Here we have a movie that I actually own but had never seen it through to the end, which is now upsetting since I loved the whole package. And I'd even say I paid attention more than the previous attempts so I picked up on more throughout the parts I had seen before.
I've got a few things of note written in my notebook, so I'll just knock them off one by one. First, the postmodernism aspect of the film. I don't feel like I have this down cold yet. It seems like every time I think I do, we discuss it a bit more and I realize I didn't quite get it. I have things written down like the Ying Yang symbol in the dirt, the roadrunner-esque chase scene, and the genre skipping. I also made a note that was said about being deliberately unoriginal, taking little bits from the culture and recycling it back into movies. Since they are blank parodies, is there no true mission or statement being made? Are we to assume the movies are made that way to stand alone from 'lesson teaching' and just become what they are, references to references, a film to just enjoy?
About the genre skipping and other movie references. The genre skipping in particular reminded me of Kill Bill. I can't pinpoint all of the genres being portrayed, but it was like every scene had a different vibe. When they referenced, "The One", I couldn't not think of the Matrix, the lowly criminal becoming what they'd all hoped he'd become. Neo wasn't really that much of a criminal, but I think he might have been involved in some underground computer software stuff, it's been a while. Obviously, much of the fighting was Matrix-y, I think it was said that they had the same fighting choreographer (is that what you call the job)? I did notice the reference to The Shining with the blood. Definitely Gangs of New York. Even if you take away the gangs, that apartment complex reminded me of the 5 Points area. would have been amazing to see Bill the Butcher thrown into this movie, he would have had a blast.
Now onto a confusing moment that could use some clarification. After "The One" gets his ass kicked the 1st time, before he's actually "The One", they show him inside a big black metal thing. It looks like it is near or around where a traffic light would be and he's bashing the hell out of it, putting some serious dents in it. Next time we see him, he's healed and his friend even mentions it, "How do you heal so quickly?". So, was that a glimpse into his capabilities as "The One", healing quickly and great strength? Or was supposed to seem possible that he could pound the shit out of that container as a normal dude? Someone, I think, mentioned the general concept in kung fu movies of the hero just tending to heal quickly or not even be hurt, so that could be as well. But it struck me as something that I needed to mention here.
Loved the fight scenes, in particular the one involving those 2 killers that played the Guqin. Just when we thought the fighting couldn't get anymore outrageous, they're shooting demons out of their harp. Sounded cool too, since music gets emitted with the blades and supernatural beings. The male landlord's fight scene with them was great as well.
Great movie, I'm glad I finally stuck it out, well worth the price of admission.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Mulholland Dr. Blog
This my first full exposure to Lynch. I've seen pieces of several Lynch movies and they all have proved to be equally as perplexing if you try to figure out literally what's going on. Mulholland Dr. didn't stray from that feeling, even after seeing the entire film.
I kind of got the vibe of a real world versus the dream world of Hollywood. There's the people we see on film, carefully constructed characters meant to be accessible by the audience that we all come to know as almost real people. But the actors are only serving as vessels for the directors/writers ideas of fake people he invented in his mind. It's his dream we're being exposed to, not the actors themselves. We aren't seeing the actors on screen, just windows into someone else. There's a double life at play (for most successful actors, it's even tenfold lives); one we know and one we think we know.
In the reading, it mentioned a characteristic about Lynch films where there is a sense of optimism and hope within the stories. In regards to Lost Highway and Mulholland Dr., it mentions how the protagonist misses 'their moment' but somehow hope it conserved. I didn't get this feeling from Mulholland (except for the missing of the moment). I lost most, if not all, of the hope by the end. It was a downward spiral. I suppose the larger rationalization would be that the praise and acceptance of a film pointing fingers at Hollywood could be seen as hopeful. It's funny that the TV project of Mulholland never took flight because it's clear that some studio executives understood the piece. And then even more funny that it did take flight as a feature film.
Also want to throw in that the scene in the diner where the man is describing his dream and then the 2 men go in the back to confront the fear, was one of the most suspenseful scenes I've ever seen. Don't question your dreams, it's just your minds way of stretching it's arms or cracking it's back.
I kind of got the vibe of a real world versus the dream world of Hollywood. There's the people we see on film, carefully constructed characters meant to be accessible by the audience that we all come to know as almost real people. But the actors are only serving as vessels for the directors/writers ideas of fake people he invented in his mind. It's his dream we're being exposed to, not the actors themselves. We aren't seeing the actors on screen, just windows into someone else. There's a double life at play (for most successful actors, it's even tenfold lives); one we know and one we think we know.
In the reading, it mentioned a characteristic about Lynch films where there is a sense of optimism and hope within the stories. In regards to Lost Highway and Mulholland Dr., it mentions how the protagonist misses 'their moment' but somehow hope it conserved. I didn't get this feeling from Mulholland (except for the missing of the moment). I lost most, if not all, of the hope by the end. It was a downward spiral. I suppose the larger rationalization would be that the praise and acceptance of a film pointing fingers at Hollywood could be seen as hopeful. It's funny that the TV project of Mulholland never took flight because it's clear that some studio executives understood the piece. And then even more funny that it did take flight as a feature film.
Also want to throw in that the scene in the diner where the man is describing his dream and then the 2 men go in the back to confront the fear, was one of the most suspenseful scenes I've ever seen. Don't question your dreams, it's just your minds way of stretching it's arms or cracking it's back.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Heathers Blog (creative title)
With all of the hoopla that surrounds entertainment following tragic events, I have a couple theories or just general ideas that deal with the situation. First off, with a movie like Heathers, it is clutch to display certain things that society might view as problematic before the actual tragic event happens in the real world (especially if you're going to tackle it in a laughable manner). As we discussed in class, something like pulling a gun on fellow jocks in the cafeteria doesn't fly with people sometimes because they feel it spawns similar actions with real people. Nevermind the people that may supply guns to kids, or parents who own guns that don't keep them in safe keeping. So in a sense, Heathers beat the world to the punch.
Another detail about such movies when relating them to real life events is they must have the ability to make fun of a serious situation, while still pulling away some serious emotion and opinions. It's not always easy to do, but Heathers pulled it off I think. It was similar in humor-serious to Strangelove. It takes a bit of balls to take something like teenage suicide or the Cold War and find any humor in them whatsoever. If filmmakers have the ability to successfully blend the two emotions, to the backdrop of something horrible, they have arrived.
I loved the Fight Club comparison in class. I hadn't thought about I don't believe. But once I heard it, I ran with it in my mind. They both had sort of similar storylines. Character 1 is starting to question their lives a bit, Character 2 is presented and furthers the questioning and even begins to take the reigns on character 1's life at times. At some point, Character 1 refuses Character 2's motives and intentions. Character 2 has something big afoot, and it's up to Character 1 to put a stop to it, ultimately putting Character 2 out of it's misery. Character 1=Veronica/Ed Norton aka 'The Narrator'. Character 2=JD/Tyler Durden.
I was baffled on the relationship between JD and his father, or more so, how they spoke to each other, with JD speaking like a father, and his father speaking like the son. It was so weird, I don't really have a true analysis for it. On one hand, I thought it just simply put further twists into JD's character, with no real reason for it, other than that, fucking up the character even more. I think it could imply how his family life has been without his mother, moving around and such. No attention, caring and whatnot. It's almost like what people say sometimes to people who aren't seeming to give a shit. Like, when someone doesn't ask how my day was, I might say "Oh Eric, how was your day today? Good I hope." to myself to show them that they're not paying me the proper attention.
Overall, a nifty film. I had stumbled upon it in pieces throughout the years but this was the first go through in one sitting from start to finish. I don't think it matters what era you're from, there are elements of everyone's high school in here somewhere. It's strange how the schooling experience can be the best years of someone's life or literally years of hell. High School almost becomes more about the relationships, the friends and enemies, than it does about the education itself. It's not what's in the math book that counts, it's how hard you hit someone in the head with it. You dress everyday, like you're going to an audition for Saved by the Bell. High School and onto college, preparation for life, no doubt.
Another detail about such movies when relating them to real life events is they must have the ability to make fun of a serious situation, while still pulling away some serious emotion and opinions. It's not always easy to do, but Heathers pulled it off I think. It was similar in humor-serious to Strangelove. It takes a bit of balls to take something like teenage suicide or the Cold War and find any humor in them whatsoever. If filmmakers have the ability to successfully blend the two emotions, to the backdrop of something horrible, they have arrived.
I loved the Fight Club comparison in class. I hadn't thought about I don't believe. But once I heard it, I ran with it in my mind. They both had sort of similar storylines. Character 1 is starting to question their lives a bit, Character 2 is presented and furthers the questioning and even begins to take the reigns on character 1's life at times. At some point, Character 1 refuses Character 2's motives and intentions. Character 2 has something big afoot, and it's up to Character 1 to put a stop to it, ultimately putting Character 2 out of it's misery. Character 1=Veronica/Ed Norton aka 'The Narrator'. Character 2=JD/Tyler Durden.
I was baffled on the relationship between JD and his father, or more so, how they spoke to each other, with JD speaking like a father, and his father speaking like the son. It was so weird, I don't really have a true analysis for it. On one hand, I thought it just simply put further twists into JD's character, with no real reason for it, other than that, fucking up the character even more. I think it could imply how his family life has been without his mother, moving around and such. No attention, caring and whatnot. It's almost like what people say sometimes to people who aren't seeming to give a shit. Like, when someone doesn't ask how my day was, I might say "Oh Eric, how was your day today? Good I hope." to myself to show them that they're not paying me the proper attention.
Overall, a nifty film. I had stumbled upon it in pieces throughout the years but this was the first go through in one sitting from start to finish. I don't think it matters what era you're from, there are elements of everyone's high school in here somewhere. It's strange how the schooling experience can be the best years of someone's life or literally years of hell. High School almost becomes more about the relationships, the friends and enemies, than it does about the education itself. It's not what's in the math book that counts, it's how hard you hit someone in the head with it. You dress everyday, like you're going to an audition for Saved by the Bell. High School and onto college, preparation for life, no doubt.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Y'all Got Shaft?
Shaft. Obviously we've all heard of the movie (I think), but I had never sought it out for one reason or another. It turned out to be an okay movie, pretty simple plot line with some snappy one liners, and a dash of suspense at times, mainly in the rescue scenes.
I'm a little unclear on the differences between masculinity and black masculinity in films. I mean obviously if Shaft is black, it'll be somewhat black masculinity, but is it that when the character is black, it brings in more stereotypes and culture of the race to make it specifically black masculinity? On a more general level, could it be referred to as just masculinity? But if we want to get specific, we could say black masculinity. Is there a white masculinity that brings in stereotypes of white boys?
Another small confusion I had was if Shaft had a girlfriend/wife. I had assumed the first lady he had relations with was his woman, especially considering she had a big picture of him on her end table, and since he had seemingly let himself inside her apartment. So is it playing into the 'black masculinity' stereotype again that he had sleep around with another woman (white woman at that)? I suppose its possible that he just takes on all sexual conquests as they come along, nothing ties him down.
I appreciated the correlation made between the 'army' that rose up in the movie and the Black Panthers during the class discussion. I wasn't sure when watching why those guys were the people that Shaft sought out to form an army of gunned men to help with the rescue. I assumed they were just criminals, but they seemed a bit more organized.
I had rented the 'remake' of Shaft in hopes of watching it following the original, but after the reading, I'm just not sure I even want to anymore. They make it sound like crap. Not to mention I thought it was a remake, and not a new storyline. I guess the original Shaft remained in the same role, only older, as Uncle Shaft to Sammy J's younger Shaft? It's likely I will try to watch it, but no guarantees.
Best scene in the orig. was the bar scene I thought, for the interaction between the mafia guys and the homosexual dude. On the homosexual dude, I think it was Shaft's utter control, pride, and encompassing of his own sexuality that the bartenders comments and actions didn't phase him at all. I don't think he's surprised that a man would talk to him like that, and it's likely that he enjoys it, although he doesn't want to take it to next level I'm guessing. But with the swagger that he walks with, I think he's simply not shocked when he gets rise out of people. He even seems to draw in the mafia fellow at the bar. Not in a sexual sense at all, but just in an attention sort of manner. He's got a lot of control over so many things it seems, people included.
There was a funny line in the reading that I'll close with:
"What are we to make of the resurgent interest in blaxploitation films in American culture,
and how are we to receive this newly erected Shaft?"
Great stuff.
I'm a little unclear on the differences between masculinity and black masculinity in films. I mean obviously if Shaft is black, it'll be somewhat black masculinity, but is it that when the character is black, it brings in more stereotypes and culture of the race to make it specifically black masculinity? On a more general level, could it be referred to as just masculinity? But if we want to get specific, we could say black masculinity. Is there a white masculinity that brings in stereotypes of white boys?
Another small confusion I had was if Shaft had a girlfriend/wife. I had assumed the first lady he had relations with was his woman, especially considering she had a big picture of him on her end table, and since he had seemingly let himself inside her apartment. So is it playing into the 'black masculinity' stereotype again that he had sleep around with another woman (white woman at that)? I suppose its possible that he just takes on all sexual conquests as they come along, nothing ties him down.
I appreciated the correlation made between the 'army' that rose up in the movie and the Black Panthers during the class discussion. I wasn't sure when watching why those guys were the people that Shaft sought out to form an army of gunned men to help with the rescue. I assumed they were just criminals, but they seemed a bit more organized.
I had rented the 'remake' of Shaft in hopes of watching it following the original, but after the reading, I'm just not sure I even want to anymore. They make it sound like crap. Not to mention I thought it was a remake, and not a new storyline. I guess the original Shaft remained in the same role, only older, as Uncle Shaft to Sammy J's younger Shaft? It's likely I will try to watch it, but no guarantees.
Best scene in the orig. was the bar scene I thought, for the interaction between the mafia guys and the homosexual dude. On the homosexual dude, I think it was Shaft's utter control, pride, and encompassing of his own sexuality that the bartenders comments and actions didn't phase him at all. I don't think he's surprised that a man would talk to him like that, and it's likely that he enjoys it, although he doesn't want to take it to next level I'm guessing. But with the swagger that he walks with, I think he's simply not shocked when he gets rise out of people. He even seems to draw in the mafia fellow at the bar. Not in a sexual sense at all, but just in an attention sort of manner. He's got a lot of control over so many things it seems, people included.
There was a funny line in the reading that I'll close with:
"What are we to make of the resurgent interest in blaxploitation films in American culture,
and how are we to receive this newly erected Shaft?"
Great stuff.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Vanishing Point - Blog Writing at 99 WPM
What a cool movie. So much speed and chasing with what I felt like was the perfect finale to the movie. I can say that I didn't so much see it coming down to that, but after it happened, it felt right. And you've got to think his motivation for doing that was 100 percent intentional since he could have easily gotten out of the situation.
I like the idea of his car and driving fast providing freedom in the movie. At first, I wasn't aware what the terms of his bet were, so I wasn't sure why he was driving like a maniac. I must have missed a couple pieces of dialogue. I thought that maybe the car was 'hot' so he refused to stop for that reason. But of course it all makes sense now, having to get the car to San Fran at a certain time.
The illusion of the highway's freeing powers was an interesting thought that hadn't occurred to me. It can be freeing to a point, but there's still a higher authority telling you to stay within the lines. You can drive fast, but not quite as fast as you might want. So it forces driver's who seek freedom through danger and burned tires to break out from the rules and put their rights/money/etc on the line. Sometimes it really is just wanting to get to Point B quicker than usual, putting your life on the line because you're running late or there's a sale at Macy's. Then there's others who need to live life fast, not paying attention to STOP signs, not slowing down to check the sights. Hitting the open road can be as freeing as you want it to be, but once you've passed the laws limits, you better be ready to keep that speed, or you'll end up being forcibly stalled out.
There was a few scenes of Supersoul in his studio where there was a STOP sign right outside his window. Of course he was blind and couldn't see it. I thought that was an important point in taking it to Kowalski's motivation or perspective. That's not to say Kowalski was blind to the laws, but he had been down the law enforcement road before and the law seemed blind to his good intentions. So he in turn has turned himself away from the laws. He is as free as he's probably ever been, in control and running the show right up until his demise.
Did anyone else notice or make the connection of the radio stations call-out letters, KOW, and the main character KOWalski? It's probably obvious, so I'm assuming everyone did. I actually didn't make the connection until the Thurs discussion. Not sure of the relevance entirely. Maybe it simply furthers the connection between Supersoul and Kowalski. Maybe it was metaphorical for his conscience or an alter-ego voice. Who knows.
I liked this movie more than I thought I would. The desert was probably the only setting this movie would have worked in. It would be impossible to create the type of wide, infinite freedom space in a city filled with skyscrapers and traffic.
There was mention in class of those crazies in the desert singing and playing guitars being "small deadly dangerous desert cults". I found it sort of funny that a group someone might call that would be seeking out desert snakes to aid their cause, small deadly dangerous snakes. Weird connection that popped in my head.
I like the idea of his car and driving fast providing freedom in the movie. At first, I wasn't aware what the terms of his bet were, so I wasn't sure why he was driving like a maniac. I must have missed a couple pieces of dialogue. I thought that maybe the car was 'hot' so he refused to stop for that reason. But of course it all makes sense now, having to get the car to San Fran at a certain time.
The illusion of the highway's freeing powers was an interesting thought that hadn't occurred to me. It can be freeing to a point, but there's still a higher authority telling you to stay within the lines. You can drive fast, but not quite as fast as you might want. So it forces driver's who seek freedom through danger and burned tires to break out from the rules and put their rights/money/etc on the line. Sometimes it really is just wanting to get to Point B quicker than usual, putting your life on the line because you're running late or there's a sale at Macy's. Then there's others who need to live life fast, not paying attention to STOP signs, not slowing down to check the sights. Hitting the open road can be as freeing as you want it to be, but once you've passed the laws limits, you better be ready to keep that speed, or you'll end up being forcibly stalled out.
There was a few scenes of Supersoul in his studio where there was a STOP sign right outside his window. Of course he was blind and couldn't see it. I thought that was an important point in taking it to Kowalski's motivation or perspective. That's not to say Kowalski was blind to the laws, but he had been down the law enforcement road before and the law seemed blind to his good intentions. So he in turn has turned himself away from the laws. He is as free as he's probably ever been, in control and running the show right up until his demise.
Did anyone else notice or make the connection of the radio stations call-out letters, KOW, and the main character KOWalski? It's probably obvious, so I'm assuming everyone did. I actually didn't make the connection until the Thurs discussion. Not sure of the relevance entirely. Maybe it simply furthers the connection between Supersoul and Kowalski. Maybe it was metaphorical for his conscience or an alter-ego voice. Who knows.
I liked this movie more than I thought I would. The desert was probably the only setting this movie would have worked in. It would be impossible to create the type of wide, infinite freedom space in a city filled with skyscrapers and traffic.
There was mention in class of those crazies in the desert singing and playing guitars being "small deadly dangerous desert cults". I found it sort of funny that a group someone might call that would be seeking out desert snakes to aid their cause, small deadly dangerous snakes. Weird connection that popped in my head.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
La Dolce Vita Blog
I'm struggling to find the words for this one. It's a long movie and there should be so much to talk about but I'm trying to recall everything and it all blends together in a series of encounters, parties, and situations.
The opening scene was a good intro to the film, with Jesus flying over the city via helicopter and the women and men flirting with each other from rooftop to the chopper. 'Oh, we're taking Jesus to the Vatican for the Pope, but can I have your phone number while I'm here?' I didn't fully dive into any religious aspects of the film as I watched however.
I enjoyed watching the character progression of Marcello, trying to understand him, what he was all about, and where he would be headed next. He always seemed to be right in the middle of everything, knowing everyone or getting to know them right off the bat. But at the same time, he often looked like he was laying low in scenes, waiting for his moment to pounce on the nearest starlet that he could work his magic on. I felt like we never truly know his motivation for the life he's leading and I just don't get the vibe ever that he's happy doing it either.
It was especially bizarre watching his relationship with his wife. It was shocking to see how often he was out and about, partying, and hanging out with other women while she sits at home. And even when they were together, like at the Madonna sighting, how even there, he had to distance himself from her by climbing up the scaffolding. You've got to wonder what kept him with her if he had zero interest in her. I don't think it was meant to be humorous, but when he got out of the his car when they were fighting to walk around and kick her out, I found is so amusing to walk around such a small car in that moment. Most times in movies when that happens, the car is what I'd call a 'normal' size so it takes a bit more time to get around it making the gesture powerful, but his car was so tiny that it made the ordeal seem funny to me, even to swinging open her small car door.
The decadent times being shown through Marcello's days and nights was evident. The parties, the lewdness, morals thrown out the window it seemed, all pointed to a particular lifestyle that generated the initial distaste for movie when it was made. It showed the darker side of life, in which the people in the darker side thought they were actually seeing the brighter side of life. It all depended on where your morals lie. To some, it might be the dream life, whereas to others it was totally against all of their beliefs to live like that.
One scene threw me for a loop. The scene where Marcello is placed in a room and the woman who we first saw him pursue is in another room talking to him through some sort of speaker system. I actually got a bit pissed when it seemed like just when she was professing her love for him, some other clown walks up and starts kissing her and she stops her chat with Marcello to embrace said clown. Perhaps that was there to show how that sort of lifestyle plays out. It's not about commitment, attachment etc, it's just about the moment. Like, screw it, let's just go ghost-hunting in the old villa until sunrise. You just do it because you can.
And we end with a sea monster. It's looking at them all as they look at it. Monsters looking at a monster. And across the way we see a charming looking girl. So we have a distinct wall that divides the monsters from the 'normal' people. They can't even begin to communicate since they are eons apart. Marcello smiles and waves goodbye to the life that he just doesn't know and will likely never live.
The opening scene was a good intro to the film, with Jesus flying over the city via helicopter and the women and men flirting with each other from rooftop to the chopper. 'Oh, we're taking Jesus to the Vatican for the Pope, but can I have your phone number while I'm here?' I didn't fully dive into any religious aspects of the film as I watched however.
I enjoyed watching the character progression of Marcello, trying to understand him, what he was all about, and where he would be headed next. He always seemed to be right in the middle of everything, knowing everyone or getting to know them right off the bat. But at the same time, he often looked like he was laying low in scenes, waiting for his moment to pounce on the nearest starlet that he could work his magic on. I felt like we never truly know his motivation for the life he's leading and I just don't get the vibe ever that he's happy doing it either.
It was especially bizarre watching his relationship with his wife. It was shocking to see how often he was out and about, partying, and hanging out with other women while she sits at home. And even when they were together, like at the Madonna sighting, how even there, he had to distance himself from her by climbing up the scaffolding. You've got to wonder what kept him with her if he had zero interest in her. I don't think it was meant to be humorous, but when he got out of the his car when they were fighting to walk around and kick her out, I found is so amusing to walk around such a small car in that moment. Most times in movies when that happens, the car is what I'd call a 'normal' size so it takes a bit more time to get around it making the gesture powerful, but his car was so tiny that it made the ordeal seem funny to me, even to swinging open her small car door.
The decadent times being shown through Marcello's days and nights was evident. The parties, the lewdness, morals thrown out the window it seemed, all pointed to a particular lifestyle that generated the initial distaste for movie when it was made. It showed the darker side of life, in which the people in the darker side thought they were actually seeing the brighter side of life. It all depended on where your morals lie. To some, it might be the dream life, whereas to others it was totally against all of their beliefs to live like that.
One scene threw me for a loop. The scene where Marcello is placed in a room and the woman who we first saw him pursue is in another room talking to him through some sort of speaker system. I actually got a bit pissed when it seemed like just when she was professing her love for him, some other clown walks up and starts kissing her and she stops her chat with Marcello to embrace said clown. Perhaps that was there to show how that sort of lifestyle plays out. It's not about commitment, attachment etc, it's just about the moment. Like, screw it, let's just go ghost-hunting in the old villa until sunrise. You just do it because you can.
And we end with a sea monster. It's looking at them all as they look at it. Monsters looking at a monster. And across the way we see a charming looking girl. So we have a distinct wall that divides the monsters from the 'normal' people. They can't even begin to communicate since they are eons apart. Marcello smiles and waves goodbye to the life that he just doesn't know and will likely never live.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Last Year at Marien-blog
Wow this movie was odd. I won't state examples, but I thought I had seen some strange movies before, but those seem like perfectly structured masterpieces compared to 'Last Year at Marienbad'.
I think a bit of Orpheus trailed into this week's viewing because in trying to make sense of this one, I attached the label of 'Death' to the character, X. The most striking detail that implied that he might be a Death-like entity was A's continued reluctance to accept what he was saying and truly seeming to not want to leave with him to wherever they were going. Her reaction seemed like something someone might say to Death if they had the chance to reason with him; "Can I have one more year, please?". What other than that could he be that she wants nothing to do with him, yet he pursues her again and again, with what seemed like her ultimately giving in at the end? But, like I said, I suppose it could have just been Orpheus sneaking into my thoughts towards this movie. But even beyond that, the whole hotel and it's clientele seemed to constantly be in a state of moving about aimlessly or even at a stand-still, like a waiting room for the afterlife (except you get to dress nicely, watch plays, and play games).
There was mention in class of the repeating of everything, conversations, actions, card games etc. It was almost like everyone was stuck in a cycle of some sort, and it's possible they all needed something to break them out of it. For example, perhaps X needed A to get out of his cycle? It's weird to think of life like that at all, so this may have been some mind game that was being played. The part about things repeating over and over reminded me of times when you fall asleep with the TV on and whatever's on TV starts working its way into your dreams. And then shortly after you wake up, and you get an odd feeling where reality has just gotten into your dreams and now you're awake and trying to process it. Just a thought that jumped out to me. Especially if you fall asleep to an informercial or something that cycles, or even on a similar level, when you're alarm goes off to wake you up and instead of waking up, you work that sound into your dream somehow, like a fire drill at an elementary school or something.
"I think therefore I am". Crazy idea for this movie which I feel like I could ponder for hours on end. After we started to discuss this idea, it just eliminated all of my other theories, and I started to think , was X really just trying to prove A's existence by getting her to acknowledge they met before and that she should leave with him? Would that solve something in his mind? Once you start to examine the movie from an existence standpoint, you have to wonder who even existed? Did any of these people exist? Did one person exist and everything else was in their heads? Maybe this was in the mind of an insane person. X might think he exists, but that didn't mean that anyone knew it. 'A' certainly resisted the idea early on. Maybe it was X's solipism took complete control over him. "I know you. You know me. I know you. You know me......". After a while, it would just become the truth. Trying to convince someone of that would be so damn frustrating.
Speaking of the character, M, he was an odd duck. I thought it was ironic that he wins every game he plays, especially that logarithm game, but in the end, he appears to lose his woman. Woops. Maybe he should have taken a break from kicking everyone's ass in pick-up-stix. But I didn't know what to make of him. Was it him shooting 'A' in that one seemingly fake scene? I didn't get that completely. Minus all of that weirdness, I couldn't put my finger on what he was all about. At first, I didn't think he was involved with 'A', and then it seemed like they had something going at one point; it was confusing.
I can say this, that motel/set/studio was amazing. They way that camera worked it's way through the hallways and rooms was dizzying. If having the audience lose their minds with an entree of camera manipulation, peppered with bizarre plot, and seasoned with cyclic dialogue/sound, then I would say the filmmaker's succeeded greatly with this delicious treat. I'll tell you what, I didn't enter the class overly tired, but I found my blinks getting longer and longer as the film progressed. Their weird dream-world almost brought me to my weird dream-world.
I think a bit of Orpheus trailed into this week's viewing because in trying to make sense of this one, I attached the label of 'Death' to the character, X. The most striking detail that implied that he might be a Death-like entity was A's continued reluctance to accept what he was saying and truly seeming to not want to leave with him to wherever they were going. Her reaction seemed like something someone might say to Death if they had the chance to reason with him; "Can I have one more year, please?". What other than that could he be that she wants nothing to do with him, yet he pursues her again and again, with what seemed like her ultimately giving in at the end? But, like I said, I suppose it could have just been Orpheus sneaking into my thoughts towards this movie. But even beyond that, the whole hotel and it's clientele seemed to constantly be in a state of moving about aimlessly or even at a stand-still, like a waiting room for the afterlife (except you get to dress nicely, watch plays, and play games).
There was mention in class of the repeating of everything, conversations, actions, card games etc. It was almost like everyone was stuck in a cycle of some sort, and it's possible they all needed something to break them out of it. For example, perhaps X needed A to get out of his cycle? It's weird to think of life like that at all, so this may have been some mind game that was being played. The part about things repeating over and over reminded me of times when you fall asleep with the TV on and whatever's on TV starts working its way into your dreams. And then shortly after you wake up, and you get an odd feeling where reality has just gotten into your dreams and now you're awake and trying to process it. Just a thought that jumped out to me. Especially if you fall asleep to an informercial or something that cycles, or even on a similar level, when you're alarm goes off to wake you up and instead of waking up, you work that sound into your dream somehow, like a fire drill at an elementary school or something.
"I think therefore I am". Crazy idea for this movie which I feel like I could ponder for hours on end. After we started to discuss this idea, it just eliminated all of my other theories, and I started to think , was X really just trying to prove A's existence by getting her to acknowledge they met before and that she should leave with him? Would that solve something in his mind? Once you start to examine the movie from an existence standpoint, you have to wonder who even existed? Did any of these people exist? Did one person exist and everything else was in their heads? Maybe this was in the mind of an insane person. X might think he exists, but that didn't mean that anyone knew it. 'A' certainly resisted the idea early on. Maybe it was X's solipism took complete control over him. "I know you. You know me. I know you. You know me......". After a while, it would just become the truth. Trying to convince someone of that would be so damn frustrating.
Speaking of the character, M, he was an odd duck. I thought it was ironic that he wins every game he plays, especially that logarithm game, but in the end, he appears to lose his woman. Woops. Maybe he should have taken a break from kicking everyone's ass in pick-up-stix. But I didn't know what to make of him. Was it him shooting 'A' in that one seemingly fake scene? I didn't get that completely. Minus all of that weirdness, I couldn't put my finger on what he was all about. At first, I didn't think he was involved with 'A', and then it seemed like they had something going at one point; it was confusing.
I can say this, that motel/set/studio was amazing. They way that camera worked it's way through the hallways and rooms was dizzying. If having the audience lose their minds with an entree of camera manipulation, peppered with bizarre plot, and seasoned with cyclic dialogue/sound, then I would say the filmmaker's succeeded greatly with this delicious treat. I'll tell you what, I didn't enter the class overly tired, but I found my blinks getting longer and longer as the film progressed. Their weird dream-world almost brought me to my weird dream-world.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Orpheus: The Tale I Never Heard
This flick was pretty jaw dropping. During several moments in the film, I caught myself staring at the screen with my mouth literally open, most often during the underworld scenes. The whole movie sets you up to wonder the the heck is going on behind the mirrors in this secret world. I could more or less come close to knowing what to expect on the other side because of the story intro that a classmate provided before we viewed the movie. But I'd be curious to watch the movie without having any background of the Orpheus story.
I wanted to address some certain matters of plot and time and motivations to better understand why things happened and all that. For example, towards the beginning when "Death" is with the drunk Cegestes, had they been hanging together long before that? It's an odd thing to wonder, but he's driving around with her so I wondered where their little relationship began. And similar to that, at what point did Death decide she wanted/loved/liked Orpheus? She seemed to be into poets, but he didn't really do anything poetic that would imply he's anyone special. Had she eyed him up before? Why didn't she immediately make him her underworld puppet? Does Death know all? Perhaps she looked at him and she knew all she'd need to know. Of course you could say, he's hanging out at the Poet's Bar (wasn't it called something like that?) so he must be important in the writer's community.
I was a bit thrown by a comment later in the movie about Orpheus having been in Death's bedroom. I assumed it was meant that the bedroom he's placed in when Cegestes is being taken to the underworld is her bedroom, but I would have assumed her bedroom to actually be in the underworld. Or was that where the house was? But that wouldn't explain why they needed to go through the mirror with Cegestes.
One truly weird thing that I just couldn't get was how often Heurtebise seemed to try to urge Orpheus to take care of or pay attention to his wife, when it seemed as if Heurtebise was digging her himself quite a bit. He was a bizarre character, constantly surprising me. Right from the get go when he's first talking to Eurydice, when he fumbles up his speech and mentions he's already dead, I forget the exact quote. He did things that I just didn't expect.
Are we to assume also, that Orpheus's permission to enter the underworld while still alive is based on his status as an artist/poet? Poets are special people, hence Death takes a fancy to him? And he's granted all the attention from Heurtebise and a seemingly increasing access to all of the happenings of the underworld because of this? Speaking of that scene where he first travels to the underworld, I think that scene jumped out at me as the most "homosexual". That sounds bad. I'm not sure how else to put that but it sounds bad. Anyways, I don't think there was any intended love connection between Orpheus and Heurtebise, but just seeing the one man float and the other bounce around like he's walking on the moon with the wind blowing definitely brought it to mind. Plus the scene just seemed surreal which added to that feeling. I'm not sure if it was on the way to or back, but Orpheus also put his hand on the shoulder of Heurtebise, which again, added to the general feeling of that scene.
Quick note about the special effects, mainly the backwards/forwards effects. The whole glove putting on actually being them being taken off was great. Seems simple enough, but it's obvious that it's just playing backwards, so you can look into a bit more to see what it might have meant to do it like that. On one hand, I think it was a sign of the start of the going back in time process to before Death arrived and took control of things. Sure at that point, it was up in the air for the audience as to what might happen, but it was a turning point I think. On another hand it could imply the backwards nature of the underworld, how different it is from the living world.
And we talked about this idea of 'who is the hero' exactly. Orpheus? Not so much. Death? Eh. I thought Heurtebise seemed to shine in that role the most. For being a chauffeur and subservient most of the time, he seemed to show the most special powers (haha) and seemed to know what was going on all of the time, or at least be able to control things a bit better that anyone else. Towards the end when Death has him reverse time to get things back to normal, I got the impression that Death herself wasn't strong enough to do it. She may have 'ordered' him to do it yes, so maybe I'm wrong.
And finally, let's talk about this notion that poets and the artistic folks are possessed by some evil that gets in their minds and forces them to spew and create all of these artistic pieces. I think the whole Cegestes broadcasts from the Underworld lend itself to this idea pretty tightly. Someone did bring up that the broadcasts started before Cegestes passed over; that is just weird. Orpheus is so wrapped in, almost in a trance over these broadcasts and I think (correct me if I'm wrong) it was the these broadcasts that he turned into his own writing. And the broadcasts were actually Cegestes earlier works or something. Then you have a community of people seeing the potential evil in this artistic man, thinking he had something to do with the Cegestes disappearance. It plays well on the types of reactions to the writers/artists that people used to give, thinking some evil had penetrated their minds and forced these words out of them.
Oh yeah, that's awesome that hey had to incorporate gloves into the film because they were putting their hands into mercury for the 'entering the mirror' effect.
I wanted to address some certain matters of plot and time and motivations to better understand why things happened and all that. For example, towards the beginning when "Death" is with the drunk Cegestes, had they been hanging together long before that? It's an odd thing to wonder, but he's driving around with her so I wondered where their little relationship began. And similar to that, at what point did Death decide she wanted/loved/liked Orpheus? She seemed to be into poets, but he didn't really do anything poetic that would imply he's anyone special. Had she eyed him up before? Why didn't she immediately make him her underworld puppet? Does Death know all? Perhaps she looked at him and she knew all she'd need to know. Of course you could say, he's hanging out at the Poet's Bar (wasn't it called something like that?) so he must be important in the writer's community.
I was a bit thrown by a comment later in the movie about Orpheus having been in Death's bedroom. I assumed it was meant that the bedroom he's placed in when Cegestes is being taken to the underworld is her bedroom, but I would have assumed her bedroom to actually be in the underworld. Or was that where the house was? But that wouldn't explain why they needed to go through the mirror with Cegestes.
One truly weird thing that I just couldn't get was how often Heurtebise seemed to try to urge Orpheus to take care of or pay attention to his wife, when it seemed as if Heurtebise was digging her himself quite a bit. He was a bizarre character, constantly surprising me. Right from the get go when he's first talking to Eurydice, when he fumbles up his speech and mentions he's already dead, I forget the exact quote. He did things that I just didn't expect.
Are we to assume also, that Orpheus's permission to enter the underworld while still alive is based on his status as an artist/poet? Poets are special people, hence Death takes a fancy to him? And he's granted all the attention from Heurtebise and a seemingly increasing access to all of the happenings of the underworld because of this? Speaking of that scene where he first travels to the underworld, I think that scene jumped out at me as the most "homosexual". That sounds bad. I'm not sure how else to put that but it sounds bad. Anyways, I don't think there was any intended love connection between Orpheus and Heurtebise, but just seeing the one man float and the other bounce around like he's walking on the moon with the wind blowing definitely brought it to mind. Plus the scene just seemed surreal which added to that feeling. I'm not sure if it was on the way to or back, but Orpheus also put his hand on the shoulder of Heurtebise, which again, added to the general feeling of that scene.
Quick note about the special effects, mainly the backwards/forwards effects. The whole glove putting on actually being them being taken off was great. Seems simple enough, but it's obvious that it's just playing backwards, so you can look into a bit more to see what it might have meant to do it like that. On one hand, I think it was a sign of the start of the going back in time process to before Death arrived and took control of things. Sure at that point, it was up in the air for the audience as to what might happen, but it was a turning point I think. On another hand it could imply the backwards nature of the underworld, how different it is from the living world.
And we talked about this idea of 'who is the hero' exactly. Orpheus? Not so much. Death? Eh. I thought Heurtebise seemed to shine in that role the most. For being a chauffeur and subservient most of the time, he seemed to show the most special powers (haha) and seemed to know what was going on all of the time, or at least be able to control things a bit better that anyone else. Towards the end when Death has him reverse time to get things back to normal, I got the impression that Death herself wasn't strong enough to do it. She may have 'ordered' him to do it yes, so maybe I'm wrong.
And finally, let's talk about this notion that poets and the artistic folks are possessed by some evil that gets in their minds and forces them to spew and create all of these artistic pieces. I think the whole Cegestes broadcasts from the Underworld lend itself to this idea pretty tightly. Someone did bring up that the broadcasts started before Cegestes passed over; that is just weird. Orpheus is so wrapped in, almost in a trance over these broadcasts and I think (correct me if I'm wrong) it was the these broadcasts that he turned into his own writing. And the broadcasts were actually Cegestes earlier works or something. Then you have a community of people seeing the potential evil in this artistic man, thinking he had something to do with the Cegestes disappearance. It plays well on the types of reactions to the writers/artists that people used to give, thinking some evil had penetrated their minds and forced these words out of them.
Oh yeah, that's awesome that hey had to incorporate gloves into the film because they were putting their hands into mercury for the 'entering the mirror' effect.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Vertigo: Obsession, Dolls, and Hell
This is a movie I'd like to see again. I had never seen it before though I'd definitely heard of it. I think every time I heard the movie title in the past, I thought of the zodiac sign 'Virgo' for some reason. That's irrelevant really but I thought I'd shed some light on my random misinterpretations.
This movie reeked of obsession. What started out as an "Okay, I'll follow your wife around for a while and see what she does", quickly turned into a creepy romance with the close watching and ultimate contact between John 'Scottie' Ferguson and Madeleine Elster (whom we find out to be Judy Barton at some point in the film). Ferguson was a cop for what I'd assume many years, so his ability to follow somebody is in his blood by this point, so it was easy for him to tackle to task. You could tell he was intrigued from the get go when Elster's outings were shown to be peculiarly random, but once he's forced to interact with her at the bay almost-drowning scene, it all went downhill for him, as far as the scopaphilia was concerned. You can tell he's feeling something for her, but I wasn't sure if he was really into her, or into the idea of figuring her out.
One way to examine it is in the title of the movie. One definition of vertigo states "a dizzying sensation of tilting within stable surroundings". If you take away Ferguson's actual Vertigo (which I'm not saying wasn't an integral part of the story), perhaps being in the detective's shoes was his stable surrounding, since he'd done it for so long, and the dizzying sensation was this obsession with fake Madeleine/Judy. Once he solves the riddle when the two clash, he's able to overcome the vertigo. Perhaps the stable surrounding and dizziness meet at a middle point where something better can endure, something more pure. But then she leaps to her death so who knows.
But about this scopaphilia. The whole idea of watching someone for pleasure, like an object, brought images of someone playing with a doll to my mind. You can stand far away and above a doll, sometimes making it do what you want, but other times letting it have a mind of it's own and living in it's own world which you might secretly follow from behind. All the while, no matter how much freedom it possesses, it's still living within the constructs of your world. Ferguson strives to recreate this doll-like image of Madaleine in Judy when they embark on their relationship. Step by step, she's pieced together, from the hair, to the clothes, to the make-up; he's making her into the doll he's come to love from watching her throughout the streets of San Fran.
As a completely different ending note, I'd like to say Midge was very creepy. I think she was fine when she was the only one in Scottie's life, able to listen to his ongoing thoughts etc, but once that was threatened, something clicked in her mind that sent her over the edge a bit. The painting she did was ridiculous as was the late night visit to his apartment after fake-Madeleine left where she says "Well now Johnny-O, was it a ghost, was it fun?". Without the late night drive-by, the painting could be seen as a humorous gesture, but in combination with the drive-by, it just shows how unstable she really was. Which is odd since she seems to be pretty grounded for most of the movie otherwise. This speaks loudly about the idea that you never know what someone might be thinking, even though they seem a certain way on the outside. I think her "plain jane" look contributed to this effect. And I don't doubt that the red sweater and red glasses were a mistake either, since she was the devil, hoping Scottie would come back to her hell secretly, and permanently. Like the devil she can't make him sell his soul to her, but she certainly wants it.
This movie reeked of obsession. What started out as an "Okay, I'll follow your wife around for a while and see what she does", quickly turned into a creepy romance with the close watching and ultimate contact between John 'Scottie' Ferguson and Madeleine Elster (whom we find out to be Judy Barton at some point in the film). Ferguson was a cop for what I'd assume many years, so his ability to follow somebody is in his blood by this point, so it was easy for him to tackle to task. You could tell he was intrigued from the get go when Elster's outings were shown to be peculiarly random, but once he's forced to interact with her at the bay almost-drowning scene, it all went downhill for him, as far as the scopaphilia was concerned. You can tell he's feeling something for her, but I wasn't sure if he was really into her, or into the idea of figuring her out.
One way to examine it is in the title of the movie. One definition of vertigo states "a dizzying sensation of tilting within stable surroundings". If you take away Ferguson's actual Vertigo (which I'm not saying wasn't an integral part of the story), perhaps being in the detective's shoes was his stable surrounding, since he'd done it for so long, and the dizzying sensation was this obsession with fake Madeleine/Judy. Once he solves the riddle when the two clash, he's able to overcome the vertigo. Perhaps the stable surrounding and dizziness meet at a middle point where something better can endure, something more pure. But then she leaps to her death so who knows.
But about this scopaphilia. The whole idea of watching someone for pleasure, like an object, brought images of someone playing with a doll to my mind. You can stand far away and above a doll, sometimes making it do what you want, but other times letting it have a mind of it's own and living in it's own world which you might secretly follow from behind. All the while, no matter how much freedom it possesses, it's still living within the constructs of your world. Ferguson strives to recreate this doll-like image of Madaleine in Judy when they embark on their relationship. Step by step, she's pieced together, from the hair, to the clothes, to the make-up; he's making her into the doll he's come to love from watching her throughout the streets of San Fran.
As a completely different ending note, I'd like to say Midge was very creepy. I think she was fine when she was the only one in Scottie's life, able to listen to his ongoing thoughts etc, but once that was threatened, something clicked in her mind that sent her over the edge a bit. The painting she did was ridiculous as was the late night visit to his apartment after fake-Madeleine left where she says "Well now Johnny-O, was it a ghost, was it fun?". Without the late night drive-by, the painting could be seen as a humorous gesture, but in combination with the drive-by, it just shows how unstable she really was. Which is odd since she seems to be pretty grounded for most of the movie otherwise. This speaks loudly about the idea that you never know what someone might be thinking, even though they seem a certain way on the outside. I think her "plain jane" look contributed to this effect. And I don't doubt that the red sweater and red glasses were a mistake either, since she was the devil, hoping Scottie would come back to her hell secretly, and permanently. Like the devil she can't make him sell his soul to her, but she certainly wants it.
Monday, February 15, 2010
No Blog for "Laura"
I had planned on doing a blog for every film even though we don't need one for every single film we watch, but I had to miss this past week's discussion on "Laura", so I decided to not do a blog this week.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The Third Man - Shadows, Angles and Vampires
After finishing The Third Man, I realized that I was into the movie the entire time but by the time it ended, I didn't love or hate it. That's not to say there weren't things I liked about it, the class discussion, or the reading. I think in combination with all of those aspects, it brought my interest to a level of overall enjoyment.
During my own viewing of the movie, the angles jumped out at me as something interesting and worth noting. It seems strange that tilting the camera could help a movie since it seems movies are so technical and precise sometimes. But it worked well for this movie, creating and showing differences between people. Sometimes it felt like it was shown during moments of important information passing from one character to another. Or if one person was asking a question, it might be tilted. I especially liked the scene on the ferris wheel between Harry and Holly. I'm sad to say I kind of got 'lost in the sauce' during their dialogue there because I was trying to focus on the tilting motion of the cart. It seemed to tilt downwards on the person whose point wasn't being made. If Harry had the upper hand or was explaining something, it seemed to put him on the higher side, and vice versa. Simply put, it was a great scene, as we get a great look at and insight into the character of Harry, already fascinating enough being played by Welles.
I had made a note in my notes about 'chasing shadows' because there was a few times where that happened. I think it goes hand in hand with something someone said in class and also the reading, about Harry being compared to a Vampire. The person in class mentioned the shadows in regards to a world we don't know exists, the underworld of that era, with crime etc. Also, the world of a Vampire you might say. I never even thought of the comparison until the reading, but now I can see it. You know, this man Harry, traveling by night, feeding on the blood of the world (the deaths he causes), living in a shadow world. It's an amazing connection that struck me as awesome, and no, not because Vamps are currently trendy. (although True Blood is a pretty cool show)
During my own viewing of the movie, the angles jumped out at me as something interesting and worth noting. It seems strange that tilting the camera could help a movie since it seems movies are so technical and precise sometimes. But it worked well for this movie, creating and showing differences between people. Sometimes it felt like it was shown during moments of important information passing from one character to another. Or if one person was asking a question, it might be tilted. I especially liked the scene on the ferris wheel between Harry and Holly. I'm sad to say I kind of got 'lost in the sauce' during their dialogue there because I was trying to focus on the tilting motion of the cart. It seemed to tilt downwards on the person whose point wasn't being made. If Harry had the upper hand or was explaining something, it seemed to put him on the higher side, and vice versa. Simply put, it was a great scene, as we get a great look at and insight into the character of Harry, already fascinating enough being played by Welles.
I had made a note in my notes about 'chasing shadows' because there was a few times where that happened. I think it goes hand in hand with something someone said in class and also the reading, about Harry being compared to a Vampire. The person in class mentioned the shadows in regards to a world we don't know exists, the underworld of that era, with crime etc. Also, the world of a Vampire you might say. I never even thought of the comparison until the reading, but now I can see it. You know, this man Harry, traveling by night, feeding on the blood of the world (the deaths he causes), living in a shadow world. It's an amazing connection that struck me as awesome, and no, not because Vamps are currently trendy. (although True Blood is a pretty cool show)
Friday, January 29, 2010
Faceless Man Searches for a Man Full of Face
http://www.frankwbaker.com/citizen_kane.htmI have seen Citizen Kane several times and I actually own it, so it's kind of weird having never fully dissected it technically or even deeper in terms of meaning. I suppose I'm even guilty of thinking it's simply a movie about a man, a jerk of a man that seemed to have it all at one point and nothing the next.
I must need to work on my watching skills also because it wasn't until after reading the Kane assignment, that I realized the journalist seeking information on Kane and "rosebud" actually had a name (Jerry Thompson). Perhaps that lends itself to my first observation. It seemed as if there was a situation playing out where a faceless man (even nameless I thought) was to dive into Kane's past, and bring some life to him, hopefully solving the man and his last words.
Scene after scene, this Thompson character is either covered in shadows, or filmed from behind, as to hide his face from the audience. He's irrelevant, a tool being used to pry open a treasure chest, that ironically, one that is pretty empty once it's been opened (if you want to call it that).
Kane, a man that was so giant at one point, whose face has been well known, and in the case of his political run, plastered all over cities, was going to be portrayed based on the results of someone that was barely given any face time.
There were, of course, some scenes where Thompson's face could be seen. I mean, he is a paid actor who wants to actually be seen in the film at some point. But I counted several where he was easily just a shadow figure. This could have been an attempt to let the recollections of Kane shine and not to bog down the scenes with too many other things to distract the audience. I thought it was a way for Kane, even in death, to be the center of attention, and like his life, eventually the story will be done and people will leave him or read something else.
Another quirky technique I noticed was the couple or so times that the camera appeared to be addressed directly. The scenes that stood out the most were when Thatcher is reading a letter of sorts from Kane, where he is saying "I think it would be fun to run a newspaper". And then when Kane, Mr. Leland, and Bernstein are finishing up their first copy of the Inquirer, after Mr. Leland asks for Kane's Declaration of Principles, he looks right into the camera commenting on how that piece of paper might mean something big someday.
It was as if they were talking directly to the audience, bringing us into the situation and giving us insight as to what might happen later so we can better be a part of it then. In that moment, the fourth wall was broken down, and we enter the movie full on. It was important to me for that to happen rather early in the film otherwise I'd likely pull away enough to miss several things.
And........finally, one of the better deep focus shots of Kane throughout the movie was the scene where he's walking past some giant mirrors and in the reflection you see old, frustrated Charles Foster Kane standing, many of him actually, all getting smaller and less noticeable. Contrary to Cardullo's take on Kane not being reflective of himself, I truly felt in this scene that he was, for a moment, criticizing himself. And like the images of himself in the mirrors, the thoughts are fleeting and eventually all you have is nothing.
Also, as an outside viewer, by that time, we had heard a few recollections of Kane, and though some might think they know him through and through, it's possible they only know outside, only things people around him would know, but not the real man. We know only know what the mirrors could tell us, a whole bunch of Kane stories.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
