Amelie Blog

Amelie is the first foreign film I have ever had the opportunity of viewing. I will say that I am not a big fan or sub titled films. I feel that I spend most of my time reading the captions and very little time watching the movie.

Amelie was definitely giving the correct title as the movie is based around one main character named Amelie. One of the stranger characteristics of the film was the introduction of new characters into the film. Whenever someone new would appear in the movie a narrator would give a few details as to what the character hated and loved. The film was based in real time when the movie was produced place in France during the late 90’s. I also took notice to the use of very vibrant colors and mellow lighting throughout the film.

I believe the producer was looking for an objective point of view with all of the focus on Amelie. I really like how the director would do extreme close up shots and blur out the back ground to enhance the focus on the main character. The movie had a few special effects implemented throughout the movie. Usually special effects where used when a fantasy was being looked in too.

Being the movie was not from my typical culture or genre I was not really into the show. I did feel that the producer was trying to get across a sort of love story. I really enjoyed the photos of the Nome that belonged to Amelie’s father; it reminded me of the Travelocity nome. The producer made the main character an introverted outcast that was afraid to make a move on a guy she had a crush on.

I personally would not recommend this movie to others to watch. I found it hard to stick with it. Many times my attention was lost. 

Memento Blog

Memento was one of the more confusing movies that I have ever viewed. I believe that according to chapter 5 of the text book, The Art of Watching Film, I believe the movie had a subjective point of view. I believe the director was also focusing solely on a few key characters. I believe Memento had a very small cast consisting of 3 main characters. If the movie would have had any more characters than this it would have been nearly impossible to watch.

I have never seen a movie scripted quite this way. The main character Leonard suffers from short term memory loss. The movie starts out where a conventional movie would have ended. As the show progresses you gradually gain information through play backs that describes the actions that previously happened. Throughout the course of the movie the viewer is gradually brought back in time one event at a time.

As I read chapter 4 of the text I was able to tune my attention to the lighting and the time of day the movie took place. I have to be honest this is something I have never paid attention to in the past. Memento was shot during the day light hours. I do not recall one night scene in the entire movie. The movie mainly took place in the main character’s hotel and car.

The producer really helped out the audience through the use of black and white vs. color. The producer had all of the flash back memories recorded in black and white. When the Leonard  is involved in real time the movie is shot in color.

I feel the movie is looking to get a message out about how hard it would be to suffer from short term memory loss. There is a little irony involved in the film as Leonard dealt with an insurance claim where one of his clients had short term memory loss. Leonard eventually ruled that the guy was mentally unstable and his insurance company would not cover the claim. Eventually the client lost his family and ended up institutionalized.

Memento was a very good watch. I do agree with the text in chapter 1 of the text referring to having to watch this movie multiple times. I would recommend this movie with the warning that it will not be satisfying on the first watch. I would also throw out the disclaimer that it needs to be very quiet during the watch. The movie requires your full attention.

Good Will Hunting Blog

I was excited to see Good Will Hunting on this week’s movie list. I have seen this movie twice before and was very happy to watch the movie again. I believe the actual movie title was mentioned in chapter 3 of the text book The Art of watching films. The text references the title of the movie naming the theme of the movie, in which the text says seldom happens.

The movie followed a linear or chronological structure. The film was laid out in a classic chronological order. The main characters was named, we discovered his problems and what he needed to overcome, finally the movie ended happily ever after. Good Will Hunting followed the “Internal Truths of Human Nature: The way things are supposed to be” as stated in the text. I found myself constantly pulling for the main character Will.

I especially liked the way the film made me think and exercise my mind. Will is a very intellectual character with a very rough upbringing. He has a group of amazing rough and tumble friends as well as an association with highly educated people from MIT. I found myself constantly putting myself in Will’s shoes, I found myself feeling sympathetic for him. I want to say the film definitely used internal action.

As I read the text I got caught up on symbolism. I think the boat painting in Robin William’s office was a symbol of some sort; unfortunately I was unable to put my finger on exactly what it was. I want to believe that Robin William’s late wife painted it for him. I felt somewhat angry when Will was degrading the character of the photo during their first meeting.

Good Will Hunting is an amazing movie; I would give this film a strong recommendation with the forewarning of the use of profanity. I do believe that the film needed this profanity in order to get a true depiction of the characters across.

Life of Pi Blog

I sat down to watch Life of Pi after reading the first three chapters of The Art of Watching Films. I had seen the movie once before so this would be my second viewing of the movie. I did my best to limit outside distractions, but I ended up getting pulled away from the show a couple of times. As I watched the movie I began to pick up a few things that I did not remember from my first viewing. I believe the movie was very spiritually related.

The movie kept me very interested. I believe the director and story writer were trying to establish an element of truth through “The way things never were and never will be”. The film put me the film viewer into a very unbelievable and potentially imaginary world. It seemed to me that the film was always based in a very enlightened frame, with the use of extraordinary colors combined with mellow and peaceful mood. What I am trying to say is the movie could have been very suspenseful, but the narration and screen play kept me relaxed.

I was very excited to learn in Chapter 3 of the book the differences in the structures of movies. I believe Life of Pi has a nonlinear structure. I think this because the movie is narrated and told by the main character many years after the events of the movie occurred. It is fun to be able to pick these kinds of details from a film now.

Life of Pi did not have a lot of characters/actors in the movie. I would go as far to say the movie had 1 main character and 4 -6 supporting characters. I think that these characters were Pi was the main character. He was definitely a developing character; he undertook many personality changes throughout the film. Pi started the movie as a young kid seeking the absorbance of knowledge all the time. By the end of the film he was a knowledgeable young man sharing his experiences with the world. Pi grew and matured throughout the movie. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone who is looking for an enlightening movie that relates heavily to the spiritual world

Casablanca

I got the pleasure of watching the classic Casablanca on May 11th 2014. I have to say I found the movie very enjoyable. I was very intrigued with the plot and I liked the way the director led me into the movie. I have to be honest I do not think I would have given the movie a chance if it had not been a requirement in my film class I am currently taking. I also do not think I would have given the movie a fair review or chance if I had not first read The Art of Watching Films 8th edition.
I believe that chapter one of The Art of Watching Films was the most helpful with older movies. Throughout chapter one the Authors give you tips and tricks to open your mind to new films that you may not be used to. I enjoyed the plot as the main character played a duel role. He seemed to mingle with the criminals and crooked characters of the movie as well and helping out the innocent or (good guys) of the movie. This type of film has always been able to capture me. I really enjoyed the film and would recommend it to anyone looking to broaden their horizons in film watching.