Never let me go

Gema would like Never let me go (Mark Romanek, 2010). It is a dystopian film about three children and how their relation develops as they grow up.
First, we are shown, by a flashback, the daily life at the boarding school. It is not only by the kiss in the photo, but by Kathy (Carey Mulligan) and Tommy (Andrew Garfield) sweet little gestures that we learn they love each other.

Time passes, and things get complicated. But it is through acting that we know there is still something between Kathy and Tommy. Even if Tommy does not seem to be interested in her, he is.

There is another interesting aspect in this film. They are not normal people, they have an special purpose. And that purpose does not let them live what we think a "normal life" is.
It is easy to like Never let me go. The locations, the dystopian story, the cast.. Impeccable in every detail.

Beetle Juice

Beetle Juice (Tim Burton, 1988) is a film about a happy young couple, Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis) In their life colors are intense and the dynamic music accompanies their daily activities.

Until.. they pass away. They do not notice it until they try to go out. When they do it they see a strange landscape where they could get lost. As you can see, the visual effects are not very modern. Anyway, I have a special affection for Tim Burton's, so they are funny for me.

The film has two types of colors. In the first part, the happy couple live in pastel colors. Later, when they are dead, their world is more Gothic and dark. And so is Lydia (Winona Ryder) too. 

There are a lot of visual effects when represating other dead people. You can guess how they died by looking at them.

This characteristic mise-en-scène in Beetle Juice is shared in almost every Burton's film. His signature style. I really felt his name was missing in the "Directors" list.

It's a wonderful life

I would say It's a wonderful life (Frank Capra, 1946) is not only a Christmas film, but an optimistic one, a (too?) innocent tribute to goodness and generosity.

The action starts in heaven, when an angel, Clarence (Henry Travers) is asked to help George Bailey (James Stewart), a man who lives in a desperate situation. Clarence is told George's life in a flashback from his childhood to the currect situation.
We learn about his family, friends.. but, above all, we learn about his dreams. He plans to travel to Europe during a year.

George Bailey choosing a new suitcase.

"- What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary." 

He falls in love with a perfect girl,Mary (Donna Reed) everything seems to presage that all his dreams are becoming true sooner or later, but suddenly something happens. George finds himself trapped in a situation he can not get out, but he is supposed to be happy. One day, he gets into real trouble.

This close-up reveals how George is feeling when he realize his dreams are never going to become true.

Then, the action comes back to present. The angel shows George how the town would be if he never existed. This is a very original device, and it is similar to that one used in "A Christmas Carol", the novel by Charles Dickens. In both cases, it is used to change the main character's view.

During the whole film we witness George's sacrifices. He sacrifice his dreams (himself) for his brother, for the family business.. there's always something that postpones the departure date. I find James Stewart's interpretation perfect. We really understand George's feelings. He feels dissapointed for his lost dreams, but grateful for his family and friends at the same time. 

I would recommend It's a wonderful life. At some points it is too naive, but at the end, it manages to get you into the Christmas spirit. If you are one of those who hate Christmas, the vision of a kind world will, at least, mesmerize you.

The Artist

The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius, 2011) is a film about cinema. Even more, it is a silent film and it might look like a 1920's movie. It is about a silent movie star, George Valentin, (Jean Dujardin) who is afraid of the arrival of "talkies". His life also changes because of Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), a young actress.

It is strange that the first silent film I see, has been opened only 2 weeks ago, but it is true that it really seems a 1920's movie. Its aspect ratio is 1,33:1, as the movies of the time. The average shot lenght, even if I did not measure it, is larger than actual movies.
Although it is a silent film, there are two scenes in which sounds can be listened. First, the dream scene. It clearly conveys Valentin's feelings, since the change to talkies let him without voice (In both senses). The second scene is the final one. We can hear, for first time, the character's voice, but it is only when the camera turns off. 
There are other incredible scenes, as the one where Valentin and Miller meet again in the studio, or that one in which Valentin is drinking whisky and we see him in the reflection of the table. You have to watch it to feel it.

I am sure if you are a cinema expert you'll find very interesting details in this film. I was really excited when I was the Hollywood sign in its original form, Hollywoodland. Our professor had told us about it while we studied Hollywood in the 20s.

I really liked The Artist, it is witty and, even if it is contradictory, I think it is a breath of fresh air. I had not realize how emotions can be convey in such a simple way. It is magic.

Reservoir dogs

In the first Tarantino's film as director, where he also acts as Mr Brown, he lays the foundations of the main characteristics of all his work.
One of them is the special treatment of time. I have not seen every Tarantino's film, but I can not remember any film in which the time is lineal. Also, in Reservoir dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1992) we are not shown the core of the film, a jewelery heist, but its training and consequeces. Moreover, we are shown, by flashbacks, the origin of the plan.

Another of this typical Tarantino's characteristic are the conversations about irrelevant topics. Like a Virgin's real sense, tv soap operas.. In any case, the most famous irrelevant conversation in a Tarantino's film is the one about hamburguers in Europe. I am sure you remember it. In these scenes we identify ourselves with the characters, since we realize they are not inaccessible but normal people.

With regard to mise-en-scène, costumes play an important role in Reservoir dogs. Why do six gangsters dress the same and so elegant? If you watch the film, you'll see that the six main characters do not know any personal information about each other. They name each other with a color as a name. As they can not share any personal information, they have to dress uniform. Only Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) and his son (Chris Penn) wear informal clothes.

  -I don't give a good fuck what you know, or don't know, but I'm gonna torture you anyway.

The offscreen space has also an important role, since we are not shown violent scenes. We get the sound, a shot close to the action, but not the action itself. 

I would recommend this movie. I thought this kind of movies were not very entertaining, but time flew when I watched it. Maybe because my friends and I were talking about our different impressions of the film calmly, as the gangsters could do just before shooting their gun.

Les petit mouchoirs

Little White Lies (Guillaime Canet, 2010) is a film about the ins and outs of friendship. The action that sets off of the film is the Ludo's (Jean Dujardin) traffic accident. Despite he must stay at the hospital for a long time, his friends decide to go on holidays to the beach, leaving him alone. 

They live together for 2 weeks, so conflicts soon appear and we realize that maybe this friendship and these two couples are no perfect.

There are a lot of moments in which nothing happens, and often, these are kind of "transition" scenes, in which the protagonist is the music. It plays an important role in the film, since it gives unity. I think the feeling that so many music gives is this  is shared by all these friends. Even if these looooong scenes may have a purpose, I think Little white lies is a too long film. 

With regard to the end of the film, I find it cynical. A group of friends that lie themselves and sometimes do not put up with each other is suddenly united again by someone they did not care when they should. I wish I could think in other way, but this is a clear reflection of society.

The last of the Mohicans

I saw The Last of the Mohicans (Michael Mann, 1992) because I had to do it as homeworks. I must say I was always looking for historical details more than for film devices.

The landscapes are beautiful and some aspects of mise-en-scène, as the customs of both British and Amerindians are depicted in great detail.

Without any doubt, one of the most known and interesting things in this film is the soundtrack.

Let the right go in

In the original Låt den rätte komma in (Tomas Alfredson, 2008) is a romantic horror film about a boy and a girl (both 12).

Mise-en-scène is essential in the film. The snow-covered Swedish landscape bring us the feeling of isolation. Inside, lighting is very hard and cold. Outside, it may be also hard or maybe soft. For example, in the first murder scene the light is very hard, and the snow can be seen blue. When Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) and Eli (Lina Leandersson) are speaking, there is backlight from a streetlight, but it is soft, maybe because they are becoming friends.

In some shots, Oskar's outline is blurred. In other ones, it is his reflection in the glass of the window. In my opinion, it means, in the very first scene, that he is alone and frightened and he needs something or someone who completes him and gives him courage.

With regard to the sound, I can only remember music in one or two moments in the film. Most of it remains in silence. Only dialogues and a few sounds break with silence, which creates a sense of isolation.

The Social Network

The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010) is not only a film about who is the real founder of Facebook, but also an elaborate portrait of Mark Zuckerberg.

First scene: A normal conversation between a young couple. Really? Mark is always challenging Erica, and it can be seen in editing. The shots are really short in order to let the spectator know how Erica is feeling: surprised, stunned, she does not even have time to think a correct answer.


The story takes place when Mark has been sued twice, and his portrait is made by flashbacks. They are used in order to show both defendant and claimant version, and they last most of the film. We are not given only a version but all of them, and we can put in everyone's place.


When this film opened I rode about the similarity this portrait has to the one done in Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941), where a journalist tries to find an acceptable explanation or answer to Jedediah Leland's mysterious life.
 In The Social Network, we get the answer in the very beginning of the film: Erica (Rooney Mara) brokes up with Mark (Jesse Eisenberg), and he is so angry he decides to take revenge on her. 
The beginning and the end in Citizen Kane are connected, and so they are in The Social Network. Mark's "reason" (Erica) is still present in his life years later, when he adds her as a friend in Facebook.

Singles

Singles (Cameron Crowe, 1992) is not the typical "boy meets girl" romantic comedy. The own characters, who are interrelated, are responsible for the narration, and extra information is given in this way. This is sometimes made by the use of flashbacks, or making for the viewer possible to listen a character's thoughts. They explain, for example, their previous relationships in a very natural way.

This way of telling stories in a natural way can be seen also in the great amount of references to the popular culture of the time, like music and films, specially to the "grunge". It is easy to relate Cliff's (Matt Dillon) group to a bad Nirvana impersonator. The band, by the way, is mockingly called "Citizen Dick", a clear reference to Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941). The connection between Linda (Kyra Sedwick) and Steve (Campbell Scott) is in some way shown through the things they like also. For example, Robert Doisneau's work, Le baiser de l'Hotel de Ville.

	With regard to editing, Singles is divided in several "chapters", a very original way to connect several stories.

The sound plays an important role in the film. There are both internal and external music. The internal one show us the grunge culture and the external is a more varied and popular one.

There is a little detail that I really liked. The first time Steve and Linda have lunch together, she gets in to his car. There is a slow scene in which Linda opens his door. This scene is exactly the same as in A Bronx tale (Robert de Niro, 1993). And, for me, it has the same meaning that it had to Sonny, who said that a girl is worth it only if she helps (Opening the door) a boy.

To finish, there is something I did not like at all: The very end of the film. The two couples end up together and happy. The stupid singer, who ignored Janet (Bridget Fonda) suddenly becomes a sensitive guy who cares for her. It is the only thing that does not fit with the rest of the realistic film.

Guess who's coming to dinner.

Guess who's coming to dinner (Stanley Kramer, 1967) is a film about a happy young couple that has to face with a problem: The lack of understanding of their families. John (Sidney Poitier) is a black doctor. Joey (Katharine Houghton) a white student.

Their determination to stay together (Specially Joey's) can be seen in all the film. The couple appears together in almost every shot. And if there are more people, they appear side by side.

When there is a tense situatios, John appears alone. For example, when he is confronted with Joey's father (Spencer Tracy)

Mr Drayton has much more importance than Ms Drayton (Katharine Hepburn). This can be seen in composition. Usually, she appears in a second place. This is related to the power that he has in John's decision. 

The Remains of the Day

The Remains of the Day (James Ivory, 1993) deals with two different points. The first, the love story between Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson) and Mr Stevens (Anthony Hopkins). The second, a part of the II World War history.

The detailed interior decoration, the customes, every single picture.. Everything is described in great detail.

Mise-en-scène gives us also some details about the character's feelings. The fresh flowers Miss Kenton tryes to place in Mr Stevens's office are a sign of what she is really trying to do. She wants to enter in Mr Stevens's grey life. But, at first, he does not allow it.

In some scenes it is clear that there is a great distance between them, they do not know how to come close.

To finish, you can not miss the famous scene. 

A Bronx tale

A Bronx Tale (Robert De Niro, 1993) is a film about gangsters. You expect Robert De Niro acting as the respectable mob moss, but instead of this you see him as Lorenzo, a devoted father.

 

One of the things I liked of this movie was the figure of Calogero (Francis Capra (9), Lillo Brancato (17)) as narrator.

The film deals with Calogero's indecision. One the one hand, his father. An honest hard-working Italian man. The boy loves his father, and he understands what he tryies to teach him. But he sees him as a worker who is never going to make any progress. One the other hand, Sonny (Chazz Palminteri) a ganster who Calogero has admire all his life. He wears elegant suits and he is respected by all the men in the neightbourd. 

This can be seen, for example, in their customs.

I think this film is clearly influenced by Scorsese's cinema. For example, the street scenes have certain paralellism with Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990) or Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980).

 

Also, I loved the scene when Colagero meets Jane (Taral Hicks). Editing plays an important role there, since we know what's going to happen sooner or later. 

Thanks to V, an authentic De Niro's fan.

Annie Hall

We are told, as students of "Comentario de textos audiovisuales en inglés I" (Something like "An introduction to Film Studies")  that films have certain rules. For example, a character does never look at the camera directly. These non-written rules are followed in almost every film.

Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977) is not a typical film. I do not know a lot about cinema, and I have not seen a lot of 70s' films, but I think it was a breath of fresh air.

To begin: Annie Hall's opening. Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) shows some of his ideas about life. The film uses a lot of devices in order to show how actually characters think, feel, what are their desires and complexes.

 

 

Some scenes, as the animated one, or the scene in which Marshall Mcluhan suddenly appears in the cinema are simply delirious and extremely original.

In the familiar lunch, Alvy thinks he is seen as a Jewish stereotype. This is a device that let us knowing that Alvy is feeling observed and judged.

The Adventures of Tintin

 The Adventures of Tintin (Steven Spielberg, 2011) is an impressive 3D animated film.

I has the advantages of an animated film (everything is possible) and the ones of a traditional film (Some scenes seem real).

This film is directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson. Both of them are ones of the most influential film personalities. The likelihood of it success is strong.

With regard to mise-en-scène and filming, the film is amazing. The use of high or low angle, the light, editing.. everything convey different meanings. The film is never boring.

The Perfect Man

I hate-love romantic comedies. When I'm watching one of them I know there will be the same trite situations. Usually, I hate interpretations and the end of the film can be predict only watching the trailer, but still I do not change channel. Besides, I have an excuse for watching The Perfect Man (Mark Rosman, 2005), it was Sunday afternoon!

The question is: How a romantic comedy can be even more corny that they usually are?

The answer is: Not one, but TWO love stories.

Holly (Hilary Duff) is a teen who wants her mother (Heather Locklear) to cheer up, since she keeps on dating the wrong men. So Holly thinks the best idea is inventig an secret admirer.

There are some "signs" in the film that tell us what is going to happen. For example, in a dialogue between Holly and Amy (Vanessa Lengiens), we can hear Adam's (Ben Feldman) voice: Eventually, lies are discovered.

Definitely, I would not recommed it, I do not like spending 90 minutes knowing what is going to happen at the end. Unless you have nothing better to do on a Sunday's afternoon. 

American Beauty

American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999)

The film begins with an introduction by Lester (Kevin Spacey), the father in the protagonist family. This is because in certain moments of the film, reality is shown to us as Lester  sees it. For example, in the scene where his daughter's friend, Angela (Mena Suvari) dances insinuating only for him (That is what he imagines). Or when, later, he dreams about her.

I wish films had more devices like this, since they show us how a character is really living a situation. Reality is important in order to understand what's happening in general, but, individually, dreams and wishes may be even more important.

In Jane (Thora Birch) and Ricky's (Wes Bentley) relationship they exchange ideas and speak about their problems. One of the things that proves the intimacy they have is that they record themselves, for example, speaking. This is something important for Ricky. Some of the most beautiful moments in his life are recorded and he watchs them again and again.

I really like this film. I think this is because there is no "The good and the bad". People is shown as they really are. Their hopes, their fears, their worries and their secrets. It is real.

The last song

The Last Song (Julie Anne Robinson, 2010) is a very predictable film. Once again, "boy meets girl", they fall in love, then something happens but love triumphs over any problem.

I am surprised by the scene when Ronnie (Miley Cyrus) is looking for a dress for the wedding. I do not mean that this scene is shoking or innovate, but trit. It appears in a large number of films, as in Pretty Woman (Garry Marshall, 1990)

The soundtrack has a great importance. It is used in some scenes to emphasize emotions, and in others, simply to the viewer to keep on attention. Almost all the time a song is in the air.

Últimas tardes con Teresa.

Últimas tardes con Teresa (Gonzalo Herralde, 1984) takes place a summer in the late 50s, in Barcelona.

I did not like Últimas tardes con Teresa. It is a slow film and I did not like the long shots depicting Manolo's (Ángel Alcázar) life.

Besides, I do not like this kind of stories of "Bad boy meets good girl".

The great difference between Teresa (Maribel Martín), the rich girl, and Maruja (Patricia Adriani) can be seen, for example, in costumes. Teresa wears elegant dresses while Maruja wears an uniform. As Teresa is a student who has left-wing views in the Francois Spain, she lends her customes. Maybe she does that only to feel better with herself or to convince herself that she is not only a bourgueois.

I think Manolo's character is incomprehensible, but this may be because of the Ángel Alcázar's interpretation. When the film finishes I do not really know what happened and which the characters' motivations and impulsions were.

The only thing I liked about this film was the nostalgic soundtrack.

Blog

Blog (Elena Trapé, 2010) is a film about a group of classmates. They are insecure about their bodies, studies, boys.. In short, they are teenagers. They make a decission: To get pregnant at the same time.

The most of the film appears like recorded by the girls themselves, there are a lot of abrupt camera movements. This increases the feeling of being witness of something real, and not a film. In my opinion, this is also because in this way we get the impression that these girls maybe do not really know what effects can their plan has.

I liked the interpretations very much, I think they are very natural. Specially, in the confessions they do to their webcams.

Sex and Lucía

Lucía y el sexo (Julio Medem, 2001) is a compilation of crossed stories. Gradually, Lucía (Paz Vega), Elena (Nawja Nimri) and Belén (Elena Anaya) realize they are connected by a man, Lorenzo (Tristán Ulloa).

There are several characteristics of Medem's cinema that make him a director that I really like. I do not think of his films as a perfect example of good cinema, but I like him because he has a very personal style and I like the kind of stories he chooses.

- The irregular use of time is one of these typical characteristics of Medem's films. Sex and Lucía does not have a chronological order. The action of the film takes place in very different moments of the complete story. The information is given little by little. 

- The use of light in the film is extreme, we get very illuminated or very dark shots.

- Recurrent themes: strange connections between characters, the tricks of fate and love..

The thing I liked least about the film was the scene when Lorenzo and Elena's daughter is attacked by the dog. The only way in which we realize she has died is in the following scene, when the girl swims in the sea. This is a kind of return to the place their parents where together.

The beginning of Lucía and Lorenzo's relationship. Their complicity is the same as the one Ana and Otto had in Los Amantes del Círculo Polar (Julio Medem, 1998)

The Godfather

The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola,1972) is probably the most famous film about Mafia.

I was impressed by the use of colour and lighting in the film.

The film starts with a father's account of what happened to his daughter. It is not a beutiful history. There is soft quality of the light and top lighting here. During all the scene, the light only comes from the chandelier of the room and from the outside, through the gaps of the shutter. It is a very dark scene (tense situation) that contrast with the hard light in the wedding scene (a joyful day). 

-Some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me.

There is a lot of scenes throught the film where key light produces a very hard light. So, we have faces divided into shadow and light. The scenes where family appears are soft. This is because there are two sides in these men's lifes. This dichotomy darkness/light encapsulates the figure of Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). The "job" is hard and they may be criminals and probably murderers, but at the same time they are loving fathers and they just do it because their family. That is the most important thing is their lifes.

A good-natured grandfather.. or not?

This film is about a family of the Italian community in USA. Well, also about the Mafia controlled by Italian families. As we can see in the scene of the wedding, they dress like American, but they keep following Italian traditions. 

The Michael's (Al Pacino) flight to Italy shows the viewer the origins of this family. The return to origins is a great excuse to compare the US and Italy. Tradition, people, social conventions, customes.. everything is different.

Music has an important role. It gives importance to the fragment in which it appears and also an emotion of homesickness.

I liked the it very much. I think it is one of those films you do not have to miss if you want to know a little of the history of cinema.

Curiosities: There is allutions to this film in a lot of films and tv programmes. A lot of Mafia films, like Prizzi's Honor (John Huston, 1985); Requiem for a dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000), and some tv programmes as The Sopranos and The Simpsons.