Midnight in Paris

If there is one thing that I like about Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen, 2011)  it is the treatment of time. The film plays with time in the sense that the protagonist "travels" to the past for a certain amount of time, every night when a car passes through the same street.

I do like Woody Allen. I find his style very interesting, but he reminds me to the writer Paul Auster, since both are always using the same kind of story again and again and... the reader of viewer find themselves reading or watching a film or a book that has a different title but is, essentially, the same as all their works before. 

Like Crazy

Like Crazy (Drake Doremus, 2011) remains me to Blue Valentine (Derek Cianfrance, 2010) in the sense that it tries to convey the reality of a normal relation, avoiding to portray an idealised love. The narration is done through the character's eyes.

It tries to show us how the relation between Jacob (Anton Yelchin) and Anna (Felicity Jones) grows up. It is not a normal romantic comedy (They meet, they split up, they make it up) but a real story based in the writer's personal experiences.


Love, real love, is different to the one that normally appears in films. It is not only being happy. It is also being jealous, being afraid, having doubts, getting angry with him/her, missing, forgiving.. It is a lot of things, it is not always easy.

It is because of that I love the ending. In real life there are no easy endings either.

De tu ventana a la mía

De tu ventana a la mía is a beautiful film. Its mise-en-scène, its locations (the Pyrenees), costumes.. everything is delicate, detailed.

The thing I liked the most is the elements in mise-en-scène that connect the three differents times in narration. These 3 different times tell the spectator the story of 3 women who have a lot in common even if they are not really connected (they are not family or friends). They have beautiful dreams in difficult times. As we can see, their dreams do not came true. They feel disappointed and lost, but they continue with their lifes, since they are brave. These elements that connect the narration (the lost wool ball, the cut in their finger..) relate the 3 women and let us know that in some way, they represent the same: Someone who never gives up.

There is an interesting detail: The ages of the 3 protagonist. They are related to the time they live. The young one (about 18) lives in the 10s. The middle one ( about 24) lives in the times of the Spanish Civil War and the older one lives in the Spain of the dictatorship of Franco. 

De tu ventana a la mía  may seem pretencious. It is, but I do not think that is something to care about. It is a good film that I am sure you will enjoy.

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.

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.