https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/water-lilies-floats-frustratingly-on-the-surface/
This article talks about the major themes and storylines in Water Lillies, while also critiquing the movie as a whole. The article starts by bringing up the major theme in Water Lillies, synchronized swimming. This sport acted as a metaphor for being a young woman. There is one scene where Marie goes underwater and we can see the legs of the girl swimming. It is very intense and you can tell that they are working hard and struggling to stay afloat. Above the water, the girls look very elegant and poise. This is meant to be a metaphor for how being a young girl can be very physically and emotionally taxing, however, it is important that a sense of composure remains throughout everything. This metaphor manifests itself differently for each character. For Floriane it is about maintaining her position as sexually promiscuous, despite her not actually wanting to engage in that behavior. For Marie, it is having a desire for both synchronized swimming and Floriane while not trying to show it and potentially ruining the relationship. The article says that despite the movie being insightful, it is constrained in scope and that so much more could have been said.
dimanche 15 décembre 2019
dimanche 8 décembre 2019
La Promesse
https://nofilmschool.com/Close-up-shot-uses-and-examples
La Promesse is a movie filled with emotions of stress, anguish, turmoil, and rebellion. And we get to feel and see all of that through the experiences of Igor, a 15-year child whose father exploit undocumented immigrants in Belgium. When one of these immigrants dies and Igor's father covers up the death, Igor is caught between being a loyal son or keeping his promise to the dying to help his family. This struggle and all of the following emotion is captured almost exclusively through the use of close-ups. In the article I read, it explains that close-ups are especially good at this. By zooming on the face, we are able to better see the features of the actor: mouth and eyes in particular, as he reacts to the action unfold. A facial twitch, a tear, or dart of the eyes that might have been lost to the audience with a wide shot is perfectly captured in a close-up. As the article points out, one of the best examples of this is the scene in The Shining when Johnny breaks down the door. The scene would be completely different, with much less terror, without its iconic close up.
La Promesse is a movie filled with emotions of stress, anguish, turmoil, and rebellion. And we get to feel and see all of that through the experiences of Igor, a 15-year child whose father exploit undocumented immigrants in Belgium. When one of these immigrants dies and Igor's father covers up the death, Igor is caught between being a loyal son or keeping his promise to the dying to help his family. This struggle and all of the following emotion is captured almost exclusively through the use of close-ups. In the article I read, it explains that close-ups are especially good at this. By zooming on the face, we are able to better see the features of the actor: mouth and eyes in particular, as he reacts to the action unfold. A facial twitch, a tear, or dart of the eyes that might have been lost to the audience with a wide shot is perfectly captured in a close-up. As the article points out, one of the best examples of this is the scene in The Shining when Johnny breaks down the door. The scene would be completely different, with much less terror, without its iconic close up.
La Haine
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/videos/a54270/black-and-white-movies-explainer/
When watching La Haine by Mathieu Kassovitz I couldn't help but wonder why people still make movies in black and white anymore. As we learned earlier in this class the invention of technicolor, like sound, was one of the two biggest advances in filmmaking. This article explains that the black and white of today is actually very different than that of before. Because of advances in camera technology filmmakers can actually play around with texture, lighting, and depth, all without color. But the article also highlighted another more important reason to make a movie in black and white, theme. Like the article, I think that the absence of color is an artist chose that sets the tone of the whole movie. By stripping a film of 99% of its color, the filmmaker is forced to find inventive ways to achieve similar things as if he was to use color. Black and white can also be useful, stylistically, when making period pieces.
When watching La Haine by Mathieu Kassovitz I couldn't help but wonder why people still make movies in black and white anymore. As we learned earlier in this class the invention of technicolor, like sound, was one of the two biggest advances in filmmaking. This article explains that the black and white of today is actually very different than that of before. Because of advances in camera technology filmmakers can actually play around with texture, lighting, and depth, all without color. But the article also highlighted another more important reason to make a movie in black and white, theme. Like the article, I think that the absence of color is an artist chose that sets the tone of the whole movie. By stripping a film of 99% of its color, the filmmaker is forced to find inventive ways to achieve similar things as if he was to use color. Black and white can also be useful, stylistically, when making period pieces.
La Promesse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVh-WXNMNxE
Not an article, but short interviews with Oliver Gourmet who played the father, and Jeremie Renier who played Igor in La Promesse. In these interviews they talk about the filming technique of the
Dardenne brothers. They talk about the unconscious aspect of filming with handheld cameras. The point is to make the filing so natural that the actors are not in interaction with them at all. Many of the Dardennes's films mimic documentary film making because they started in that genre. The use of handheld camera allows for a more intimate look into the lives of the characters. There is no staging. No artifice. The movement is more natural. The gaze is firsthand.
In my essay I am analyzing the idea of the female gaze. The female gaze is an intimate gaze that is produced when women are creating the narratives within their films. It is inherently intimate. I think when we make the view of the actors more intimate, the audience is asked to view the story they are watching as though it is reality, therefore inviting them to be a part of the action. To give the audience the opportunity to get closer to the subjects is to give the audience the opportunity to become more invested in your film.
Not an article, but short interviews with Oliver Gourmet who played the father, and Jeremie Renier who played Igor in La Promesse. In these interviews they talk about the filming technique of the
Dardenne brothers. They talk about the unconscious aspect of filming with handheld cameras. The point is to make the filing so natural that the actors are not in interaction with them at all. Many of the Dardennes's films mimic documentary film making because they started in that genre. The use of handheld camera allows for a more intimate look into the lives of the characters. There is no staging. No artifice. The movement is more natural. The gaze is firsthand.
In my essay I am analyzing the idea of the female gaze. The female gaze is an intimate gaze that is produced when women are creating the narratives within their films. It is inherently intimate. I think when we make the view of the actors more intimate, the audience is asked to view the story they are watching as though it is reality, therefore inviting them to be a part of the action. To give the audience the opportunity to get closer to the subjects is to give the audience the opportunity to become more invested in your film.
samedi 7 décembre 2019
Blog Post: La Promesse
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-05-30-ca-63754-story.html
This article goes through the storyline of La Promesse while talking about the intentions of the Dardenne Brothers. The article talks about how the Dardenne brothers started out making movies and this is largely reflected in the way this movie is edited by using held hand cameras and constant close-ups. It is said that this was done with the intention of creating authentic urgency and immediacy. The author states that watching the movie was almost like eavesdropping in on a conversation. This article talks about the theme of morality and moral rebellion throughout the movie. The article says that the film highlights how difficult making moral decisions are, and how making the moral decision is normally harder.
One of the most interesting topics the article discusses is the actors that were chosen. He talks about how they all have different acting experiences which made the movie far more authentic. He states that Assita Ouedraogo's first time in Europe was to film this movie. The Dardenne Brother took everything into account when making this movie so it was as natural as possible. This was important because this movie was intended to have an emotional effect, and that would not have been as successful without feeling like the characters were people and not actors.
This article goes through the storyline of La Promesse while talking about the intentions of the Dardenne Brothers. The article talks about how the Dardenne brothers started out making movies and this is largely reflected in the way this movie is edited by using held hand cameras and constant close-ups. It is said that this was done with the intention of creating authentic urgency and immediacy. The author states that watching the movie was almost like eavesdropping in on a conversation. This article talks about the theme of morality and moral rebellion throughout the movie. The article says that the film highlights how difficult making moral decisions are, and how making the moral decision is normally harder.
One of the most interesting topics the article discusses is the actors that were chosen. He talks about how they all have different acting experiences which made the movie far more authentic. He states that Assita Ouedraogo's first time in Europe was to film this movie. The Dardenne Brother took everything into account when making this movie so it was as natural as possible. This was important because this movie was intended to have an emotional effect, and that would not have been as successful without feeling like the characters were people and not actors.
dimanche 1 décembre 2019
La Haine
https://www.indiewire.com/2016/02/twenty-years-of-hate-why-la-haine-is-more-timely-than-ever-24180/amp/
“A story of social unrest, “La Haine” proves it has double vision, reflecting the past while anticipating the future.”
This quote stood out to me in the article, written 20 years after the release of La Haine. It shocks me how relevant this film is today, in 2019, specifically in the us. While we are in one of the largest periods of political and social unrest against the power of the police, with the slewing of young black citizens with little to no accountability in the police department, this film resonates with our situation. That dynamic of power is visible. Also parallel is the lost feeling of closure. We are left at the end of the film with the death of Vincent, and the possible death of Hubert. While witnessing this we do not see any justice throughout the film and are left with no sense of closure or retribution. While Kassovitz skillfully mirrors the growing unrest of France in the late ‘90s, the portrayal of injustice is relatable at any time. By humanizing the issues, inviting us to feel for the main characters rather than arguing political facts, the issue becomes ingrained in the audience, leading to a more devastating end.
Blog Post: La Haine
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/03/la-haine-film-sequel-20-years-on-france
In this article, the author, Andrew Hussey, goes to the banlieue where La Haine was filmed 20 years later after the movie was released. When the movie was released people living in the banlieue felt it was an accurate portrayal of their life and what they experienced in terms of their interactions with the police. They said that the movie gave a voice to people that the rest of France has forgotten. Hussey went into the same banlieue that the movie was filmed in to see the differences after 20 years. He has Abdel Moulah Bouloudji, who was featured in La Haine, show him around. They talk about how despite the big impact the movie made, in terms of real systemic change in this community, not much was made. For this reason, many of the people in the banlieue believed the movie was made as a way to show them off without having the intention of making actual change. Hussey believed that for this reason, it would be important to make a La Haine 2. Hussey asks how a second La Haine would be different than the first one. He speaks to Gilles Favier, who points out the importance of the friendship between Hubert, Said, and Vinz. The three come from all different backgrounds, and Abdel believes that this relationship could not exist today. He says that since the movie was made there was been more separation by race in the banlieue. He attributes this to the rise of political Islam since 1995, which was something not addressed in the original film at all.
I found it very interesting that after learning not much change had happened, the logical conclusion that was drawn was to make another film like La Haine. The original movie did cause a lot of controversies and shed light on the riots that took place in the suburbs, however, it obviously did not result on a lot of social and political change. Both Hussey and Kossovitz believe that because there was not a change there should be another movie, however, the first movie did not result in change.
Inscription à :
Articles (Atom)