There was a lot of revolutionary stuff going on in film in the 1990s. The most prevalent common denominator amongst films of that era - spanning through all of the different regions - was backtracking. In Iran, it was backtracking in actual time. There were several documentaries about documentaries - overlapping on time; building up the backstory of the film's story. Backtracking was used in Asian countries with soundtracks or with alluding to (and therefore paying homage to) the films that inspired them. There were a lot of horror films featuring girls with long, straight, black hair.
In this period, the transition was being made to digital cameras. As the advancement in technology occured, it was responded to in different ways by different filmmakers. While Iranian filmmakers embraced the present, Japanese filmmakers embraced the fear of technology prevalent among the Japanese people. Certain French filmmakers rejected the "improvements" in filming technology. They took the camera off the tripod, deleted the sets, switched back to square framing, and if the frame went out of focus, so be it.
There was a great awareness of reality prevalent in this time period. Filmmakers attempted to express human emotion as raw as possible. Filmmakers of this period blazed trails that are still being followed today.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Love, Lust, and Lies; NIRVANA Smells Like Teen Spirit
I watched two documentaries over these two days.
Love, Lust, and Lies
This film followed the lives of three Australian girls: Josie, Diana, and Kerry. The documentarian visited them when they were fourteen, eighteen, twenty-eight, thirty-three, and forty-seven. The first visit occurred in 1976, and it revealed something about that time. All of the girls were smoking, and not illegally - they would just walk into a drug store and buy cigarettes. They lived fairly typical lives. Two of them were working and the third was seeking work. The one not working - Diana - had also dropped out of school. She was the most insecure of all three of them - she was a bit overweight and thought herself to be very ugly. The topic of if they would ever have kids came up, and Diana mentioned that she would never get an abortion.
The documentarian returned when they were eighteen, and Josie's and Diana's lives were quite different (Kerry was not in this segment). Josie had gotten pregnant shortly after the documentary was filmed, as had Diana. They were both struggling to support themselves.
At each of Gillian Armstrong's visits, Josie was married or engaged to a different person. Diana fluctuated between being overweight and being unhealthily thin. Kerry was the only one with a stable relationship all the way through, and the only one who seemed to be truly happy. During the last visit, Diana was married to the father of the child she'd considered aborting (contrary to her previous beliefs) years before - though at the time, she had been married to someone else. Armstrong also followed some of their kids, and the truth of their parents' mistakes had driven a rift between them and their parents on some occasions - the truth that Josie didn't know who the father of her oldest daughter was; the fact that Diana had an affair; etc.
It was interesting noting the differences that time period and age had on each of the girls. However, Diana never lost her insecurity, Josie never found stability in her life, and Kerry never seemed to go through as much misfortune as the other two. Josie and Diana seemed so normal at the beginning, but everything flipped upside-down for them. You never really can tell how different people will be in just a few years' time.
NIRVANA Smells Like Teen Spirit
This film was so captivating. The other film - honestly - did not have much appeal to me, but not every film interests every person. NIRVANA was about something of great interest to me: music. I'd never been much of a Nirvana fan before this because I'd never taken the time to sit down and listen to their music, but after viewing this film, I really like them.
The thing I really appreciate about Nirvana after viewing this film is the amount of passion they put into their music. A lot of their lyrics are rather nonsensical because Kurdt Cobain just put words in that flowed with the music; however, they also have plenty of songs that are bone-chillingly relatable, or otherwise really good. There is so much passion and heart they put into their music, and it is so inspirational.
At points, their producer would play bits of some of their songs, and he would relate the process of recording the songs. He would play just parts of their songs at times, like just the drums and bass, or just the vocals, or one vocal track and he would layer on the others one by one, etc. It gave insight into why professionally recorded songs sound so complete, as opposed to amateur albums or live tracks. It was also very interesting to learn of the band's process and progression through the songs. As a whole, the documentary also gave a feel for the time period, when "pop" and "rock" stopped meaning the same thing, and Grunge was very popular. It was an enrapturing film.
Love, Lust, and Lies
This film followed the lives of three Australian girls: Josie, Diana, and Kerry. The documentarian visited them when they were fourteen, eighteen, twenty-eight, thirty-three, and forty-seven. The first visit occurred in 1976, and it revealed something about that time. All of the girls were smoking, and not illegally - they would just walk into a drug store and buy cigarettes. They lived fairly typical lives. Two of them were working and the third was seeking work. The one not working - Diana - had also dropped out of school. She was the most insecure of all three of them - she was a bit overweight and thought herself to be very ugly. The topic of if they would ever have kids came up, and Diana mentioned that she would never get an abortion.
The documentarian returned when they were eighteen, and Josie's and Diana's lives were quite different (Kerry was not in this segment). Josie had gotten pregnant shortly after the documentary was filmed, as had Diana. They were both struggling to support themselves.
At each of Gillian Armstrong's visits, Josie was married or engaged to a different person. Diana fluctuated between being overweight and being unhealthily thin. Kerry was the only one with a stable relationship all the way through, and the only one who seemed to be truly happy. During the last visit, Diana was married to the father of the child she'd considered aborting (contrary to her previous beliefs) years before - though at the time, she had been married to someone else. Armstrong also followed some of their kids, and the truth of their parents' mistakes had driven a rift between them and their parents on some occasions - the truth that Josie didn't know who the father of her oldest daughter was; the fact that Diana had an affair; etc.
It was interesting noting the differences that time period and age had on each of the girls. However, Diana never lost her insecurity, Josie never found stability in her life, and Kerry never seemed to go through as much misfortune as the other two. Josie and Diana seemed so normal at the beginning, but everything flipped upside-down for them. You never really can tell how different people will be in just a few years' time.
NIRVANA Smells Like Teen Spirit
This film was so captivating. The other film - honestly - did not have much appeal to me, but not every film interests every person. NIRVANA was about something of great interest to me: music. I'd never been much of a Nirvana fan before this because I'd never taken the time to sit down and listen to their music, but after viewing this film, I really like them.
The thing I really appreciate about Nirvana after viewing this film is the amount of passion they put into their music. A lot of their lyrics are rather nonsensical because Kurdt Cobain just put words in that flowed with the music; however, they also have plenty of songs that are bone-chillingly relatable, or otherwise really good. There is so much passion and heart they put into their music, and it is so inspirational.
At points, their producer would play bits of some of their songs, and he would relate the process of recording the songs. He would play just parts of their songs at times, like just the drums and bass, or just the vocals, or one vocal track and he would layer on the others one by one, etc. It gave insight into why professionally recorded songs sound so complete, as opposed to amateur albums or live tracks. It was also very interesting to learn of the band's process and progression through the songs. As a whole, the documentary also gave a feel for the time period, when "pop" and "rock" stopped meaning the same thing, and Grunge was very popular. It was an enrapturing film.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Documentaries: Reality Through Someone Else's Eyes
I never found much of a love for documentaries. However, documentary filmmakers have a love for what they are attempting to convey. They find a passion for something and feel that the world needs to know about it. The passion they exude is inspirational. They put their whole beings into the recreation of a world that already exists, hoping that others will see what they see in it. We are so blind to the world that is right in front of us, and the directors of documentaries want us to trip on it instead of just step over it.
What struck me is that the division between documentaries and narratives for these filmmakers is virtually nonexistent. It makes a lot of sense. After all, narratives must have some basis in reality, and documentary filmmakers attempt to make others conscious of reality in order to influence others' lives, and possibly inspire a narrative. Of course, a lot of imagination goes into a lot of narratives, but even imagination must be based on reality - have you ever tried to imagine a new color? It's impossible. Documentarians blur the lines between reality and story.
Now I see how much interest there is in real life. Narratives may make you think or sigh or cry or laugh or scream or doze off, but their effects are ephemeral. After a documentary is over, you know that it is still going on. There will always be a sequel - all you have to do is go out and look at the real world. Documentaries can bring an awareness of something that changes the way you feel about the world forever. It will go on forever, and influence your reality, which might inspire a documentary, which may change someone else's views, inciting an endless chain reaction.
What struck me is that the division between documentaries and narratives for these filmmakers is virtually nonexistent. It makes a lot of sense. After all, narratives must have some basis in reality, and documentary filmmakers attempt to make others conscious of reality in order to influence others' lives, and possibly inspire a narrative. Of course, a lot of imagination goes into a lot of narratives, but even imagination must be based on reality - have you ever tried to imagine a new color? It's impossible. Documentarians blur the lines between reality and story.
Now I see how much interest there is in real life. Narratives may make you think or sigh or cry or laugh or scream or doze off, but their effects are ephemeral. After a documentary is over, you know that it is still going on. There will always be a sequel - all you have to do is go out and look at the real world. Documentaries can bring an awareness of something that changes the way you feel about the world forever. It will go on forever, and influence your reality, which might inspire a documentary, which may change someone else's views, inciting an endless chain reaction.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Red Riding Hood
The setting of this movie makes it very obvious that it is going to be a thriller. It is set in a village in the middle of the woods, before the technological age. The people are all filled with anxiety, lest the werewolf attack the village again. The trees are full of spikes and the charge of the priests is to keep evil away - including witches and werewolves.
The camera work is very smooth, except for the moments when it is supposed to simulate someone sneaking up on what is going on. Suspicion is cast on many different people to be the werewolf, making it hard to determine who the wolf might actually be until the time is right. Sometimes the person sneaking up is actually the werewolf, sometimes it is someone else, someone we are supposed to suspect might be the wolf. The time period of the wolf's ability to bite his heir is condensed so that the panic and fear is higher, making it much more of a thriller.
The central character Valerie has most of the drama happen to her. She can't marry the man that she loves because she is betrothed to another man. The day she finds out is also the day that her sister is found dead, and it is then that she discovers hat the man that she is betrothed to is the man that her sister loved and that her sister found out about the betrothal just before she died. Valerie's suspicion is cast all around her - on the man that she loves, on her grandmother. On top of it all, she finds out that the wolf wants to make her a werewolf. When it is discovered that Valerie can understand the werewolf (as she is betrayed by her friend), she is offered to the wolf to be taken, as she is believed to be a witch.
One of the most brilliant parts of the story is also one of the saddest. One of the characters is severely autistic. The way that he acts and his affinity for tricks is taken by Father Solomon to mean that he communes with the devil. In such a time period, mental deficiencies were often taken to mean that someone was possessed. It is sad that ignorant people are capable of doing.
The images in this movie are very striking. The strongest color of red is worn by the central character. The darkest black belongs to the fur of the werewolf. Everyone else - save the Father in his purple garb - wears fairly neutral colors. Everything stands out against the pure white of the snow. The film is a beautiful piece to watch.
I really don't know what the current obsession is that people have with taking old fairy tales and making them into thrillers. I guess people are just really out of ideas. However, Red Riding Hood was the first, and I believe that it is the best one.
The camera work is very smooth, except for the moments when it is supposed to simulate someone sneaking up on what is going on. Suspicion is cast on many different people to be the werewolf, making it hard to determine who the wolf might actually be until the time is right. Sometimes the person sneaking up is actually the werewolf, sometimes it is someone else, someone we are supposed to suspect might be the wolf. The time period of the wolf's ability to bite his heir is condensed so that the panic and fear is higher, making it much more of a thriller.
The central character Valerie has most of the drama happen to her. She can't marry the man that she loves because she is betrothed to another man. The day she finds out is also the day that her sister is found dead, and it is then that she discovers hat the man that she is betrothed to is the man that her sister loved and that her sister found out about the betrothal just before she died. Valerie's suspicion is cast all around her - on the man that she loves, on her grandmother. On top of it all, she finds out that the wolf wants to make her a werewolf. When it is discovered that Valerie can understand the werewolf (as she is betrayed by her friend), she is offered to the wolf to be taken, as she is believed to be a witch.
One of the most brilliant parts of the story is also one of the saddest. One of the characters is severely autistic. The way that he acts and his affinity for tricks is taken by Father Solomon to mean that he communes with the devil. In such a time period, mental deficiencies were often taken to mean that someone was possessed. It is sad that ignorant people are capable of doing.
The images in this movie are very striking. The strongest color of red is worn by the central character. The darkest black belongs to the fur of the werewolf. Everyone else - save the Father in his purple garb - wears fairly neutral colors. Everything stands out against the pure white of the snow. The film is a beautiful piece to watch.
I really don't know what the current obsession is that people have with taking old fairy tales and making them into thrillers. I guess people are just really out of ideas. However, Red Riding Hood was the first, and I believe that it is the best one.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Children of Heaven
This movie is a beautiful piece that gives insight into the slums of Iran. It really made me think. Most of the problems in the movie centered around the loss of a pair of shoes. For a lot of people, if they lost a pair of shoes, they could just buy a new pair, or wear another pair they own. However, each member of the family only owns one pair of shoes, and they won't have enough money to buy new shoes until the end of the month - and that's if they have any money left after paying the rent and buying food. The little girl has to share her brother's shoes until they can afford to buy her a new pair of her own.
The movie had a good amount of culture shock. When they were biking through the downtown of their city, I was struck by how small it was. It was sort of a smaller version of our downtown. It was also interesting how all of the cars looked exactly alike, and a man could ride his bicycle on the highway. All of the women were wearing headscarves, which wasn't surprising. What really made me think was the way that all of these hijab-wearing girls had to pledge their allegience to the leader of the country every morning - kind of like how we pledge allegience to the flag, but they were promising to honor one man, while we promise to honor our country. The prevelence of their religion was also quite surprising. All of the men attended the mosque, they did good deeds just so their gods would bless them, and of course their "modesty" with the women being covered from head to toe.
This was the first ever Iranian film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Language Film. It is obvious why it was nominated - it is a lovely film. Everything seems to work out all right for the family - it's not exactly a "happily ever after" film, but they're all right for now. The recurring image of peeking into the store window at the girl's shoes is touching and somewhat haunting at the same time, and it is just a wonderful ending that the father buys shoes for his two kids - one of them, a nice little pair for the girl. I love this film.
The movie had a good amount of culture shock. When they were biking through the downtown of their city, I was struck by how small it was. It was sort of a smaller version of our downtown. It was also interesting how all of the cars looked exactly alike, and a man could ride his bicycle on the highway. All of the women were wearing headscarves, which wasn't surprising. What really made me think was the way that all of these hijab-wearing girls had to pledge their allegience to the leader of the country every morning - kind of like how we pledge allegience to the flag, but they were promising to honor one man, while we promise to honor our country. The prevelence of their religion was also quite surprising. All of the men attended the mosque, they did good deeds just so their gods would bless them, and of course their "modesty" with the women being covered from head to toe.
This was the first ever Iranian film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Language Film. It is obvious why it was nominated - it is a lovely film. Everything seems to work out all right for the family - it's not exactly a "happily ever after" film, but they're all right for now. The recurring image of peeking into the store window at the girl's shoes is touching and somewhat haunting at the same time, and it is just a wonderful ending that the father buys shoes for his two kids - one of them, a nice little pair for the girl. I love this film.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Logline
Sara Pursell
In the style of Tim Burton
The Pursuit of Contentment
After discovering that her sister is not dead, Amelia finds unsettling the alternate reality in which her sister resides.
In the style of Tim Burton
The Pursuit of Contentment
After discovering that her sister is not dead, Amelia finds unsettling the alternate reality in which her sister resides.
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