I watched this film for Cinema and Digital Technology, a film course I took. So far I have watched David Lynch's Los Angeles trilogy; Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, and Inland Empire. Lost Highway may be the best of the three and it also is, perhaps, the easiest one to follow.
Lost Highway is a film about changing identities. Bill Pullman's character changes, his wife's character changes. Eventually all of the characters lives intertwine. This thriller uses a unique narrative structure. It flashes between one character and another. The action revolves around the Pullman/mechanic character. There are some sex scenes and use of music to bring the audience deeper into the dark recesses of humanity; a gangster, a woman who was forced into pornography, juxtaposed against the mechanic and Pullman who is trying to protect his wife. Eventually the narrative circles back to the house. There the movie ends.
Mulholland Drive is similar to Lost Highway in that there is a narrative structure that is disjointed and changes of identity within the main characters. The two women become a lesbian couple and Lynch offers several scenes of softcore, lipstick lesbian erotica. I thought that Mulholland Drive was anti-climatic compared to Lost Highway and both Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive to be more linear then Inland Empire.
In Mulholland drive there is, like Lost Highway a plot shrouded in mystery. The lost girl doesn't know her name or where she lives. Eventually, with the opening of the blue cube, the McGuffin of the movie, the two women's identities are changed. One becomes a starlet and the other a jilited lover who contracts for the starlet's murder.
Inland Empire is different from both film. It has a very non-linear structure. If you thought the plot was hard to understand in Lost Highway or Mulholland Drive, then you will be even more confused by the plot in Inland Empire. There is very little exposition. The only thing holding together the film is the character of Laura Dern. We follow her through different places, different times, and, perhaps, different dimensions. Again there are changes of identity and there is little closure to the film.
Even more than Highway or Drive, Inland Empire becomes self-referential and odd. Particularly the sequence with the rabbit family.
Each film is difficult to grasp and interpret. I think Lynch does this on purpose. He pushes the boundaries of film in new directions in terms of cinematography and narrative structure.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Thoughts on Dogme 95
After reading Jack Stevenson's book Dogme Uncut and watching several Lars Von Trier films, as well as Thomas Vinterberg's masterpiece The Celebration, I thought I might voice some of my opinions about Dogme 95. I was guided in the direction of Dogme 95 after I chose to show Europa in Contemporary Film Analysis class, a course I ta. Anyway, I brought up the film to one of my professors in another Cinema class I was taking, and I purchased the book, watched some films, and am now writing about it. This is a sketch (or blog) of some initial impressions about Dogme 95. Hopefully, this will grow into a larger work, either my own Dogme influenced film, or some type of scholarly work submitted for a grade. Anyway it's fun to watch so many great films!
I had watched The Celebration years ago on the IFC channel. Not knowing about Dogme or Lars Von Trier, I was shocked and mesmerized by its content. Watching it for a second time, recently, I saw it in its totality. I noticed how it followed the Dogme vow of chastity. It only used DV video cameras, no articial light, no stage or props, no music, etc.
I was thoroughly amazed. It is one of the best movies to come along in years. It is based on a real story. The feel of the movie is as if its in real time. I thought the movie especially with its disturbing narrative, was fascinating. The narrative is linear, no flashbacks, not a period piece (another Dogme rule). It centers around a father's birthday where a son, in the wake of his twin sister's suicide, accuses the father of sexual abuse. The family is shocked and all of their reactions are precisely recorded by a camera that catches all the nuances of each family member's character. In the end the sister's suicide note reveals that the father really did it. The father is then left alone, ostracized from his family. The celebration reveals so much about Danish society. The strong alegiance to family. The racism and anti-immigrant strains. The incest.
Vinterberg was a prodigy. The Celebration is a true masterpiece of World Cinema
The Celebration was Dogme film #1. Von Trier followed with The Idiots Dogme #2 and many more followed. The most commercially successful Dogme film was Italian for Beginners, which I have not yet seen.
The Dogme movement was Von Trier's brainchild. He led the movement and with three other filmmakers, Vinterberg being one of the three, put out a manifesto and Vow of Chastity. From the start it was against big, "Hollywood" productions. It was somewhat of a manual for filmmakers working on a low budget. Its result was the most influential Cinema movement of recent history. It brought Danish film to international theatres and made Danish directors and actors internationally known. Yet, aside from Italian for Beginners, and, perhaps, Von Trier, most of the films were critically acclaimed but didn't result in much commercial success.
I am happy to have learned of Dogme 95 and I can't wait to watch Italian for Beginners, which I initially thought was an Italian movie! Anyway, I hope to lecture and present a film about Dogme 95 next semester in Contemporary Film Analysis.
I had watched The Celebration years ago on the IFC channel. Not knowing about Dogme or Lars Von Trier, I was shocked and mesmerized by its content. Watching it for a second time, recently, I saw it in its totality. I noticed how it followed the Dogme vow of chastity. It only used DV video cameras, no articial light, no stage or props, no music, etc.
I was thoroughly amazed. It is one of the best movies to come along in years. It is based on a real story. The feel of the movie is as if its in real time. I thought the movie especially with its disturbing narrative, was fascinating. The narrative is linear, no flashbacks, not a period piece (another Dogme rule). It centers around a father's birthday where a son, in the wake of his twin sister's suicide, accuses the father of sexual abuse. The family is shocked and all of their reactions are precisely recorded by a camera that catches all the nuances of each family member's character. In the end the sister's suicide note reveals that the father really did it. The father is then left alone, ostracized from his family. The celebration reveals so much about Danish society. The strong alegiance to family. The racism and anti-immigrant strains. The incest.
Vinterberg was a prodigy. The Celebration is a true masterpiece of World Cinema
The Celebration was Dogme film #1. Von Trier followed with The Idiots Dogme #2 and many more followed. The most commercially successful Dogme film was Italian for Beginners, which I have not yet seen.
The Dogme movement was Von Trier's brainchild. He led the movement and with three other filmmakers, Vinterberg being one of the three, put out a manifesto and Vow of Chastity. From the start it was against big, "Hollywood" productions. It was somewhat of a manual for filmmakers working on a low budget. Its result was the most influential Cinema movement of recent history. It brought Danish film to international theatres and made Danish directors and actors internationally known. Yet, aside from Italian for Beginners, and, perhaps, Von Trier, most of the films were critically acclaimed but didn't result in much commercial success.
I am happy to have learned of Dogme 95 and I can't wait to watch Italian for Beginners, which I initially thought was an Italian movie! Anyway, I hope to lecture and present a film about Dogme 95 next semester in Contemporary Film Analysis.
Review of Dancer in the Dark
This is the third Lars Von Trier film that I have watched. It is, by what awards it has won, the most critically acclaimed film by Von Trier. The other movies I have watched are his pre- Dogme film Europa and the recently released Melancholia. Like Von Trier's other films, this one is stylistically different from his other films pushing new ground by including musical numbers in its narrative.
The film is at once about injustice in America, and again a story of sacrifice by a mother for her son. Bjork, who stars and sings throughout the film, plays an immigrant factory worker barely surviving in Washington State. Her character is prone to daydreaming and setting reality to musical numbers. I'm someone who doesn't normally enjoy musicals, but when I saw a musical number taking place inside a factory I was mesmerized.
The film starts and proceeds innocently enough. It focuses on the lives of factory workers; Bjork and her son, a man who courts Bjork, and Catherine Denueve. The action takes a dramatic turn when Bjork's landlord, also a policeman, steals all the money she was saving for her son's operation to fix his eyes so he could see his grandchildren. Bjork is framed, but she refuses to tell anyone that she was robbed and was saving the money for her son. Bjork refuses to pay for a good lawyer instead using the money for her son's operation. This means she is sentenced to death.
The death scene is shocking, the epitome of tragedy. How can Bjork be hanged? How can her character recieve the death sentence? The film is set in 1960s America, so, perhaps, the justice system is biased against women. Clearly, something more could have been done to avoid such a horrible treatment of Bjork by the American justice system. I think that is what Von Trier's major theme is; injustice was at the core of America in those years. Ill treatment for women and other minorities was standard.
Like Europa and Melancholia, this film ends tragically. Yet, this film is better developed the Europa. I felt like Europa ended on a confused note, that the only option Jean-marc Barr had was to kill everyone. It seemed to border on predigested endings. In Dancer the ending is excrutiatingly emotionally. The end comes along slowly and evermore tragic. As much as I liked Europa, I must say that Dancer and Melancholia are better developed films. They are both better paced and better written than Europa. Yet, Europa is still a great film.
The film is at once about injustice in America, and again a story of sacrifice by a mother for her son. Bjork, who stars and sings throughout the film, plays an immigrant factory worker barely surviving in Washington State. Her character is prone to daydreaming and setting reality to musical numbers. I'm someone who doesn't normally enjoy musicals, but when I saw a musical number taking place inside a factory I was mesmerized.
The film starts and proceeds innocently enough. It focuses on the lives of factory workers; Bjork and her son, a man who courts Bjork, and Catherine Denueve. The action takes a dramatic turn when Bjork's landlord, also a policeman, steals all the money she was saving for her son's operation to fix his eyes so he could see his grandchildren. Bjork is framed, but she refuses to tell anyone that she was robbed and was saving the money for her son. Bjork refuses to pay for a good lawyer instead using the money for her son's operation. This means she is sentenced to death.
The death scene is shocking, the epitome of tragedy. How can Bjork be hanged? How can her character recieve the death sentence? The film is set in 1960s America, so, perhaps, the justice system is biased against women. Clearly, something more could have been done to avoid such a horrible treatment of Bjork by the American justice system. I think that is what Von Trier's major theme is; injustice was at the core of America in those years. Ill treatment for women and other minorities was standard.
Like Europa and Melancholia, this film ends tragically. Yet, this film is better developed the Europa. I felt like Europa ended on a confused note, that the only option Jean-marc Barr had was to kill everyone. It seemed to border on predigested endings. In Dancer the ending is excrutiatingly emotionally. The end comes along slowly and evermore tragic. As much as I liked Europa, I must say that Dancer and Melancholia are better developed films. They are both better paced and better written than Europa. Yet, Europa is still a great film.
Review of Vivre sa Vie
Vivre sa Vie is a tragedy in the modern sense. The life of an actress who must resort to prostitution to support herself is depicted in a realist style. Many of the scenes bear the stamp of Godard who is the auteur behind this film. In the most memorable scene the actress turned prostitute dances around as her fate is bargained away.
The scenes of her working in the sex trade are not so tawdry. In fact they are sensual for 60s standards. We are left with the impression that prostitution is legal and regulated by the government. In a voice over from the protagonist's pimp's perspective we are informed of all the details of what a sex worker's life is like in 60s Paris. Even by today's standard this exposition of material is and the scenes that accompany it, are risque.
The ending of the movie is, perhaps, the most shocking of all the scenes. The dance sequence seduces the audience, it causes us to sympathize with the prostitute, and, indeed, fall in love with her. The end sequence brings us to a heart wrenching conclusion. It becomes obvious that the pimp has sold the prostitute off to other gangsters. The pimp sense that the other gangsters are trying to rip him off. In the fight that ensues, the prostitute is shot dead, left lying in the middle of the street.
The scenes of her working in the sex trade are not so tawdry. In fact they are sensual for 60s standards. We are left with the impression that prostitution is legal and regulated by the government. In a voice over from the protagonist's pimp's perspective we are informed of all the details of what a sex worker's life is like in 60s Paris. Even by today's standard this exposition of material is and the scenes that accompany it, are risque.
The ending of the movie is, perhaps, the most shocking of all the scenes. The dance sequence seduces the audience, it causes us to sympathize with the prostitute, and, indeed, fall in love with her. The end sequence brings us to a heart wrenching conclusion. It becomes obvious that the pimp has sold the prostitute off to other gangsters. The pimp sense that the other gangsters are trying to rip him off. In the fight that ensues, the prostitute is shot dead, left lying in the middle of the street.
Review of Masculin Feminin
This is one of Godard's best early films. As Roger Ebert says, "we know the charactes, but not that well, we understand something because of the movie, but we are not sure exactly what." I was thoroughly entranced by the scenes at the cafes, the music soundtrack, and the lives of each of the characters. I don't know exactly what Godard wanted the audience to understand, but I think that's intentional. He goes against the classical film structure to present the lives of Parisian youth. He presents us with young people who strive for success, for revolution, but live pointless lives that seem to lead only back to the cafe.
The film is shot in a realist visual style with a linear narrative. Yet the narrative is not straight forward, as in Godard's most well known film Breathless. Unlike Breathless, Masculin Feminin has no plot structure. The major theme that holds it together is the relationship between the boy and the girl. Otherwise it is very free form.
I was very pleased for watching this film. Although it was not as momentous as Breathless, the energy infused by the soundtrack is hard to resist. It is one of the best Art Cinema productions of the 1960s.
The film is shot in a realist visual style with a linear narrative. Yet the narrative is not straight forward, as in Godard's most well known film Breathless. Unlike Breathless, Masculin Feminin has no plot structure. The major theme that holds it together is the relationship between the boy and the girl. Otherwise it is very free form.
I was very pleased for watching this film. Although it was not as momentous as Breathless, the energy infused by the soundtrack is hard to resist. It is one of the best Art Cinema productions of the 1960s.
Review of 400 Blows
In the film that started the French New Wave, Francios Truffaut presents his autobiographical film the 400 Blows. It is a film about his childhood; his struggles at school, his troubled home life, but, there are moments of light-heartedness throughout. The film follows the young Jean pierre Leaud around Paris. He gets into trouble at school. More by circumstance then intention, he suffers at the hand of the head teacher. He hides his troubles at school from his parents. Gradually things get worse and he skips school, lies about it, gets into more trouble, and is, finally, arrested and sent away to a discplinary "observation camp." The film ends with the young boy reaching the ocean for the first time. The ending does not give closure. Has he escaped? Found peace or meaning? We are left to speculate about the future of the lost boy.
Clearly this film depicts Truffaut troubled life as a youth in a working class home in Paris. The family struggles with money, employment, marital problems, and finding some way to eek out a living or grasp a sense of hope or advancement in French society. In what is traditionally the stepping stones to advancement, school, each member of the family has struggled. The step-father never made it through high school, the mother never made it to college, and the young boy struggles to get through grade school.
Despite of these struggles and failures, the family derives great joy from going to the movies. The movies, Truffaut has said, saved his life many times and became his life's work. The film is shot in a realist style. It is typical of French New Wave films because of it's emphasis on Realism and it's obviously low budget.
There are definate antecedents in 400 Blows with Rosselini's War Trilogy. Its not just because they are both shot in black and white. There are both shot in a realist style. The acting is based on real characters. But, unlike Rosselini's work, Truffaut's 400 Blows is a distinctly auteur film. It is based on his life. It has his distinct influence over the whole movie.
This film was an astounding success at the Cannes Film Festival when it debuted. To this day it is entertaining to see a depiction of a French film director's journey from troublemake to filmmaker.
Clearly this film depicts Truffaut troubled life as a youth in a working class home in Paris. The family struggles with money, employment, marital problems, and finding some way to eek out a living or grasp a sense of hope or advancement in French society. In what is traditionally the stepping stones to advancement, school, each member of the family has struggled. The step-father never made it through high school, the mother never made it to college, and the young boy struggles to get through grade school.
Despite of these struggles and failures, the family derives great joy from going to the movies. The movies, Truffaut has said, saved his life many times and became his life's work. The film is shot in a realist style. It is typical of French New Wave films because of it's emphasis on Realism and it's obviously low budget.
There are definate antecedents in 400 Blows with Rosselini's War Trilogy. Its not just because they are both shot in black and white. There are both shot in a realist style. The acting is based on real characters. But, unlike Rosselini's work, Truffaut's 400 Blows is a distinctly auteur film. It is based on his life. It has his distinct influence over the whole movie.
This film was an astounding success at the Cannes Film Festival when it debuted. To this day it is entertaining to see a depiction of a French film director's journey from troublemake to filmmaker.
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