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.