The Fountain: Narrative.

                                                  

                                          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDp-F3Y97ZQ

“ Film Narratives are important for two reasons: they describe the different temporal experiences of individuals, and they reflect and reveal the shapes and patterns of larger social histories (of nations, communities, and cultures)” – Corrigan and White. (The Film Experience. An Introduction. The Significance of Film Narrative p. 259)

“Multiple narrations are found in films that use several different narrative perspectives for a single story or two different stories in a movie that loosely fits these perspectives together”- Corrigan and White. (The Film Experience. An introduction. Multiple Narratives p. 258)

Darren Aronofsky’s 2006 film, The Fountain, is a perfect example of a multiple narration. The film uses of three parallel stories that are based around two characters that exist in the present but are also embodied into imaginary characters of other time and dimension, invented and historic.

 The three layers united by a single symbol, which is the tree of life. Each narrative is invented to tell the story from the perspectives of:

A) Reality

B) Izzy’s Imagination

C) Tommy’s Imagination.

The story takes place during the most difficult trial of Tommy and Izzy’s relationship, at its very end, as Dizzy is deathly ill and Tommy seeks a cure for her condition.

   The narrative that is set in reality tells a tragic story of Tommy’s loss of touch with his wife as he becomes obsessed with finding the cure to her disease. His research consists or extracting cancer fighting chemicals out of tree bark. He becomes so determined to save Izzy that he misses out on the rest of time that she has left on this eath.

   The second part of the narrative is based on a fictional novel that Izzy is writing. The novel is based on historic facts from the 16^th century, where Tommy takes a role of a conquistador that searches for a tree of life that will bring power and eternal youth to his queen, aka Izzy. The Novel represents her desire of Tommy’s loyalty and determination. Through it she fantasizes of being reunited with her husband, because in reality he is always too occupied to spend time with her.

 The third part of the narrative tells a story of Tommy’s emotional and spiritual imagination. He envisions himself not as a scientist but as a man of spiritual belief, floating through space in a dimension where miracles are not unlikely. Tommy’s imaginary self exists in a floating sphere where he is the only human-like creature. Tommy’s only companion is a god-like tree that keeps him alive as he keeps eating it’s bark to remain alive. Both Tommy and the tree await a miracle that will save them.  Occasional visits from Izzy’s spirit distract them, because they force Tommy to see the reality of things.

    The tree in the first two narratives represents the cure for Izzy’s condition, however in Tommy’s narrative it represents Izzy, and the cure for Tommy’s misery in case of Izzy’s death. He must selfishly continue to eat the bark from the tree of life, similarly to the way me he must selfishly find a cure to Izzy’s cancer, because without her he is as good as dead. The tree if life and eternal life are impossible to reach. Death cannot be cheater. One must learn to love life and to cope with death. 

Works Cited

Corrigan, Timothy, and Patricia White. Film Experience: an Introduction. New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. Print.

"The Fountain (2006) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 116 June 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414993/>.

"Google Images." Google. Web. 16 June 2011. <http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-OF_k2OclHDluENrq7XxvQr4hDMirej8-Z1comzq1oy491-TM4Bkk2z6Wg_gy3IOp7nyUvwXWuMj1EYBFRw3mCgQxz3kIqPiJdv8APgfteUA7-ovOyiWt-xbKBpyHiD6bzW9jv2x9baB/s1600/the_fountain.jpg>.

"Google Images." Google. Web. 16 June 2011. <http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/thefountain/trailer1/images/fountain_apple_05.jpg>.

"YouTube - ‪The Fountain Trailer‬‏." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 16 June 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDp-F3Y97ZQ>.

War of the World: Character Development of Ray Ferrier

        

                              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJYnHA2OzfA

“ As we have seen, characters as presented in film narratives are a product of certain physical, psychological, or cultural elements that we as viewers must attend to and recognize as we are encouraged to regard these characters as individuals. In addition, certain character types reflect recognizable traits and actions derived from cultural, historical and cinematic conventions. Finally, film characters usually change over the course of a realist film and thus require us to evaluate and revise our understanding of them as they develop.”– Corrigan and White. (The Film Experience: An Introduction. Character Development pp. 244-245)

   According to Corrigan and White, there are four ways to measure Character Development

• External Change
• Internal Change
• Progressive Development
• Regressive Development

   External Change refers to the physical transformation of a character throughout time. Examples of which would be: aging, illness, adaptation of a new image, etc.

   Internal Change measures the character’s alteration of inner self. It is usually associated with the chain of events that take place before the evaluation is made. An example of an internal change is one’s loss of interest in someone that was once dear to the character’s heart after a certain amount of negativity had been released into the relationship. Progressive Character Development occurs when a character goes through a significant transformation, which results into a positive improvement or an epiphany of some sort. Regressive Character Development usually means the opposite of that. It is defined by a transformation, which leads to a negative shift within the characters qualities. (Corrigan and White. The Film Experience3 An introduction. Character Development p. 245.)

    Steven Spielberg’s 2005 feature War of the Worlds provides a great example of Progressive Character Development. In the film, the leading man Jack (Tom Cruz’s character) experiences out of worldly hardship, which eventually leads to drastic changes within his perceptions of his family.

    When Jack is first introduced to the viewers, he is represented as an arrogant, self-centered loner with little interest in his family. He enjoys living a life of a bachelor and being responsible for no one but himself. He fails to fill the norms of a father figure and shares little to no connection with his teenage son and his preteen daughter. After the city that he lives in, along with the rest of the world is attacked by an alien race, he begins to rapidly realize his failures and tries to improve the relationships with his children, while fighting to save their lives from human genocide. It pains him to discover that his children feel though they cannon rely on him, and have very little respect for him. Being thrown in the middle of death and distraction, and fearing for his children’s lives, he becomes aware of all the things that he was not present for while his children were growing up.  The change within him leads to the strengthening of his character. He feels the need to redeem himself for the mistakes of the past; he becomes driven to be the adult that he always needed to be and to lead his children to safety.

                           Work Cited

Corrigan, Timothy, and Patricia Barry. The Film Experience: an Introduction.

           Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Print.

"Google Images." Google. Web. 15 June 2011. <http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/War-of-the-Worlds-movie-Blu-ray.jpg>.

Sound in Silent Cinema. The General

Silent Films: The General by Buster Keaton. 1926

    The importance of sound in colorless, silent cinema should not be underestimated. The experience of watching a film without a supporting musical score or any audio element would be dry and impersonal. The ability to hear the rhythm of the characters’ voices helps the viewers to pick up on the emotional atmosphere of the film. Just the use of visually displayed dialogue, in silent cinema, would not be enough to fully demonstrate the true essence of what the characters are feeling, and how they are expressing it. It would also make it difficult to understand the overall mood that is suggested within the scenes.

  According to Silent Era:  

      “Early age cinema production companies, while presenting professional silent film screenings, used instruments like piano, theatre organ, and even chamber ensemble symphony orchestra accompaniments to provide their audience with a potent experience of sound.”

   While researching Buster Keaton’s 1926 film, The General, I found that it is unrealistic to recover its original supporting score. The DVD versions of Buster Keaton’s blockbuster use a score that was added by its distributor years after the film had been released. (The Internet Movie Database.)

  While watching the film, I was completely taken away by cinematography, camera work and Buster Keaton’s incredible performance. The score by Carl Davis proved to be truthful to the scenes, even though it was designed decades after the film’s release.

  After viewing of the film and listening to the Carl Davis’s score during two separate occasions, I discovered a very interesting relationship between the two. Though I truly enjoyed the sound of the orchestra as I was viewing the film, at times, I was slightly distracted by what I was hearing. Certain musical moments and scenes did not seem to match up. I was originally under the impression that the film’s soundtrack consisted of separately selected musical compositions, and not an intentionally designed score. However several weeks down the road, I reviewed just the recording of the film’s score. I was pleased to find out that the sound narration was just as powerful as the visual narration. Without any visual help, I was able to follow the music and let my imagination do the work. Carl Davis’s representation of the characters through the sound was outstanding. I could easily figure out which composition was designed for which character and which scene. I felt though the overall score was a fantastic fit for a comedy intended to take place during the Civil War era. The sound was not only light on the ear and emotionally uplifting, but also dramatic and powerful, which is the best sound one can imagine for a silent comedy.

    Today, purchasing silent film DVD’s can be a bit tricky, due to the fact that it is not always easy to find a film with a musical accompaniment that properly fits the scenes.            

    The Internet Movie Database states:

“The quality of music in silent film DVDs varies from distributor to distributor. Some record original scores, some carefully piece together a score from public domain sources, and some slap on an irrelevant soundtracks.”

                                                        Work Cited

"The General (1926) - FAQ." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 1 June 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017925/faq>.

"Silent Era : People : Composers and Musicians : Dennis James." Silent Era : The Silent Film Website. Web. 1 June 2011. <http://www.silentera.com/people/musicians/James-Dennis.html>.

"Carl Davis Pic - Image of Carl Davis - AllStarPics.Net." All Star Pics, Pictures of the Stars, Celebrity Pics, Entertainment Photos. Web. 1 June 2011. <http://www.allstarpics.net/0067965/012651838/carl-davis-pic.html>.

"Google Images." Google. Web. 1 June 2011. <http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://rjbuffalo.com/images/buster/gen-quiet.jpg>.

Week 7. The Seventh Seal. Editing of the first 2 minutes of the film.

 

http://gcaggiano.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/6a00d8353342be69e200e54f32c7518834-800wi.jpg

Source:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtqB2XO9jtI&feature=related

         The 1957 Swedish film, The Seventh Seal, directed by Ingmar Bergman, is an inspiring, beautifully executed picture that discusses the meanings of life and death. (Wikipedia. The Seventh Seal) The film is edited brilliantly for its time period in cinematography. Even though The Seventh Seal is a black and white film, it contains imagery so potent that it beats a lot of the imagery produced in today’s Hollywood blockbusters. The film is edited with a rich use of symbolism and metaphor to accompany the plot.

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/protectedimage.php.image=NoelMegahey/seventhseal1.jpg_12122007&cachedimage=true&width=400

                                              

                                              Analysis of the fist two minutes of the film:

·      The opening scene begins with a wide shot of the stormy sky. The sky has a powerful light of the sun coming through an opening in the clouds. The shot is escorted by loud, breath-taking sound of the orchestra. A viewer seeing this picture for the first time may make an association to God after being exposed to such a powerful scene. However such an association may fade as the viewer witnesses the second shot.

·       The use of Continuity Editing reoccurs all throughout the opening scenes. (Corrigan and White. P 149)

·      In the second shot, the image of the sky is slowly replaced with an image of a black silhouette of a bird (possibly an eagle.) The bird is freely floating through the air. Perhaps such image is intended to suggest an idea of a chase or the presence of death (Possibly the Grim Reaper or even the Black Plague). The bird’s dark wings are a metaphor to Grim Reaper's black cloak.

·      The third shot is an Extreme Wide Shot (Media College. Shot types) of the landscape. This shot is especially interesting because it is used to divide the landscape into a ying yang-like shape; where the land becomes the dark and the water becomes the light. Through such imagery, the editor suggests the presence of two reoccurring themes in the film: good and evil, or life and death. A similar pattern is repeated in the next shot, which is taken from a High Angle, (Media Shots. Shot Types) from the top of the mountain, overlooking the beach. The editor takes full advantage of the privileges of black and white cinema, as he experiments with the contrasts in volume and manipulation of artificial and natural light. 

·      The next two shots are done in a similar manner to each other. Using Wide Shots (Media Shots. Shot Types), two of the main characters are introduced into the scene. In each shot, they both appear to be either dead or sleeping. They are displayed in the light. This time the contrast between the beach and the water is reversed. The water appears to be darker than the beach. The significance of the ocean in this particular part of the scene is to indicate through the rhythmic sound of its waves the possibility of the characters breathing. The repetition of the sound of the waves crashing into the shore is intended to points to out that the knight and the squire must still be live.

·       The shot that follows next, introduces the idea of a journey that may lie ahead. The composition within the shot,  displays two horses, which represent journey.

·      Next, the camera fades into a close up of the knight who is holding on to his sword. This reveals his occupation and the fact that he is in distress.

•      Next, follows a Close Up (Mediaknowall) on the knight’s companion, squire. The squire appears to be exhausted and barely moving, however he also hold on his dagger. 
•           After that follows a montage sequence (Corrigan and White. P. 139) The montage sequence  is very important to the introduction of the main theme of the film.

Montage (consists of 4 parts) :

1.          Starting with a Wide Shot (Media Shots) of the Knight walking toward the light surface of the water to wash off. 
2.      Then, the use of a Very Wide Shot captures him walking in the direction of the viewer, away from the sea. The sea, in this shot is once again displayed as dark colored. Perhaps this is yet another suggestion of the conflict between life and death
3.      The third shot if the sequence shows the knight on his knees, praying. Which introduces a religious element into the scene. 
4.      And the final part of the sequence, shows the knight walking toward the beach again, however as soon as he gets closer the camera merges to the right and focuses on the chess board, that is rests on the rocks. Te chess pieces are also black and white. 

   

                                                     Work Cited

"Camera Angles." Mediaknowall. Web. 25 May 2011. <http://www.mediaknowall.com/camangles.html>.

"Camera Shots." Media College - Video, Audio and Multimedia Resources. Web. 25 May 2011. <http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/>.

Corrigan, Timothy, and Patricia White. Film Experience: an Introduction. New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. Print.

"Google Images." Google. Web. 25 May 2011. <http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/dvd/afaddis/image/SeventhSeal4.jpg>.

"Google Images." Google. Web. 25 May 2011. <http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/protectedimage.php?image=NoelMegahey/seventhseal1.jpg_12122007&cachedimage=true&width=400>.

"The Seventh Seal." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 25 May 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seventh_Seal>.

"YouTube - Ingmar Bergman - The Seventh Seal ‏." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 25 May 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtqB2XO9jtI>.

The American

                                                                    Movie Trailer

    Anton Corbijn’s 2010 film, The American, is impressive for its plot content and for its aesthetic beauty. The film focuses on character development of the main hero, Jack, or Mr. Butterfly played by George Clooney. The location, chosen for this picture, enters into a dialogue with the main character. The lone, rocky and rugged terrain of Italy’s countryside is intended to be a harmonious accompaniment to character development of lonely and mysterious professional assassin, Mr. Butterly. Similarly to a province that is tucked away from the rest of Italy’s flurry, Mr. Butterfly is isolated from the world and is lost within his own thoughts. He is filled with anxiety and paranoia. He seeks redemption to his actions, and hopes to turn his life around. According to the film’s director The American is intended to have a strong Western feel. (Focus features. The American: The Production.)

   “The look, the stories, the morality of movie Westerns always attracted me. Although The American is not actually a Western, it is structured in that genre; a stranger comes to a small town and connects with a couple of the people in it, but his past catches up with him – and there is a shootout.” – Director Anton Corbijn. (Focus Features. The American: The Production)

 The guidelines for a Western require a linear narrative, based around one story, which revolves around one character. The American fits these guidelines superbly, thanks to Rowan Joffe’s screenplay, adapted from Martin Booth’s 1990 novel “A Very Private Gentleman”. (Focus Features. The American. The Synopsis.)

    “With a Western in mind, I wove together my favorite passages from the book, simplifying the overall structure into a character-motivated thriller with a streamlined plot, a powerful redemptive theme, very spare dialogue, and a wild Italian landscape that acts like a character in its own right, exerting its transformative, melancholy beauty on our hero and assisting him in his journey to redemption. George Clooney’s interest in my first draft allowed me to continue refining subsequent drafts with him in mind; that was a considerable dramatic boon for the script as well as a rare opportunity to craft a character for one of the greatest movie actors alive.” – Screenwriter Rowan Joffe. (Focus Pictures. The American: The Production.)

   To pursue the norms of a Western genre, Anton Corbijn uses typical visual elements of a Western, like long extended shot, wide shots of the landscape, solemn music and a muted pallet throughout the film. With all if the elements combined and worked from the perspectives of cinematographer, Martin Ruhe, and editor Andrew Hulme, (The International Movie Base. The American: Full cast and crew.) The story preserves its authentic Western vibe even though it is set in a picturesque European location.

    “Because Anton comes from the world of photography, he is able to compose his frames in a striking way – something that many directors spend their entire careers striving to achieve. But he also brings a perspective where he doesn’t see anything straight on; everything comes from a bit of an odd angle, which is a plus.” – Produces Grant Heslov (Focus Features. The American: The Production.)

    

                                                         Work Cited

“The American | Focus Features | Inside Our Movies | The American: About The Production." Focus Features | Welcome to Focus Features | The World's Best Pictures. Web. 13 May 2011. <http://www.focusfeatures.com/article/the_american__about_the_production?film=the_american>.

"The American (2010) - Full Cast and Crew." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 13 May 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1440728/fullcredits>.

"Google Images." Google. Web. 13 May 2011. <http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.filmofilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/the_american_pm.jpg>.

"YouTube - ‪'The American' Trailer HD‬‏." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 13 May 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ywmoXZwkA0>.

Week 6. Meshes of the Afternoon by Maya Daren and Alexander Hammid.

Associative Organization.

“Associative Organizations explore psychological or formal resonances, either through metaphoric imager of symbolic concepts, and give many films a dreamlike quality that engages viewer’s emotions and curiosity.” (Corrigan and White p. 131.)

Meshes Of The Afternoon.


                                                                  Source:

                                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S03Aw5HULU

 The Dreamlike quality of The Meshes of the Afternoon 1943, by Maya Daren, is compelling and puzzling. It explores anxiety and subconscious thought. I feel though the film is intended to carry out a strong feminist message. It is about a woman’s secret desires to escape the feeling of suppression in a male-dominated society. The metaphors and symbolism in The Meshes of the Afternoon are easy to identify with because of the familiarity of the element used to express them.

Symbolism in The Meshes of the Afternoon:

·      A knife is shown as both, a household item and a potential weapon, it suggests the presence of violence in the household.

·      Found broken mirror shards also suggests that the given household contains violence. And the shapes of the shards are intended to look similar to a knife.

·      A flower symbolizes femininity and fragility in the beginning of the film. As the flower is being placed on the bed, the viewer relates the given gesture to a flower being placed on a grave, bringing death onto the equation. And as that exact flower is turned into a knife, it becomes an indicator that femininity can either be harmed or become harmful. Perhaps it is a clue to the actuality of events. The main heroine’s way of self-destructing as appose being murdered.

·      The introduction of a key in the beginning of the film is used to demonstrate the act of entering the unconscious. It also symbolizes a pathway from actuality and to dream state. As the key is turned into a knife it becomes an indicator that perhaps in the heroine’s case, death is the only possible way to escape her situation.

·      The window in the film is a symbol of containment, and the feeling of being tied down or domesticated. It could also be an indicator that she inflicts the containment upon her own self, as though she is mentally disturbed.

·      The concept of chasing own death is introduced as the main character repeatedly follows a figure, which later on is revealed as Grip Reaper. And the idea of suicide or any form of self-inflicted violence is proposed as the viewer sees a mirror in the place of Grim Reapers face.

·      Multiples and Repetition are used to describe the heroine as someone that is overwhelmed with suspicious. She is torn, and has developed multiple perspectives on a single situation, and is unable to figure out which scenario is real.

·      As she approaches her sleeping self with a dagger, you see her footsteps land on four different surfaces; such as the sand, the water, the grass and that pavement. None but the very last footstep take place indoors. That suggests that she is eager to escape her containment. Ready to release herself into the wild.




                                                 Work Cited

Corrigan, Timothy, and Patricia White. Film experience: an introduction. New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009.

"Google Images." Google. 21 Mar. 2011 <http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d1L1Bv9iPwY/TZyHpd4dR4I/AAAAAAAAAEE/-oEMsOaZ2iY/s1600/Maya-Deren-Meshes-of-the-Afternoon-film-stills.jpg>.

"YouTube - Maya Deren - Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) ‏." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 23 Mar. 2011 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S03Aw5HULU>.

Week 5 Restrepo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvUdruvbdmI&feature=player_embedded

Social, Historical and Political Documentary

         Restrepo is a documentary film by Tim Hethringtin and Sebastian Junger that is shot in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. The film focuses on a group of American soldiers that spend fifteen month in the deadliest posting in the United States military.  The documentary has an absurdly realistic feel to it. It is shot from the perspective of the soldiers, and it follows their narration. The viewer feels though he/she is a part of the ongoing combat, death, fear, despair, and pain that the Restrepo platoon has to live through everyday.

   Personally, I find it to be very difficult to identify the genre of this documentary. The only way that I can ever come close to doing so, is by breaking it down into three different categories: social, historical, and political.

   The Social aspect of Rertrepo comes out as the viewer is introduced to the natives of the region, where he/she receives an inside look into their styles of living. The viewer becomes familiarized with the mountain landscape of the region, the traditional clothing of the natives, the Islamic practices, the poverty and the hostile situations that the natives live in.  The film provides a fantastic description of the negotiation process between the Afghani civilians and the American soldiers, where the two opposite cultures meet to try to work out their differences and to discuss the ways in which they can either hurt or benefit one another.

    The Historical aspect of the documentary lies within the undeniable connection of Afghanistan War to the even of September 11. Though it is not verbally discussed in the film, the weight of 9/11 lies heavy upon this nation. The viewer of this documentary should already be familiar with the history of American War on Terrorism following the al Qaida attack on the Unites States in 2001.

     Though the film never provides any information on the political officials that stand behind the Afghanistan War, or does is discuss the American standpoint at all, Restrepo without a doubt is a political film. The Afghanistan War, as well as the Iraq War, is the making of American diplomats; however they are not the ones who put their lives on the line to fight for this nation. What the viewer sees in the film is the aftermath of political decision-making. The chaos, the death and the killings are all the aftermath of diplomacy.

    Seeing Restrepo is an unbelievable, mind-expanding experience. The film provides the kind of insight on military life that I have never had the chance to witness before. It describes with honestly the hardships of American soldier. It paints a portrait of human beings both emotional and emotionless, in a situation of life or death during a period of fifteen-month deployment. You cannot help it but feel troubled by this film. It raises questions such as: What is it all for? And what is it all worth? Can this war even be won? And whose is there to blame for it? Thought the film never provides the answers, it raises a great deal of awareness and hope that someday these questions will get answered.