2007
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Showing posts with label 2000's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2000's. Show all posts
14 December 2015
22 October 2015
07 October 2015
Inglourious Basterds
03 June 2015
20 November 2014
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Dir. Andrew Dominik
2007
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2007
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21 March 2014
19 March 2014
17 March 2014
Hunger
Dir. Steve McQueen
2008
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Steve McQueen opens his film detailing the hunger strike instigated in the Maze prison by Bobby Sands with a chaotic image of protest. We at first only see abstracted movement and hear a deafening rattle. Slowly we realize the image is that of a trash can lid, slammed repeatedly against the ground; there are other lids too, a whole army of them, pounded against the ground by a group of determined protesters. It's an arresting way to start the film, and stands in stark contrast to the next 15 or so minutes, in which very little action appears on screen. We're prepared for the violence that occurs later on in the film by this opening, however, and prepared for polemic nature of the film: after all, it starts with a protest.
2008
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Steve McQueen opens his film detailing the hunger strike instigated in the Maze prison by Bobby Sands with a chaotic image of protest. We at first only see abstracted movement and hear a deafening rattle. Slowly we realize the image is that of a trash can lid, slammed repeatedly against the ground; there are other lids too, a whole army of them, pounded against the ground by a group of determined protesters. It's an arresting way to start the film, and stands in stark contrast to the next 15 or so minutes, in which very little action appears on screen. We're prepared for the violence that occurs later on in the film by this opening, however, and prepared for polemic nature of the film: after all, it starts with a protest.
16 March 2014
A Serious Man
Dir. Joel and Ethan Cohen
2009
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"Accept the mystery," says the parent of a student trying to bribe the beleaguered teacher, Larry Gopnik. Larry struggles to find meaning to find a reason behind all his troubles: his divorce, his troubled brother, his lack of answers from his spiritual leaders. The Cohens open and close their film with images of weather, symbolizing the lack of ability humans really have to control their own destiny. Why, really, does snow fall, or tornados whirl? Does it have to do with the actions of the mortals on this planet? Is it punishment from a divine being or simply pressure systems? Ultimately, the answer is unknowable.
2009
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"Accept the mystery," says the parent of a student trying to bribe the beleaguered teacher, Larry Gopnik. Larry struggles to find meaning to find a reason behind all his troubles: his divorce, his troubled brother, his lack of answers from his spiritual leaders. The Cohens open and close their film with images of weather, symbolizing the lack of ability humans really have to control their own destiny. Why, really, does snow fall, or tornados whirl? Does it have to do with the actions of the mortals on this planet? Is it punishment from a divine being or simply pressure systems? Ultimately, the answer is unknowable.
14 March 2014
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
Dir. Chris Columbus
2001
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2001
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We start the seven year, 8-film journey charting Harry Potter's development from neglected, underfed, friendless and underprivileged to his ascension as a knowledgable, capable and person-of-import here, looking up into a bleak night sky with a sign announcing the plainness of his origins. It's always there, in the back of Harry's (and by extension, the audience's mind), that Harry came from an ordinary (and, in many respects quite unhealthy) place; and it's somewhere he could always slide back into. Indeed, each film begins with him again back at Privet drive. But, inside this opening image is embedded a clue to his potential, a magical owl; a person in animal form who is looking out for him. Indeed, in the final shot the angle has changed; we are above the clatter of the world and looking straight at the distant magical castle. We are inspired to dream as Harry dreams: that no matter our origins and previous traumas and no matter our tendency to return to them, we have a greater potential, and, perhaps, we have loved ones looking out after us.
23 December 2011
24 May 2011
The New World
Dir. Terrence Malick
2005
This is from the DVD (Theatrical) Cut. I'll post from the "Extended Cut" when I can get access to it.
Sorry for the inordinate amount of time I've been away from this project. In honor of The Tree of Life taking the Palme D'or this year I'll restart this series with one of my favorite all time films.
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Water serves an important purpose in The New World. We first see the "Naturals" frolicking in it. John Smith, similarly, attempts to cover himself with water as he looks up at the sky from his place in the brig. Later, John Smith has a violent confrontation with the "Naturals" that will eventually lead to his acceptance into their village while fighting in knee-deep water. At the end, Pocahontas explores her new world in England and frolics around a large man-made pond on the grounds of the estate. After her death, the camera moves across the great waters to return to the Americas. We see more images of streams, lakes and rivers all before finally looking hopefully upwards; almost an inverse of the opening image, looking clearly at the real image of tree and sky that were only reflected in the beginning.
2005
This is from the DVD (Theatrical) Cut. I'll post from the "Extended Cut" when I can get access to it.
Sorry for the inordinate amount of time I've been away from this project. In honor of The Tree of Life taking the Palme D'or this year I'll restart this series with one of my favorite all time films.
Opening Image:
Closing Image:
Water serves an important purpose in The New World. We first see the "Naturals" frolicking in it. John Smith, similarly, attempts to cover himself with water as he looks up at the sky from his place in the brig. Later, John Smith has a violent confrontation with the "Naturals" that will eventually lead to his acceptance into their village while fighting in knee-deep water. At the end, Pocahontas explores her new world in England and frolics around a large man-made pond on the grounds of the estate. After her death, the camera moves across the great waters to return to the Americas. We see more images of streams, lakes and rivers all before finally looking hopefully upwards; almost an inverse of the opening image, looking clearly at the real image of tree and sky that were only reflected in the beginning.
05 April 2011
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Dir. Werner Herzog
2009
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Water has both a destructive and redemptive quality in Herzog's universe. McDonagh is symbolically baptized at the beginning of the film as he jumps into the water to save a forgotten prisoner. But this is not a baptism of purity; he jumps into the filthy, snake-ridden flood water of the Hurricane Katrina calamity. We watch as McDonagh sinks lower and lower throughout the film. In one of the first post-prologue sequences he chastises a fellow officer for using rough interrogation techniques on an informant. Several days later McDonagh himself deprives an old woman of her oxygen tank to get the information he wants. He sinks deeper and deeper. During the last act, as things miraculously fall into place for him, we are forced to question the veracity of the film. Are these coincidental events real? Are they simply the product of his drug-addled mind? No clue is given in the last shot, but we are reminded both of how far McDonagh has sunk and of his cleansing baptism in the muddy water.
2009
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Water has both a destructive and redemptive quality in Herzog's universe. McDonagh is symbolically baptized at the beginning of the film as he jumps into the water to save a forgotten prisoner. But this is not a baptism of purity; he jumps into the filthy, snake-ridden flood water of the Hurricane Katrina calamity. We watch as McDonagh sinks lower and lower throughout the film. In one of the first post-prologue sequences he chastises a fellow officer for using rough interrogation techniques on an informant. Several days later McDonagh himself deprives an old woman of her oxygen tank to get the information he wants. He sinks deeper and deeper. During the last act, as things miraculously fall into place for him, we are forced to question the veracity of the film. Are these coincidental events real? Are they simply the product of his drug-addled mind? No clue is given in the last shot, but we are reminded both of how far McDonagh has sunk and of his cleansing baptism in the muddy water.
18 March 2011
17 March 2011
The Wind That Shakes The Barley
Dir. Ken Loach
2006
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An image of freedom contrasted with a profound image of loss.
What has been lost during the Irish "Troubles?" Loach demonstrates the cost of the violent civil war that has ripped this family apart. A sense of innocence that can never be regained and a sense of freedom that can never again be found.
2006
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An image of freedom contrasted with a profound image of loss.
What has been lost during the Irish "Troubles?" Loach demonstrates the cost of the violent civil war that has ripped this family apart. A sense of innocence that can never be regained and a sense of freedom that can never again be found.
11 March 2011
Ponyo
Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
2008
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Starting the film with a frame neatly divided between the sea and what lies above, Miyazaki shows how his little Ponyo has progressed by the end of the film. A creature of the depths now risen (floating even!) above her place of origin. A journey undertaken that has now changed her on a fundamental level.
2008
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Starting the film with a frame neatly divided between the sea and what lies above, Miyazaki shows how his little Ponyo has progressed by the end of the film. A creature of the depths now risen (floating even!) above her place of origin. A journey undertaken that has now changed her on a fundamental level.
07 March 2011
Mother
2009
Dir. Joon-ho Bong
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Though the opening image of this film occurs chronologically towards the end of the film, it's amazing the shift experienced from beginning to end. The sedate, wide-angle camera movements and the slowly impassioned dancing contrast with the drive-by hand-held work of the end, with Mrs. Yoon letting go completely. Perhaps she is envisioning her dance in the field? Perhaps she's forgotten her sins completely? Or maybe not. These frames suggest all those possibilities and invite the viewer to contemplate all consequences of those possible iterations.
Dir. Joon-ho Bong
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Though the opening image of this film occurs chronologically towards the end of the film, it's amazing the shift experienced from beginning to end. The sedate, wide-angle camera movements and the slowly impassioned dancing contrast with the drive-by hand-held work of the end, with Mrs. Yoon letting go completely. Perhaps she is envisioning her dance in the field? Perhaps she's forgotten her sins completely? Or maybe not. These frames suggest all those possibilities and invite the viewer to contemplate all consequences of those possible iterations.
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