Martial arts that is faster than the mind can follow and as vividly colorful as streaming rainbows is Zhang Yimou’s film Hero, an exciting historical Chinese tale that takes our eyes where they are unaccustomed. With a cast (Jet Li and Zhang Ziyi) and genre (action-adventure) recognized and enjoyed by world audiences, Hero achieves great success overcoming its enormous production costs of around $30 million.
The plot takes place in ancient China during the reign of Qin dynasty in its conquest of the six kingdoms in order to unite all cultures into one empire. Nameless (Jet Li), a prefect of a small jurisdiction, earns an audience with the King of Qin’s palace to tell his tale of how he defeated three of the King’s most feared assassins. However, all is not as it seems. The movie takes an interesting approach by unveiling Nameless’ tale through his and the King’s perspective revealing Nameless’ true intentions of why he is killing assassins to be within ten paces of the King.This type of flashback method is popularly known in the film industry as “Rashomon”, and it is effective in presenting mutually contradictory points of view.
During the unfolding tales, a pallet of four colors (blue, white, green, red), one per scenario, accentuates mood and beauty that is shared with the fluid movements of the actors and cameras. Apart from the mesmerizing aesthetics, the film did not strike the right moral chord as the plot suggests that it is a virtuous deed for a King to massacre millions of people for a greater good, “unification”. That would be like saying it would be acceptable for the United States to conquer the entire world to become one country, where everyone has to identify themselves as one nation and inherit US’s ideals and customs.
Overall, Hero is pleasing to the eyes, but it could use some plot reshaping, which director Zhang Yimou learned to do in his next film House of Flying Daggers.
Amelie uses a unique style of filming which follows its principal character, Amelie Poulain, around Paris as she sets out to make the world a better place.
The movie opens with Amelie’s birth and childhood. Amelie’s childhood is primarily focused on the relationship she has with her parents although a few other mishaps and exploits are thrown in as well. This includes a scene in which she exercises the precursor to her strong sense of justice we see later on in the film.
The first half of the movie focuses on Amelie’s determination to make the world a better place by serving the principal people she interacts with. She brings back childhood memories for a stranger, describes the world to a blind man, re-inspires a close friend, matchmakes one of her coworkers and customers, uses a garden gnome to convince her father to travel, and even serves vigilante justice to a cruel vegetable shopowner, Somewhere along the way, the audience slowly realizes along with Amelie that she is not completely content simply serving others. She has a desire for a relationship herself. The second half of the movie primarily focuses on Amelie’s desire to connect with a young man, Nino, who is unfortunately unaware of her existence. Amelie sets out to help Nino in his mission to discover the identity of a mysterious man in photographs however, along the way, she realizes she wants to be with Nino as well. She interacts with him incognito so that she will not give away her identity.
The characters are described primarily by what they like to do and what they don’t like. Although at first appearance this is very random, it actually serves to create a very complete picture of each character. The characters are rich with detail and motives.
Amelie makes use of various cinematographic effects to convey its story. The most noticeable effect is a filter that changes the color of the lighting in various settings but use of various angles and zoom are also very prominent. Framing is also used as well to depict perspectives of characters. Heavy use of mise en scene is present as well.
I truly enjoyed this movie because of the manner in which the cinematographic effects and editing came together to reveal each character's perspectives and thoughts. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a movie to inspire their lives.
written by Blair Kim
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
"Swades" was generally an enjoyable film. I didn't expect that I would like it. This film is a merging of the modern and traditional film styles in India. You still have the scenes where the characters break out into song, but then you also have the modernized scenes inside NASA and the explaination of the turbine. The way the caste system is represented in this film is very interesting. There was that one scene where the higher caste man says, "...we heard you ate food made by mala-ram, don't you know what caste he's from?". I think that it very much mirrors the extreme rascism that was once present in the US. The camera movements, I think, had two distinct patterns. When the characters were singing, the camera was much more lucid, using low-angle shots and pans, with soft lighting. The rest of the film was shot in what we consider a "normal" style. The use of two languages emphasized the merging of the western and Indian culture. The film adheres to the traditional Bollywood style of minimized romantic contact; Mohan and Gita only hug. The drama and tension of Mohan's desicion is appealing to western audiences while the songs and dancing captivate Indian audiences.
Death seems to be a major fear in all cultures, as every culture has some sort of belief system that attempts to explain what happens to a person’s soul after the body has died. However, the way each culture views these themes and how they are represented throughout society can be very different. Though cultures across the globe vary greatly, most have a few common themes, including a belief in life after death. Juno, a film by Jason Reitman, and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, a film by Cristian Mungiu, both explore the journey of teenage pregnancy, but in two entirely different situations. This essay will discuss two global themes in these films and will contrast how the characters in each film handle the situation she finds herself in.
Juno is a sixteen-year-old girl who becomes pregnant by her long-time crush and best friend, Bleeker. After exploring her other options, Juno decides to give the baby up for adoption. She finds a seemingly perfect couple, Mark and Vanessa Loring, to adopt her baby and begins to develop a unique relationship with them, particularly with Mark. Eventually, Mark admits to Juno that he does not want a baby and that he has decided to leave his wife. After the birth, Juno still gives the baby to Vanessa. The last scene presents Juno and Bleeker sitting together as a couple, playing a song on their guitars. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days follows 2 friends, Gabita and Otilia, on their journey to get an abortion for Gabita. The film is set in Romania in 1987, when the nation is still under Communist rule, prohibiting abortions. A communist law makes abortion punishable by up to ten years in prison, depending on how far along the pregnancy was. Because the girls are poor college students, they must find the doctor that will perform the surgery for the least amount of money. The doctor they choose performs illegal abortions; in addition to being unethical, he is also not a trustworthy man. He informs the young girls that they do not have enough money and in exchange for his services, he forces both of them to have sex with him.
One of the global themes presented in both films is the prevalence of unwed pregnant women. Both main characters are young and not currently in any sort of stable relationship. From there, however, the differences begin. While the American film satirizes the situation in which its' protagonist finds herself, the Romanian film realizes the full extent of the consequences. 4 Months "dares to be honest about the high stakes of women's reproductive lives"(Hornaday). Juno's society allows abortions. Though she explores the possibility of having one, she ultimately decides against it. For Gabita, abortions are highly illegal, yet the audience never sees her consider another option. She immediately chooses to have an abortion, but throughout the film, she lies to both the doctor and her friend about the situation. These lies worsen her situation as it goes on. Juno's immaturity does not lie in her impulsive choices which she is prepared to defend and live with, but rather in her "familiar adolescent assumption that she understands the world better than her elders do, and that she can finesse the unintended consequences of her decisions" (Scott). Throughout the film, Juno proves to be capable of handling the situation in which she has found herself, while audiences wonder throughout 4 Months how Gabita is going to blunder once again. 4 Months follows a girl who will learn nothing from endangering not only her life but the life of her best friend, while Juno follows a girl " on a twisty path toward responsibility and greater self-understanding" (Scott).
Another global theme that both movies present is women's universal fear that a man she trusts will hurt her, either physically or emotionally. In Juno, this fear is represented by Mark. He realizes well into the pregnancy that he does not want a child and ultimately does not want to be married. He decides that he cannot handle the commitment that a child would require. When Mark leaves Vanessa, he makes her worst fear come true. She has everything she has wanted finally within her reach until her husband decides to leave her and she believes that her dreams are no longer a possibility. Bleeker is another representation of a man failing to commit to a woman. Throughout Juno’s pregnancy, Bleeker pays little attention to her and even plans to take another girl to the prom, about which Juno confronts him. Only in the end, after Juno makes her feelings clear, does he decide to help her through the pain she experiences after giving her baby away.
The fear of commitment is represented by multiple men in 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. First, the audience never meets the father of Gabita’s baby, nor does either girl mention him. Viewers must assume that he wanted nothing to do with the child or Gabita. This fear also represents itself through the doctor performing the abortion. The girls trusted him to simply do the procedure, take their money, and go. He even tells them that he has hidden nothing from them and that he has been completely honest with them from the beginning. He then proceeds to bargain that they both must sleep with him to convince him to follow through with his promise. The third representation of the fear of commitment comes when Otilia finally tells her boyfriend that Gabita has had an abortion. She then asks him what he would do if she became pregnant. He never fully answers her question, but rather tells her that she will not become pregnant, even though she clearly states that it could happen. His lack of response shows that he is not fully committed to her.
The presence of music in a film can completely change how audiences perceive it. The soundtrack for Juno quickly became a hit in the pop culture market, reaching number one soundtrack on the Billboard only two weeks after being released. The film's "passive-aggressive pseudo-folk songs" make audiences feel lighthearted and carefree, much like the main character feels. However, in 4 Months, director Mungiu opted to completely eliminate music from the film. The lack of music forces audiences to "sift through naturalistic conversations that -- much like the dorm's grubby furnishings, its darkly lighted hallways and the mewling kittens Otilia finds in those grim passages -- seem artless, more like real life than aesthetic choices" (Dargis). Once again, viewers of 4 Months fully realize the dangers to which its' characters are subject. The film4 Weekshas, overall, a more intense feeling and it better resembles real life.
Hollywood films have often been criticized by conservative societal leaders because they present controversial situations and themes such as violence, sexual scenes, and profanity which some believe lead to mimesis. The representation of teen pregnancy in films has been argued to lead to more teen pregnancies in America simply because it is portrayed in films such as Juno. Scholars like Jane Brown feel that teen girls wish to identify with characters such as Juno because the film downplays the negative effects of teen pregnancy on society. Juno seems to have a very happy ending: she successfully gives her baby up for adoption to a caring mother and she develops a happy relationship with her baby’s father. The film portrays only the positive outcome of having a child out of wedlock. The opposite could be said of 4Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, however. This film explores how dangerous and frightening being pregnant out of wedlock can be. Though Gabita shows little responsibility throughout the film, her friend Otilia provides for her in her time of need. The pair fully understands the possible consequences of their actions and takes the necessary precautions. After watching this film, viewers feel catharsis because it puts fear into the audience. The film shows no happiness or celebration; the closest feeling to those might be relief at the very end.
Though the initial situation of the girls in both films is similar, each handles her predicament differently. These films show the overall global theme of pregnancy out of wedlock, but also the local culture differences that change each girl’s outcome.
Works Cited
Ann Hornaday - Washington Post Staff Writer. (2008, February 1). '4 Months': A Time and Place Brought Unerringly to Life. Review of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. The Washington Post,p. C.1. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from ProQuest National Newspapers Core database. (Document ID: 1422062821).
A. O. Scott. (2007, December 5). Seeking Mr. and Mrs. Right for a Baby on the Way :[Review]. Review of Juno. New York Times (Late Edition (east Coast)), p. E.1. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from ProQuest National Newspapers Core database. (Document ID: 1393187271).
Manohla Dargis. (2008, January 25). Friend Indeed Who Doesn't Judge Or Flinch :[Review]. Review of 4 Months. New York Times (Late Edition (east Coast)), p. E.1. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from ProQuest National Newspapers Core database. (Document ID: 1418175421).
Amores Perros involves three different stories in which the mysterious old man is the central character, interacting in each scene. The first story is of a young man who yearns for his brother’s wife. He attempts to run away with her to make a life for them through dog-fighting. The second tale involves an overall good-hearted man who leaves his wife and children for a young model who loses her leg following the momentous car accident that links the three scenes together. The third story follows the old man (El Chivo) as he is hired by a man to kill his half-brother and business partner. This part of the movie also delves deeper into El Chivo’s past as a guerilla fighter who had abandoned his 2-year-old daughter Maru to fight for his cause and his journey to set things right.
Differing social classes were addressed from the rich (model and magazine executive) to the poor (Octavio trying to make a life for himself). The movie ensured that problems do exist in each rung of the economic ladder, despite social or financial status. Women are negatively portrayed in this film. The model girl was not very likeable as a character. Susana took the abuse from her husband, she stole the money from the brother, and her mother was a drunk. All the women cheat. Model woman cheated with a married man. Marta, a married woman, cheated with one of the brothers, who tried to kill each other.
The way the director interrelated the stories is a refreshing perspective. The movie starts with the future first (the car crash) then focuses on the events that lead up to it. However, the stories in Amores Perros do not have closure. What happened with El Chivo and his daughter? What happened to the two brothers near the end? You do not find out. This method of narration is prevalent among recent movies such as Crash.
Contemporary Iranian cinema has faced strict censorship, which has led directors to create films using unique ways of presenting their ideas.Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami has created unique and award-winning films that are revolutionizing Iranian cinema.Two of his films, Ten and Taste of Cherry, involve censored ideas and utilize many different techniques such as symbolism of driving, non-professional actors, and poetic language to create a new genre.
Iranian films are strongly censored by the government.They must not be critical of the government or involve anything that offends the Islam religion.Kiarostami’s films have been banned in Iran for many years.Ten is banned because of the portrayal of a prostitute and the way he shows women, including the removal of a shawl from a woman’s head.Taste of Cherry is banned because of its central theme, suicide.When someone asked Kiarostami if censorship influenced his films, he replied, “'Censorship or not, my work speaks for itself.I also feel that the word censorship sometimes provides a shield behind which we can hide our deficiencies and absolve ourselves of our responsibility towards our work’” (Komodore).Kiarostami feels that directors should create films for themselves before succumbing to censorship that restricts their creativity.Directors should not blame censorship for producing a poor film.Kiarostami will continue to create films the way he envisions them, even if it means they cannot be screened in his native country.
The films Ten and Taste of Cherry convey divergent plots.The film Ten is divided into 10 scenes.Each scene involves a discourse among the female driver (a nameless mother) and each of five passengers: her son, her sister, a praying woman, a prostitute and a bride.The plot is driven by the conflict between the mother and son, and the other passengers fill the other scenes to generate different views about life. Kiarostami develops a new filming style where the entire movie is filmed with two cameras placed on the dashboard; one facing the driver, the other facing the passenger. The other movie, Taste of Cherry, has a darker plot involving a calm man contemplating suicide.The main character, Mr. Badii, drives around Tehran looking for a person to bury him after he commits suicide.He picks up three people:a soldier, an Afghan seminarian, and a professor.The first two refuse to bury Mr. Badii, but the professor agrees. Driving is a pivotal tool in the advancement of the plots of both films.In Taste of Cherry, Mr. Badii drives his car around in circles on an Iranian hillside. Kiarostami uses this circular motion to further a theme of the film as it “circles round and round the idea of suicide” (Caputo).This seemingly subtle effect becomes extremely apparent as the film progresses, with each passenger riding around in the same circle, each time expressing a new perspective on suicide.The road represents the path the driver is taking; whether it is zigzagging or straight, it is used to emphasize the abstract thoughts of Badii (Caputo).The road shows the many different ways of explaining an idea, especially one of suicide, which has myriad different perspectives.Kiarostami uses the car a different way in Ten. Taste of Cherry is composed of many shots of the vehicle with some filming inside the car.Ten is composed entirely from inside the car, never showing a scene from the outside.Kiarostami uses the car as “purely a container of the characters and their dramas” (Caputo).He created a new style of filming relying on two stationary characters, and instead of using the car as a tool to show a physical path in the landscape, he uses it as the setting where the ten conversations occur.Kiarostami shoots cars and driving as an integral part of his films, pioneering a new direction in their use.
The use of non-professional actors in film has created a new hybrid documentary fiction genre.By using inexperienced actors, the films represent people of Iran more accurately and can show the struggles Iranians face every day.Iranian director Bahman Farmanara praises Kiarostami for using non-professional actors, “When a director like Kiarostami becomes world famous, it is the nature of cinema that other filmmakers try to follow the same road” (Dabashi 132).Farmanara acknowledges a new genre being created.Kiarostami produces films that “resemble semi-documentaries, but they are extremely well controlled” (Dabashi 133).Could these “semi-documentary” films become Iran’s “national cinema”?The Iranian film industry seems to follow this trend with many other successful films of the semi-documentary nature.In relation to Kiarostami’s films, the characters are usually exactly who they portray.With the exception of the prostitute in Ten, the citizens play citizens, a soldier plays a soldier, the driver’s child is the driver’s child.These non-professional actors show the disgrace of prostitution by having to find a woman to play the part and never showing her face; the mandatory military conscription where a young soldier plays the soldier; and the views of Islam from the child’s critical attacks about his mother’s divorce.The films act as documentaries in the sense of showing the country’s identity, but also showing works of fiction that are not too farfetched.
The Iranian New Wave describes the film industry from 1969 to the present in Iran.These filmmakers create “innovative art films, which [have] highly political and philosophical tones and poetic language” (Saeed-Vafa).Kiarostami is a leading force in this movement.He has mastered the use of poetic language and philosophical vision.The films play on people’s emotions involving the discussion of suicide, prostitution, and prayer.He uses subtle cues to demonstrate the meaning of some of the emotions, such as the circular motion of the car for suicide and only showing the prostitute when her face is shrouded by the night.The ambiguity of the endings of the films illustrates his philosophical vision.Taste of Cherry ends with Badii in his grave.Lightning flashes three times, illuminating his face with his eyes open; the fourth, they are closed.Ten also has an ambiguous ending.The child argues with his mother in the beginning of the film showing a conflict; while at the end of the movie, the child only says “Take me to grandma’s.”Kiarostami ends the film by allowing open interpretation of a circular argument between the mother and son that will begin again or a conflict that has been accepted and ignored.He addresses this ambiguous ending by saying, “’I do not give answers.I give you information.I present certain things and it’s up to you to conclude what you will’” (Komodore).This statement clearly shows his philosophical ideals about film.The films he produces are designed to make people think for themselves.The open endings allow people to create with his information whatever ideas they want.People can better understand themselves by understanding the way they think.
Classifying Kiarostami’s film into a well defined genre is impossible.He has created a genre unique to himself that many filmmakers respect and imitate.His leadership is pushing Iranian cinema towards a “national cinema”; however, Iran’s cinema is banned in Iran.The “national cinema” will be of the documentary fiction genre.This genre is unique to Iran’s region and shows very little influence from the world.Films similar to Kiarostami’s are hard to find.They come from directors who have experimented with new techniques.These films are not influenced by globalization, but may one day influence the films of others around the world.
Works Cited
Caputo, Rolando. "Five to Ten: Five Reflections on Abbas Kiarostami's 10." Senses of Cinema. Nov. 2003. 01 Mar. 2009 .
Dabashi, Hamid. Close up Iranian cinema, past, present, and future. London: Verso, 2001.
Komodore, Maria. "Great Moments AbbasKiarostami: The Director Behind the Dark Glasses." San Francisco Internation Film Festival The First to Fifty. 2006. San Francisco Film Society. 02 Mar. 2009 .
Saeed-Vafa, Mehrnaz. "Abbas Kiarostami." Senses of Cinema. May 2002. 03 Mar. 2009 .
Taste of Cherry. Dir. Abbas Kiarostami. DVD. Abbas Kiarostami Productions, 1997.
Ten. Dir. Abbas Kiarostami. DVD. Abbas Kiarostami Productions, 2002.
