes from America and has a pedophile relationship with a young girl for it only to be discovering that this has happened before with Ria, a relative, when she was younger. This underlying theme takes away from the film itself and the plot of this scenario can easily be discovered between the reaction of Ria and the American relative when they first interact in the film. Lastly, of course it the typical happy ending mostly applied to contemporary film where everyone is happy and every one finds new love in his or her life.
Nair's influence of cinema verirte feebly attempt to show the real life of India and their culture most definitely falls short of what I would assume a realistic look into the present day lives of India. The first problem with this is the fact that the family although seems to have money problems, one would feel that they are higher class than the norm. Then her attempts to incorporate average lives of the people of India are mostly subtle evolving around the wedding and the family, but a few shots are brought to attention in the film. Such as the scenes that take place in the market along with when Aditi is riding in the car and a few shots are taken in a first person point of view with a cinema vererte aspect displaying venders and workers in the city. The only cinema verirte that my actually fit into the story line is when the wedding planner, Dubey, who states how he is very well off is seen at his home which is not what a typical western view of well off is. Monsoon Wedding does succeed in giving insight to many aspects to India and their traditions about weddings. Through this the many themes that usually accompany India film can be seen, for instance, the soap opera aspect to the wedding and wondering of Aditi's commitment to her arranged marriage, as well as, the many lives which find love between complete strangers. Another is the simple traditions of singing and chanting which one would assume to be common in wedding preparation. In the end, the film accomplishes its main purpose fulfilling the story of an Indian wedding and the melodrama included in it. Though as for cinema verirte, the film lacks the strength to realistically describe a typical wedding in India with its contemporary style and overall feeling of the wealth of the family.
Fight Club (1999)
Film Review
SPOILER ALERT!!! The question of what is a man in today society is the focus of the psychological thriller Fight Club. Directed by David Fincher and based off the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, this film examines the stature of working class men of today's world in which every thing is bought and consumed, leaving the basic instincts of men to be the powerful providers for survival are extinct. The film that can be described as film noir with its dark complexion of characters and landscape. It is centered on a working class insurance businessman who is could be said is going through a mid life crisis. This accompanied with his diagnosed insomnia eventually drive him to torment. He finds a release through self-help and support groups. Through this, he could eventually get in touch with his feelings although somewhat not his own, since he did not have any of the problems the groups were founded for. Edward Norton's character's substitute for his inability to express his own thoughts and feelings by going to these groups and feeling release is eventually ends when a femme fatal enters the film. Helena Carter's character is a dark, somewhat disturbed woman who feels life is close to nothing. She also attends these groups making Norton's character feel insecure once again.
Feeling major depression Norton by chance meets one Tyler Durden, Brad Pitt's character. A charismatic soap salesmen who feels men are not defined is what you have, but believing men are above materialistic things, that life should be lead in search of ones own self. After finding his apartment ruined Norton's character calls Tyler. After having a few drinks and while leaving the bar, Tyler asks for the main character to hit him. After some deliberation he does. This jump-starts what is known as fight club were groups of average class working men go to fight and relieve their aggression. Slowly the influence of Tyler almost takes over Norton's character. That is until the reappearance of Carter's character in which Tyler starts having a physical relationship. Norton's character and Tyler's make this `fight club' a success, but it quickly grows into a cult of men causing mischief, men blowing up stores, painting over billboards, this along with the appearance of the femme fatal start to separate the relationship between the two main characters. Finally, in the end Norton's character finds that Tyler is an image of his mind, that he has subconsciously planning these things himself and finally he planned the destruction of major credit card headquarters. Fight Club carries many themes. One, which is most evident, is the relationship of men to today's world and their inability to express themselves today. This basic theme is the catalyst of Norton's characters insanity, would it not be for his inability to release emotion his anger and side symptoms of insomnia would not have manifested its self as Tyler Durden and finally the only way to release himself is to going to primitive acts of destruction. Fight Club explores this theory of working class men of today having no control, drive, or outlet for themselves in today's society that can be argued to be structurally designed for men to act and think in certain ways with little control. Finally, Fight Club carries many characteristics of the new wave of film noir. Though placed in California, many of the scenes are shot at dark, in bars and bad neighborhoods. There is key aspect of the femme fatal who is the destruction of the main hero who has to solve a mystery of psychological proportions.
Los amantes del Círculo Polar (1998)
Film review
CONTAINS SPOILERS!!! Lovers of the Artic Circle by Julio Medem could easily been left thought of as a unique film of love, life, coincidences, and destiny. Medem through spectacular editing and directing take a simple and maybe disturbing love between a stepbrother and stepsister and turns it into a epic love story leaving viewers to be influenced by the two's deep connection and not their status in relationship. Medem masterfully depicts the main theme of the film through non-conventional methods of editing and directing. This can be seen by the fact throughout the entire film the point of view of both Otto and Ana are both shown giving the overall film more character and depth. His overall theme of that in life there are circle that repeat themselves is not easily lost. This repeat of certain aspects of life is seen through many aspects of the film. The film contains many aspects of live and uses this circle of life theme if you will in telling of coincidence, fate, love, and finally death. In the beginning of the film, there is a shot of the artic circle where Otto gives a brief narrative explanation of his life and how his circle is not yet complete. From there the film follows the interaction of Otto and Ana who meet through pure coincidence and how through their meeting the film takes form. By the interaction of Otto toward Ana the two's parents meet making way for the eventual marriage of Otto's father and Ana's mother. Mede takes a scene of Ana's mother driving them back from school many times over replaying it, yet with the storyline of time passing until a red bus almost hits their car, which is displayed in other scenes, in which Mede finally shows Otto and Ana as adolescences. The love between the two siblings is started in one scene in which the two are reading of the artic circle. From there the film continues on its course relaying its theme of circles. As Otto's father left his mother, later Ana's mother left Otto, and along with the death of Otto's mother separates Otto's and Ana's relationship for a time. Over this time each sees other people and do not make a connection. Though the film places them in a position where they could coincidentally meet again as before fate seems to make guide them elsewhere. Finally, in the end Ana leaves her companion and decides to live in a cabin in the artic circle. At this time Otto is actually flying mail back and forth between Finland and Spain. Ana sends a package to Otto's father which is found by Otto, whom coincidently actually brought the package through air to himself. Otto decides to fly to see Ana. As she waits to see him, she finds that a plane from Spain crashed near her. She panics and goes into town. As this is happening Otto who flew the plane decided to parachute out to see Ana and he is stuck in a tree. The scene is the same as the beginning where Otto is telling of his circle not being complete. Finally, with aid Otto gets down from the trees and follows Ana to town where he finds her hit by a red bus. Yet in Ana's eyes, she finds the paper and runs to the office of the German Otto when there is a shot of papers flying then her coming to the office only to find Otto there. Therefore, by this unique point of view between the eyes of Ana and Otto, this open ending leaves one to wonder what the film is really trying to explain about these circles in life with love, fate, and death. It also allows for self-interpretation leaving, I feel, one more fulfilled in the end, giving one's own answer to the meaning of those questions of love, fate, and death.
Daughters of the Dust (1991)
Film Review
Daughters of the Dust directed by Julie Dash is a cultural perspective look into the lives of an African American family left on an island years after being torn from their heritage of Africa for slavery only to have revolted and be left to themselves, stranded on the island off the coast of the Southern eastern coast and the family who live off the island with others who long to find their heritage. The film's story line is developed in the one day where the family is getting ready to head to a new world on the main land. The internal conflict of the family between relatives who no longer live on the island who have become part of the culture of America post civil war and the family left on the island that live by the old heritage and customs. The family on the island struggle between their history and culture to the change of the times and the need for conformity. This film centers on the generations of the family from the young children who are filled with life then to the adults who are torn between their decisions to leave to finally the center character, the elder grandmother of the family Nana. Nana's ways and beliefs that have been accepted by the family their entire lives are now the only thing holding the family back from their future off the island. The film focuses largely on the women of the family, displaying the differences of ones who that have lived on the island and then those whom have lived off it. The lines divided between the two are evidently shown throughout the film. The women who lived off the island no longer take to heart their heritage that Nana lives by. They find it to be uncivilized and against the teaching of the bible. There is the scene in which the family after much struggle and torment accept Nana's decision to stay and her heritage. The scene is of the entire family gathered around the grandmother in which she has a lock of her hair and others placed on a bible asking everyone to believe in the old ways and take her with her by kissing the hair and bible. Finally, the scene acts as importance because one of the outside family members whom diligently preaches and believes in Christianity gives in to Nana's request.
Daughters of the Dust cannot be explained without stating the mise en cinema. From the clothing to the shots of the landscape of the island all resemble the time and place of the film. Not only the background and clothes, but also the character themselves turn this limited distributed film into a believable representation of what people of this time would act and be. The storyline background of the slavery uprising actually having taken place on the island gives it enormous creditability. The shots of the island start the creditability of the film with shots of the women interacting with the water of the ocean and the rivers, the shots of the forest and trees, and finally the most significant may be when the women are preparing the dinner showing how their food is prepared with live seafood and spices gathered from the island. The mise en cinema is creditable because of the clothes as well; from Nana who has only a dress is indigo, which was the main produce to harvest by the slaves on the island to the white Victorian dress of the women from the main land.
Dash's Daughters of the Dust cannot be denied as a cultural perspective that's originality has touched on the transition to the new culture of African Americans and they past that many have forgotten after the postwar civil war era. Its cultural insight may have been directed to a certain selected target audience, but its look into the heritage of the people cannot be viewed as anything but a respectable insight of the times.
Annie Hall (1977)
Falls short
Woody Allen's Annie Hall is a disturbing yet funny comedy between two lovers and the differences that keep them apart. Woody Allen plays a sarcastic, ego-centered, and obsessive over the misery of the world comedian, who meets Diane Keaton, whose character is based on the stereo-typical mid-western girl, who moved to the big city. Though I felt the film displayed many loose comical stereo-typical views of the time setting of the late seventies. I can not escape the feeling that there is an underlining message of society's negatives during this time period of American culture by Allen. The story line is of this film a meeting between the two in which they engage in a game of tennis with friends. Soon a relationship follows and the start of their problems begins. Allen's character whom obsessed with death and many other enlightened thinking pushes his ideas upon her slowly smothering Annie till she breaks. When Annie tries to confront Allen's character he only avoids her questions and comments by trying to move the subject to a sexual nature. In the end, the two break apart mutually, because of his smothering and her desire to have freedom. She lives in Los Angels while Woody whom refuses to live anywhere else stays in New York. His character's problems are the sole entertainment of the film and without his absurd behavior the film would be nothing but a sappy lover story.
Allen does a wonderful job in adding the desired affect a highly sarcastic, socially disabled comedian who fears change and can only be happy when misery is involved. His use of direct confrontation in acknowledging the audience only adds to the film. His use of it is not over done and usually unexpected. In one scene he and Annie are standing in line for a movie when a man disturbing him about the work of another man is forced to hear how his Harvard opinions are totally off based by the man whose work he was describing. Diane Keaton however is to Allen's character as yin is to yang. Though she makes the character believable, there are too many accruing stereotypes of the Midwestern girl in the big city. Citing a specific example of her constant old sayings, like la-de-da, which drives Allen character crazy, along with the undertone of her intellect compared to his of a Jewish man in New York, which displays a stereo type in itself. Woody displaying an intellectual Jewish man whiles her being from Wisconsin she is a sub-cultured, basic educated woman. Other stereo-types which can easily be seen are of the people of the time period, mostly when the two visit Los Angeles, though these are found comical never the less the films subplot of pointing out all the negative stereo types cannot be denied. In one scene at a party there are numerous stereo types of Hollywood, for example the people are all on drugs, or a more specific example, the shot of Jeff Goldblum talking on the phone to his spiritual advisor saying, `I have lost my mantra.' Though this only adds to the comedic level of the film there is something to be said of Woody's own personal opinions possibly being sent through this film.
To paraphrase my point Annie Hall is a magnificently hysterical film, though its humor acts as a double edge sword. Through the use of a cynical New Yorker whose only fate would seem is to be miserable, Woody Allen comically expresses his views of the total loose American culture of the late seventies. His stereo types of this time period and the people of this time period though undoubtedly a riot also can be seen to portray his own views of this time as though he was that cynical and shallow of a man.
Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)
Film review
Through direct cinema Barbara Kopple's Harlan County dramatizes the lives of Kentucky coal miners during a thirteen-month strike. This dramatized documentary vividly portrays the lives of Kentucky coalminers and their struggle. This cinema-verite documentary expresses a sympathetic over view of the miners and largely finds the views of the miner's wives. Kopple leads us into the drama of this event by showing the concerns and arguing of the workers, the men firing at them, the confrontation with law enforcement, and the blockade of replacement workers with the picketers holding guns with their wives standing with them (Bordwell and Thompson p. 583). Along with this Kopple expresses another theme in the film. Kopple's use of many venues to display the stereotypical view of rural working-class versus the intellectual city dwellers is clearly related to her intrinsic sympathy toward the coalminers. This theme is expressed though out much of the film, from the music to the many shots of the miner's face and focus on their poor maintained teeth. Also to this extent there are many scenes of the town they live in, focusing on the low maintained houses and shacks. To further portray this theme, Kopple chooses to shoot a conversation between a striker and a police officer, while outside picketing in the city. The discussion was based on the comparison of each lives and jobs. The officer expresses interests in the striker's benefits and salary. The striker's responses to these inquiries are that of how little they receive. In this shot, also it is found that the officer had no idea of the strike clearly expressing the worth or public outlook of these rural workers. This theme is mainly tied with Kopple's need to express sympathy to the strikers and depict the men in power of the mine as cold-hearted businessmen. This is seen in the film in many different venues. First and most blatant could be the interviews of the men in power is very dry and shallow compared to the view of the striker's emotion and daily drama. Another tool used to express this image of sympathy is the Kopple's use of background information. These superimposed titles shots give information about the strike and things related to coalmine strikes. The music selection also reflects this view generally viewed as folk, clearly expresses Kopple's message of sympathy to the miners (Bordwell and Thompson p.583). Finally, these to basic themes and styles are one of the reasons that film is more of a synthesized film of the actual event. Kopple's own views are largely expressed and because of this, the cinema-verite accountability is largely questioned. The two themes, mainly her sympathetic outlook, only displays a one sided vision of the true event and all its components. This and the drama she captures and helps produce by being very forceful with the camera in some cases leaves one to wonder how much of this drama is real and how much is fiction because of her presence.
Pink Flamingos (1972)
Disturbing
Pink Flamingos A horribly grotesque film that will draw on every emotion that you could possibly imagine, John Water's Pink Flamingos goes over and beyond to make viewers feel as comfortable as a sitting on a fire. Through the use of a narrative tail, Water shows the life of Divine, a cross dressing, obnoxious women who has no morals or dignity, whose only pride in life is that she is the filthiest person alive. Accompanied by her mother, a mentally obese woman who has a fetish for eggs and her son a sexual deviant who has a fetish for chicken they willfully take the most disgusting morally wrong actions one could ponder and act them out for amusement. The family lives in the rural of a country side in a trailer with a wondering sexual deviant woman named Cotton who carries a quaint fascination with Divine's son Cracker's sex acts. How can a movie like this be anything but a comparison to Jack Ass? Well Water's incorporates a plot into the film, the strive of a married couple to be known as the filthiest person alive. Raymond and Connie Marble form a plot to un thrown Divine from her natural gift of the filthiest person alive. The couple who themselves make good run at being filthy use a women to get information from Crackers. After the sexual encounter which live animals were used the informant gives the Marbles information of a birthday for Ms. Divine. The two send her a birthday present of feces and set out to destroy the party be calling the police. As it turns out the party goers and the family kill the officers and eat their flesh.
Divine not to willing of a person to take such a threat seeks out the Marbles only to find their empty house. After licking and spitting on everything they could, Divine and her son who almost finish sexually pleasuring each other come to find the Marble's homosexual servant and the two women chained down stairs, for the purpose to impregnate them to sell of the children. Divine releases the two women who then proceed to cut off the servant's privates and leave him for dead. Divine and her son head back to their home only to find it burned down from the Marble's. Soon after they find and kill the Marbles which leads to the closure of the film. If there was ever a not a need for mise en cinema it would have to be for Pink Flamingos. The actors and actresses not only wore outrageous outfits, but performed acts in front of a camera which let one laughing then turning away in repulsion. There were many shots of voyeurism, sexual sadism, excrement of feces up close and personal, and private parts on behalf of Mr. Marble and Crackers. In one such scene Mr. Marble a habitual flasher comes a cross a women who flashes herself back at him only to find it was a man. Beyond the sick sights which leaves no one to discredit the characters' filth the small town and rural shots of the country side make the film believable that somewhere in a place like that the same acts could be occurring, as sick as the thoughts may be. The film's utter of knowing the line between humor and repulsion intrigues viewers to stay and ask what else could happen, yet leaves some to say I am going to vomit. It is not a film for the weak of stomach or mind. If ever there was a film dedicated to push boundaries and give exposure never seen and most likely never seen on such a wide range again, it would have to be Pink Flamingos.
Ladri di biciclette (1948)
Film class review
Spoiler The Bicycle Thief is a classic example of Italian Neorealism. As of many neorealistic films that display some sort of personal struggle, this one displays a powerful message of society and Europe's post-war struggle. The film portrayals a young man, Ricci, and his son, Bruno, as they search for a stolen bicycle during a time of depression in Italy. From the beginning to the end, the film centers on the dreary aspect of a desperate man's struggle to survive. The film displays the message of society's struggles and of Ricci's hard life throughout the entire film. It expresses this by being in black and white. This view gives a distant aspect to every scene and relays the message that what is scene is all there is that there is no deeper meaning to anything, the meaning that all there is this struggle to work. From its scenes of angry workers debating over solutions to the economy to the police and church turning down Ricci's pleads for help displays the neorealistic message of society and its struggle at this time. The mise en scene of the film expresses the message of Europe's post-war struggles as well. From its long shots to its panning of the streets and building to the character's clothing and movements gives one the impression of Italy. Through this mise in scene realistic view, the feeling of Italy as it was at the time, and with that impression the people's struggles are found to be believable.
Lastly, the final scene of Ricci becoming so desperate that he decides to steal a bicycle is the best example of the films message of society. Ricci's attempt to steal the bicycle in front of his son Bruno finally displayed the measures that Ricci would take. This is foreseen by his increased desperation throughout the course of the film. In the scene the panning shots of him pacing and close-up shots of his face give away the fact that he is about to steal the bicycle and destroy his son's exaggerated heroic view of his father. This event finally makes Bruno realize the reality of the situation and his father's disposition and struggle in this society.