The Weirdest Film I’ve Ever Seen (So far)

The first surrealist film I’ve ever seen was the Un Chien Andalou, the infamous 1929 short film directed by Luis Bunuel with the help of Salvador Dali. Researching about the film, I’ve found out that the title, if translated in English, is actually “an Andalusian dog” which actually confuses me because, well, it just doesn’t make any sense. But then again, I’m not sure if the movie was supposed to make any sense at all in the first place.

The first scene of the film shows a man (who I found out is actually Mr. Bunuel itself) sharpening a razor and a face of a woman was shown afterwards, her eyes fixed on us, as if she’s watching us (the audience) and then the thing that made me winced happened- the man sliced the woman’s eye. I really didn’t see that coming! From then on, I prepared myself knowing that this movie is gonna be different.

The film has a lot of scenes that I could categorized as “weird”, “surreal” or even “disturbing”. And those are:

The hand crawling with ants

A hairy armpit

A severed hand on the sidewalk and a stick poking it

A sexual assault

The man pulling the piano with its bizarre load

A dead mule

Two priests being dragged

Books turned into pistols

The woman’s armpit hair attached to the man’s mouth

The woman and the man buried in sand

Honestly though, I really tried to understand and make sense of all the things I’ve just seen. But I really couldn’t find any story line to link all of the scenes I’ve listed. But maybe, there might not be any story or meaning to it at all.  Maybe Bunuel and Dali just wanted to experiment and show what surrealism really is for each scene was like, a dream. A weird, horrible, cruel dream.

French Impressionism and Surrealism – Summarized

The French film industry suffered greatly when World War 1 struck the country. In order to fill vacant screens, the two major firms, Pathe Freres and Leon Gaumont showed films from the Hollywood cinema instead. Thus, dominating the French industry.

The industry tried several ways in order to get back up again in film making, and this goes without saying that the most significant move they made was the firms’ encouragement of these younger French directors:

Abel Gance

Louis Delluc

Germaine Dulac

Marcel L’Herbier

Jean Epstein

These young filmmakers considered cinema as an art instead of just a commercial craft. And I quote from the book Film Art by Bordwell and Thompson, “Cinema should, they said, be purely itself and should not borrow from the theater or literature.”

Between 1918 and 1928, these younger directors experimented in ways that are completely different from the usual American film principles. These film movements posed major alternatives to classical Hollywood narrative form.

Impressionism

A narrative avant-garde that explores the perception of reality.

“The school gained the name Impressionist because of its interest in giving narration considerable psychological depth, revealing the play of a character’s consciousness. The interest falls not on external physical behavior but on inner action.”

Its use of film style is also a reason why the movement earned its name. Cinematography and editing are a huge factor in an Impressionist film. They present the characters’ perceptual experience in order to intensify the subjectivity. It uses strange and imaginative effects thus altering the traditional views at the time.

Eg. The Smiling Mme. Beudet (1923), La Roue (1922), El Dorado (1920), Napoleon (1927), L’Argent (1928)

Surrealism

Surrealist cinema was a “more radical movement”. These are the films that abashed, shocked or frightened most of its audiences.

Unlike Impressionism, Surrealist cinema is veraciously anti-narrative, and the absence of a narrative logic usually teases its audience to find it. Indeed, surrealism draws upon irrational imagery and the subconscious mind.

Eg. Seashell and the Clergyman (1928), Un Chien andalou (1928), L’Age d’or (1930)

The Movie Brats

Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Brian de Palma and Steven Spielberg were the so-called movie brats, a group of young directors during the 70’s with unconventional ideas that challenged contemporary film-making. Each one has their own different style in directing, some considers the public’s opinion while the others do it based in their own point of view.

 

Mr. Francis Coppola was acclaimed as one of Hollywood’s most innovative and influential film directors. In fact, four of his movies were even featured in the Writers Guild of America, West list of 101 greatest screenplays ever: The Godfather; The Godfather Part II; Apocalypse Now and Patton. The Godfather, especially, was the film that revolutionized movie-making in the gangster genre, and that particular movie was even hailed as the greatest movie at the time, earning praise from both critics and the public. He was also the one responsible for the group of filmmakers today known as the “New Hollywood“. Mr. Coppola is one of those directors who makes movies based on his own point of view.

 

Mr. George Lucas was the kind of director who wanted to make his movie and tell his own stories. He considers the public’s opinion while making films but also prioritize his own point of view. He is best known for his film, Star Wars. Most of his works were known for their visual panache and technological innovations than the actors’ acting.

 

Mr. Martin Scorsese was also called “the most influential and the best director of their time” by his fellow director, George Lucas. His movies have changed the film industry and his impact can be shown in a number of ways, such as his style of directing (violence, modern crime, machismo), the films that he has made (Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas), and also the relationships that he has made in the film industry. He is the kind of director who only considers himself that’s why he sometimes have problems in making films.

 

Mr. Brian De Palma is best known for his suspense and crime thriller films like Scarface, The Untouchables and Carrie so it’s safe to say that most of his works have a classical composition and a dreamlike quality with beautiful women being killed in a violent way. He is the kind of director who only considers himself so it’s up to the viewers whether they like his films or not. But honestly, his style of creating films has like a suspense thing going on in it so it’s really entertaining, but others might not like it ‘cause of its graphic violence and a sexist approach against women. That’s the reason why he’s often criticized because of  this woman-hating wickedness concept of his.

 

Mr. Steven Spielberg is undoubtedly one of the most influential filmmakers of his generation. He is best known from his blockbuster films, Jaws and Indiana Jones. Ever since from the beginning of his career, Spielberg’s films pushed the boundaries of technology for it remains very distinctive because of his technical abilities, as few filmmakers only possess this. I believe that he is the kind of director who considers the public and make films for their interest for he always thinks of the audience when he’s directing because for him, he is also the audience.

My Understanding of Film Noir

“Black and white, dark, seductive and often raw,” according to John Lithgow, the host of American Cinema on PBS, is basically what Film Noir is all about.

This particular genre portrays the darker side of human nature. It has characters that “lived on the edge, and it shows life in the streets. It has shady characters, crooked cops, twisted love and bad luck.” It’s honest because it doesn’t just show romance, happy endings and all that stuff, it gives people a glimpse of what the world really was. Eg. Night life, people drinking and gambling.

It basically starts with a character that has a secure life but then, he does something that will make it all go away and eventually finds himself deeper in a nightmare. Simply enough, the character is in a downward spiral, and the more he does things to emerge from it, the worse his situation gets.

D.O.A. (1950)

Film Noir primarily describes love, betrayal, murder and sexual motivation. And when there’s crime, there’s always a detective or a private eye, which makes people want to keep watching and puzzle out the riddle the story offers.

The Big Sleep (1946)

Another thing about Film Noir is censorship. It leaves out certain scenes because of the moral guidelines and ethical standards that Hollywood must consider, therefore leaving the audience to use their imagination instead.

Smart, powerful and very sexual woman characters can also be seen in a Film Noir. They are called femme fatale. They’re seductive and mysterious and use their charm to ensnare their lovers and use this advantage into getting what they’re after.

Love stories are also what make Film Noir much more interesting. A love story which has a sense of doom in it, a love story that can never work out but according to Martin Scorsese, the ‘love’ in Film Noir usually takes the form of obsession, making it more passionate and deadly.

Another element of Film Noir are lights, shadows and fog. It’s usually associated with the chiaroscuro style – it uses dramatic shadow patterning and stark light/dark contrasts. The absence of light forces imagination to take over, making things much more terrifying and mysterious. The lightning technique of a Noir film usually uses the shadow of venetian blinds casts upon an actor, a wall or an entire set.

It all started with German Expressionism, a movement that overtook 1910s to 1920s Germany. It’s what influenced Film Noir in the first place. It uses strong contrasts between black and white lightning to alter a blank space. The Cabinet of Dr. Calgari is a great example of a German expressionist film, its set was built in a false perspective, it has light and dark contrast, tilted angles and the objects were foregrounded.

Shooting on locations is a must in Film Noir. It is often associated with urban settings and the cities are presented as a labyrinth or a maze. Scenes of actions are frequently done in bars, nightclubs and lounges. It’s important to represent real cities because Film Noir likes to portray reality as is.

And although Paul Schrader said that Film Noir doesn’t exist anymore and I quote, “The genre is a historical genre so when you speak of German Expressionism, you speak of a specific time. Film Noir is a specific time, we don’t make Film Noir anymore,” I believe that there are still directors who makes movies similar to black film. An example of which is Gangster Squad directed by Ruben Fleischer. It’s a 2013 American action crime film about the Los Angeles Police Department officers and detectives forming a group called the “Gangster Squad unit” who attempt to keep the city safe from Mickey Cohen and his gang during the 1940s and ’50s.

“People don’t change in 40 years. Some of the problems are slightly different but basic human problems are still the same.”

What I Think About The Film ‘Trainspotting’

Probably the reason why Trainspotting, a movie adapted from Irvine Welsh’s iconic Scottish novel is a true masterpiece is because of its extraordinarily talented director, Mr. Danny Boyle, its fantastically funny script by John Hodge, the film’s great cast and its honest social commentary.

The movie was great. It was daring, thrilling, and original. Every scene was perfect and I honestly couldn’t take my eyes off the screen until the credits roll. (Well, except the part where Renton dives into a filthy, cloggged toilet in the “worst toilet in Scotland”) As I was saying, each scene was fantastically written, acted and shot.

The cast is composed of an entertaining group of misfits. The characters that appealed to me the most are Renton, Spud and Begbie. The central protagonist and narrator is Renton played by Ewan McGregor, a young man with aspirations of stability, and of happiness in his life, but is unable to survive without “one more hit”. Next is Spud, played by Ewan Bremmer, he was the innocent fool of the group and the most vulnerable to peer pressure. Lastly, the violent and psychotic Begbie played by Robert Carlyle who refuses to take heroin but makes up for not doing drugs by “doing people” instead. They made the most of John Hodge’s script, making the film worth watching.

Trainspotting also takes you on an emotional rollercoaster- you’ll have tears from laughing one moment then you’ll be devastated at the utterly tragic loss experienced by the characters a few scenes later. The film is definitely a journey of highs and lows, and you can really feel for everything, both good and bad, that the characters go through. Superb beginning and ending. I’m glad our block was given the chance to see this film.

The Classic Hollywood Style – In My Opinion

Based on the documentary I’ve seen and the articles I’ve read, the Classical Hollywood Cinema is often referred to as the “golden age of Hollywood.” This period was between 1927 and 1963, and from this, an identifiable cinematic emerged. From what I’ve learned, the term ‘Classical Hollywood Cinema’ was coined by David Bordwell, Janet Staiger and Kristin Thompson. These authors claimed that this style has become paradigmatic because of the global dominance of Hollywood cinema. So what is the style during the golden age of Hollywood?

Classical style is built on the principle of continuity editing or “invisible” style, it is the single most important and most influential element of cinematic form. The most important goal of continuity editing is to make the cut invisible. That is, the camera and the sound recording should never call attention to themselves.

In the narrative sense, the Classical Hollywood Cinema follows building blocks. It is structured with a noticeable beginning, middle and end. It also provides a complete resolution at the end. The basic characteristics of this type of narrative are the actors, agents, events, causal effects, main points and secondary points. The characters in this cinema have definable traits and are active. However, the characters’ goals are usually psychologically rather than socially motivated.

Also, both space and time are constructed in cinema. In the classical Hollywood style, space and time are unified, continuous and linear. They appear as a unified whole to match our perception of time and space in reality. The only permissible manipulation of time in this format is the flashback. It is mostly used to introduce a memory sequence of a character.

Likewise, the treatment of space in classic Hollywood strives to overcome or conceal the two-dimensionality of film and is strongly centered upon the human body. The majority of shots in a classical film focus on gestures or facial expressions. I’ve learned that it consists of four main aspects which are 1. Centering: Persons or objects of significance are mostly in the center part of the picture frame and never out of focus, 2. Balancing: It refers to the visual composition, i.e. characters are evenly distributed throughout the frame, 3. Frontality: The action is subtly addressed towards the spectator and lastly, 4. Depth: set, lighting and costumes are designed to separate foreground from the background.

So, there. I’m glad we were assigned to research about this ‘cause I learned a lot of stuff since I’m a movie junkie myself. I am so excited and really looking forward in learning more about cinema.

My Favorite Bollywood Movie: 3 Idiots

My favourite movie of all time would be 3 Idiots starring Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Omi Vaidya, Parikshit Sahni and Boman Irani. The movie is about the three engineering students in India whose friendship stands the test of time. Years after they graduated from college, Farhan and Raju were in search of their missing friend Rancho and as they’re doing so, their memories drift back to the days when they were all still in college; their struggles, their adventures, basically all the things that happened in the past that made their friendship stronger. In the course of their search, they’ve uncovered some previously unknown facts about their old friend that made them question everything they ever thought they knew about him. In the end, the three friends reunited and Pia (his ex-girlfriend) and Rancho rekindled their love.

This is no doubt one of the best movies in our generation because not only does it tackle the value of friendship, it also talks about the importance of education, family, success and love. It is captivating as well as being funny and a lot of lessons to be found like for instance, it taught me that one should always be thankful and not take for granted the things that we have. Though definitely good, the ending is simply too good to be true. Nevertheless, it is a fine film with a lot of heart, a lot of soul and everything else.

This movie is definitely not like the rest because well, I’ve never seen a comedy-drama that moved me this much. Although entertaining and really humorous, this film didn’t fail to make me cry. It’s an incredible piece of entertainment with an underlying message, but doesn’t get too preachy at any point. Also, this movie is very much a character-driven piece, which not only makes the laughs bigger but also earns a deeper involvement to the story. 3 Idiots is definitely the best movie ever made by Bollywood.

How It All Started And Why

Saying that I love movies is a complete understatement. I’ve been fascinated in watching films ever since I was in grade school. With the exemption of the Disney films I’ve seen since I was like 3- the first local movies that ‘triggered’ my fascination in films are Moments of Love and Blue Moon. If I’m not mistaken, those two were the first films I’ve seen inside a movie house, and now that I think about it, I realized that both films are Romance in genre and used flashbacks into the Spanish era.

Ever since then, I get psyched whenever my family and I go to the movies. I even ask my parents sometimes if they could buy me DVDs and I don’t mind even if some are pirated.

I was in high school when downloading movies online became a thing. It was my dad who taught me how and ever since then, I’ve been downloading films-non stop. Whenever a movie completed downloading, I immediately search for something that might be of interest and download it. Until now, that’s what I do. I’ve been fond of doing this that my dad finally bought us 3 hard disc, each has a capacity of 1 terabyte- 1 for our documents and family pictures and the other 2 are just for movies. I ain’t even kidding.

Now that I’m in college (meaning I’m a little more independent and has ‘improved’ allowance) I could now go and see films on my own. I remember watching Les Misérables in Rockwell on my own, crying inside the movie theater looking like a loner. But it didn’t really bother me that much, at least I got to see the film in peace. 🙂

Probably the reasons why I love movies so much (and books and TV series) because well, once you start watching one and sink into it, it’s like, you just forget all your problems and escape from the world. Movies excite, and movies make you think- critically. It makes me laugh and it also brings relevance to my life. This may seem really cheesy but movies can also make you fall in love with love all over again for they portray the fictitious lives of characters that make us fall in love, make us laugh, and make us see ourselves in every scene.

I’m concluding this blog by saying that movies are my therapy. I love to watch one especially on the weekends ’cause I can just relax and enjoy. We are taken away on a journey through film therefore making it the basis of my escape. 🙂