This semester, I am enrolled in a class entitled Drama 3030 - Film Studies. I know, it sounds pretty cool, and I plan on taking a couple more film-related classes before I'm done university. Anyways... in the interest of shaking things up, I've decided to post the notes I've taken while watching the films we've watched
in class here. Hopefully, that will reveal some of my madness and some of the thoughts I have watching movies... although I will clean them up a tiny bit. Without further ado, let's begin... OK, I didn't take notes for the first movie we watched. It was an Iranian film from 1996 called A Moment of Innocence, one of the professor's favourite films. Needless to say, it wasn't one of mine. It was notable for using a very bare-bones, naturalistic style, being based on a true story (the director, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, shot a policeman during the Islamic Revolution and was emprisoned for several years, emerging afterwards a filmmaker), and being a meta-commentary on filmmaking. Theoretically, it could work. Theoretically, it could be quite moving. In practice, it wound up being very esoteric and confusing (especially with the seemingly arbitrary and ill-defined shifts between "reality" and "fiction"). The acting, all from (I believe) amateurs, was dry and stilted - it would have been more "realistic" had the filmmakers used trained actors; their chosen actors made it feel phony. This film was probably meant to have a universal appeal - How do artists reflect and manipulate reality? What do we owe those we have harmed in the past? - but it likely is only meaningful for the filmmakers themselves, and maybe a select few of Makhmalbaf's most devout followers. C- ------------------- The Wizard of Oz, which we looked at as an example of classical storytelling, I did take notes for, and here they are in all their disjointed glory...[list][*]farm hands & how they each represent a main character in the fantasy world[*]Aunt Em has a very firm but gentle hand[*]woman who threatens Toto = wicked witch[*]ominous music playing at Miss Gulch's arrival[*]camera angle makes it look like she is rising up & flying on her bike[*]Professor Marvel... not so marvellous... yet he has a conscience at least; inspires Dorothy to go back home to her loved ones[*]tornado effects may be obvious (as just "effects"), but they're still quite menacing, esp. the noise[*]tornado as catalyst for fantasy plot[*]Miss Gulch literally changing into witch before our eyes[*]silence & peace before opening door on colour world[*]"Only bad witches are ugly" --- appearance mirroring inner character --- questionable and simplistic???[*]camera angle to establish height of the munchkins[*]They're celebrating, yet they know there's still another wicked witch... weird[*]clearly cardboard, storybook-style backdrops used[*]"Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking." -- possible jab at McKinley [*In the introduction to the film, the prof told us that L. Frank Baum's novel was actually a political allegory about the 1896 American elections.*][*]talking trees (upset that Dorothy picks an apple)[*]discovery of Tin Man --- camera moving slowly up to reveal full frame[*]ominous music as they get deep in the forest (before they get to Lion)[*]"Lions & tigers & bears" foreshadowing meeting of Cowardly Lion[*]evil poppy field -- something usually peaceful & idyllic lent a sinister atmosphere -- classic contrast[*]Good Witch answers cries for help & makes it snow (clean, pure, white while poppies are red & dangerous)[*]really high-pitched songs[*]symbolism of emerald colour... hmm[*]really effeminate behaviour of Lion[*]joy & merriment again interrupted by appearance of Wicked Witch (motif)[*]"If I Were King..." song seems kind of pointless[*]Professor Marvel = gatekeeper for Oz[*]long corridor to Wizard = very foreboding[*]"Spooks? That's silly!" -- corny dialogue[*]Toto's heroic journey![*]Why does she have the hourglass?[*]stealing guards' uniforms -- Star Wars stole that idea[*]Why does water destroy witch? (clean & pure?)[*]Toto's heroism & cleverness again -- revealing the "man behind the curtain"[*]Wizard is just a lot of hot air; so are men purporting to possess brains, hearts & courage[*]it's not the destination; it's the journey -- she learns she had the ability to go back within herself all along[/list]Overall, while not logically perfect (even for a film about a fantasy-land called Oz), The Wizard of Oz fully justifies its classic status. It's colourful, entertaining, with great parallels between fantasy and reality, great narrative symmetry, and an emotional appeal generated primarily by the utterly sincere and vibrant performances (especially Judy Garland). A well-told classic fairy tale in every sense. A ---------------------The next film was Hero, which I'd also seen before but gleaned a lot more from another viewing. Unfortunately, some minor flaws remained, i.e. the emotional distance created by the two-dimensional characters and focus on plot twistiness and narrative complexity rather than emotion. But darn if it ain't amazingly pretty.[list][*]Grey...[*]when music stops due to strings breaking, fighters pick up where melody left off (music & martial arts very similar -- recurring theme)[*]at first, good & evil seem clear: Nameless is good; Sky, Snow, Broken Sword are evil[*]Red...[*]calligraphy school? why? reinforcing values of form & order[*]old dude defiantly writing during bombardment with arrows -- showing how writing lives on after we are destroyed by war?[*]calligraphy & archery -- both graceful & orderly -- arrows flying straight & true[*]Very red...[*]film is about importance of grace & form & order[*]-->perfectly arrayed soldiers shooting arrows perfectly straight[*]-->graceful calligraphy & dance-like defense of city[*]Sky = killed first; Snow (Maggie) & Broken Sword (Tony) = lovers; Moon = Broken Sword commits adultery with her [*This was just to keep the characters straight.*][*]more abrupt ending -- "Leave now" after sex scene CUT she stands CUT guy alone on bed[*]writhing under red sheets, which fill screen -- red as colour of passion[*]gold of trees now overshadows red[*]anger vs. calm & passiveness in tree top fight btw. women -- *dualities[*]golden leaves turning red -- why?[*]hero set up plan to pit two lovers against each other --> one dies, another lover in triangle gets killed when she attacks the rival, Hero kills the last one (who is so emotionally fragile at that point)[*]blue...[*]very paranoid king -- thinks hero & Sky are allied, the "love triangle" plot was only so Nameless could get near king[*]blue as calming colour[*]also very sad & mournful -- fitting to scene of departure & lover walking willingly to death[*]Nameless agrees to kill his friend to advance their cause --> very sad idea[*]water droplet ping-pong btw. Nameless & Broken Sword[*]he can't harm Broken Sword while he tends to his lover -- why? --> out of respect? wouldn't be honourable?[*]Nameless then admits he did have murderous intentions toward the king --> but is he "bad?" he is hesitant[*]white...[*]Broken Sword doesn't want to kill king?[*]green...[*]Broken Sword's flashback within flashback -- talking to Nameless after battle with Snow[*]calligraphy & swordplay attempt to return to state of simplicity (Bro. Swo.)[*]red flag: plot to assassinate king succeeded; yellow flag: plot failed[*]Broken Sword's inherent inexplicable belief that king must not be killed (he came to it intuitively, by studying calligraphy) vs. Nameless' similarly held belief that he must be killed[*]Broken Sword's two words: "Our Land" -- petty conflicts pale in comparison with attempt for universal peace[*]Nameless decides not to kill king; Broken Sword & Snow talk about why; "Our Land" -- two lovers battle & Nameless walks out of court[*]Broken Sword drops sword & dies to prove a point[*]Snow's emotional despair vs. Nameless' calm, cerebral idealism[/list]Basically, there was much to talk about here with regard for the colours chosen to dominate the different scenes, the themes that draw comparisons between writing, fighting, and music, and the message of peace and whether it can be achieved without death, and of course, the Rashomon-like interest in competing points of view. This is a smart movie, and gorgeously crafted, but being set 2000+ years ago, as well as the characterization staying basically fairly shallow (despite the efforts of Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung, and Ziyi Zhang) means the emotional payoff isn't as big as you'd hope for. B+ --------------------The most recent screening was Chanwook Park's short film Cut, taken from a larger film called Three... Extremes, that also featured two other films from two other Asian directors. I didn't see those, so I didn't want to rate Three... Extremes as a whole, but I can say that Cut, by itself, was... interesting. (Chanwook Park is the guy behind the Oldboy trilogy, and his films all share similar aesthetics and characters in search of bloody revenge.) It was almost too focused on set design and costumes and such. I suppose that's appropriate, though, as we studied it as an example of mise-en-scene.[list][*]sucking neck in ritzy apartment -- sexual? creepy? violent?[*]black & white & blue dominate colour scheme of apartment[*]non-diegetic piano score, then she plays piano too -- leads to very discordant melodies[*]zooming out to reveal film crew -- meta-commentary[*]actress vomiting intensely -- ew.[*]lots of inside film-biz dialogue -- "Pink Panty" -- making fun of John Waters[*]set mimmicks actual home of director... hmm[*]non-diegetic drinking & belching sounds[*]dark atmosphere interrupted by noise of lighter flicking & orange light from unseen source[*]actor prancing around in various costumes -- changing into them without us seeing him[*]commentary on extras getting short shrift during shooting[*]is he just jealous of the director? resents it when he doesn't recognize him -- life's not fair and all that[*]"I'm sorry for being a good person." -- forcing him not to be good & be egotistical instead?[*]tables have turned; now, he is "director" calling the shots[*]fate: rich boy becomes good man; poor boy becomes a bastard[*]murderous psychopath dances up a storm[*]pianist tied up by piano strings to walls, gets fingers cut off -- symbolic[*]director tied by big red rope to outside of set wall, so he can't get close to murderer[*]does even the best-seeming man have sins?[*]cardboard-smiling cutout of wife (in dream sequence) as director rants about his talentless, superficial wife -- symbolic of her fakeness[*]fingers in a blender[*]wig & boy, metronome & sword/axe swinging in rhythm to it (to cut off whole hand)[*]motif: girl biting guy like girl from film -- only more violent & bloody[*]metronome stops, time's up[*]weird rotating camera effects -- cycle of revenge[*][*Spoiler alert! from this point on! You have been warned!*][*]who is he talking to? isn't that his wife and that the kid?[*]director's now a total psyhcopath too[*]tongue being cut off[*]Ohhh!... guy "pulling strings" & actual director are same crazy person --> final zoom-out shows the former isn't lying dead on the ground like he should be [*This was after listening to comments from my fellow classmates.*][/list]Cut was about of a piece with Oldboy... both featured very ornate choreography, lavish set design, and contrived set-ups. It was very stylish and the trickiness of it all was interesting for a while, but overall, it just felt preposterous and the final twist wasn't anything all that new. Honestly, the stylishness of it all actually detracted from the emotional (fear, specifically) effects of the film... although it was appreciable in its own sort of way, especially since we were studying mise-en-scene. B- ---------------And that's it for now! Hopefully, I'll be posting more of this each week.
January 31, 2008
