Bicycle Thieves (1948)

 

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Bicycle Thieves is an Italian neo-realistic novel drama film which directed by Vittorio De Sica. This film was produced in 1948. This film is about the life of an Italian. During the hard years of poverty in post-World-War-II Rome, Antonio, a poor working-class man of a wife and a little son, is finally offered a modest job as a bill-poster with his own bicycle; a bicycle like the one Antonio was already forced to pawn. As a result, his wife, Maria, pawns the family's bed linen to redeem their bicycle, unfortunately, however, on Antonio's first day of work, the prized possession is stolen. Desperate, the ill-fated father and his boy, Bruno, will scour Rome's bustling streets on a gloomy Sunday to find the vital bicycle, but undoubtedly, this is an impossible task. Will Antonio ever get his job back?

Italian Neorealism

 The term Neorealismo, which directly translates to “new reality” or “new realism,” sprouted in the wake of World War II in Italy. Neorealismo signified a trend in art and film that aimed to provide insight into the contemporary Italian society of the 1940’s. The films associated with Italian Neorealism are focused on showing Italy removed from Fascist influence. For example, This film is mostly concerned with the lives of working-class people. The film depicts Antonio's struggle to keep his job.

Forms and Style

The form and style of this neo-realistic film are unique. Most of the scenes in the film, for example, were shot in Florida. For instance, young people stole Antonio's bicycle, and both Vittorio Plaza market and stolen bicycles were found in Porta Portese market. The state of Italian culture in the 1940s is clearly illustrated in these portraits. Poor working standards and a heavy crime rate.

Modernism

Modernism is a style and form that distinguishes the film as a uniquely modern phenomenon and one of modernity's cornerstones (Stelmach, 2016, para. 2). Modernist filmmakers aimed to be more true to life than most classical filmmakers, according to them. They try to bring about the horrors of fascism, war, and occupation by exposing the unpleasant reality of class antagonism. The most obvious examples among Italian neorealist are street shooting and a focus on current social issues.

 Furthermore, open narratives with an unresolved central plotline are preferred in modernist films. The long take with the abnormally long shot sustained by camera movements, halting delivery, fragmentary and elliptical speeches, and refusal to meet the other characters' eye are all techniques used in the Modernist film.

 The scene in the film Bicycle Thieves where Ricci and the driver stop a man riding a bicycle in the tunnel to determine whether or not he is the bicycle thief is an example of modernism. The use of a long take in this scene exemplifies the modernist film's characteristic of shooting a real street scene in Italy.

Conclusion

From a viewer perspective, this is an interesting Italian film. The story plot of the film is good as the life of the protagonist bring many feelings to me. Overall, this movie has also used good shot and well-performances by the actors.

Reference

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-italian-neorealism-in-film/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040522/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_Thieves

Citizen Dog (2004) Film Review

 Citizen Dog (2004)

Citizen dog is a Thai romance and fantasy film which is produced in 2004. This film is directed and written by Wisit Sasanatieng. The main cast of this film are Mahasamut Boonyaruk as Pod, Saengthong Gate-Uthong as Jin, Sawatwong Palakawong Na Autthaya as Yod, Chuck Stephens as Peter or Andre and Pen-Ek Ratanaruang as the Narrator.

Story Plot Summary

This is a story about the life of Pod. He goes to the city to look for work, oblivious to his grandmother's warning that if he doesn't find work soon, he'll grow a tail. He first works in a sardine cannery, where he drops a tooth, only to reclaim it. He then works as an office security guard and encounters a maid, Jin, an introverted girl who cleans obsessively and reads a cryptic white book that she doesn't understand. Jin attracts Pod, a guy with no wishes. To assist her, he switches jobs again, this time to a taxi driver. Pod, on the other hand, would have to make way for Jin's other obsessive tendencies.

French Impressionism

The term "French Impressionist Cinema" refers to an avant-garde film movement in France that lasted from 1918 to 1929. It was distinguished by camera and editing techniques that enhanced the image's elegance while also evoking the characters' psychological states. Impressionist filmmakers saw cinema as an art form in and of itself, rather than just a tool for capturing plays and novels. They concluded that art does not try to simply articulate realities, but rather construct an atmosphere that evokes feelings that lead viewers to underlying realities. For example, there is a scene when Pod is standing outside of his house and looking at his parents. From here, you can see that the background and the objects shown are not reality but similar to the art and painting.

 

German Impressionism

German Expressionism is a form of art that first emerged in poetry and theatre in the year 1910. After WWI, it became famous in film ten years later. It is influenced by German Romanticism and offers a subjective perspective on life. It uses warped and nightmare imagery to depict the country's collective fear. Expressionists were unconcerned with their work's artistic appeal. Following the horrors of WWI and the imminent economic devastation that resulted, this style flourished. For example, there is a scene when the passenger of Pod is licking everything around the house. This scene had used high angle to show what is happening in the house. This high angle shot also help to increase curiosity and bring uncomfortable feeling to the audience.

 

Surrealism

Andre Breton established Surrealism in 1924, and his book The Surrealist Manifesto summarized the movement's principles. Surrealism has come to be recognized as a technique as well as an art form through the years. Surrealism is a practice that uses the juxtaposition of symbols, images, and acts to construct a world that exists outside of reality, or super-reality. For example, there is a scene when a teddy bear is talking with Pod in the taxi. The teddy bear has a major smoking problem, and even the taxi smokers boycotting the Pod can't help themselves. And, after getting dumped by the manager, he goes to the bar to drink whiskey to forget about his misery. This scene exemplifies surrealism's features. It's as gentle as a teddy bear, but it's not gentle. It will not behave normally and will express the affection between the teddy bear and its owner.

Conclusion

From a viewer perspective, this film is quite interesting. The editing and element used in this film are extraordinary and bring a lot of curiosity to me. Besides, many feelings of mine are also brought out from this film. Every character in this film is well shown with their unique characteristic. Overall, this film is good to watch.

 

Reference

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/german-expressionism-film/

https://www.rem.routledge.com/articles/french-impressionist-cinema

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0444778/

The Stranger (1946)

 The Stranger (1946)

The stranger is a 1946 American film noir. This film was directed by Orson Welles and written by Victor Trivas. This film mainly stars Edward G. Robinson as Mr. Wilson, Orson Welles as Franz Kindler and Professor Charles Rankin, and Loretta Young as Mary Longstreet.

Edward G. Robinson as Mr. Wilson

Orson Welles as Franz Kindler/ Professor Charles Rankin

Loretta Young as Mary Longstreet.

Plot Summary

Charles Rankin is a professor in a respectable Connecticut town about to marry the daughter of a U.S. Supreme Court justice. But his name is fake, and his past is filthy. An earnest convert to Christianity, who once ran a Nazi concentration camp, is capable of revealing him. So "Rankin" kills this little old man and buries his body in the forest. But he isn't safe since an investigator from the War Crimes Commission is on his tail. Rankin would need his own wife to help him elude capture. But his obsession with the nearby clock tower may prove his undoing.

Film Noir Conventions

Themes

The themes of this film are evil, love, and betrayal. The theme of love was displayed as Mary Longstreet was still madly in love with Charles Ranking and even though she found out that he murdered someone, she still stands by his side. Furthermore, the theme of evil is shown is because the main protagonist of this film is a criminal who escaped from the Nazi War. Lastly, the theme of betrayal is shown is because Mary Longstreet finally comes to a sense and betray Charles Rank, just he tried to kill her by setting a trap in a church.

Love

Evil

Betrayal

Smoking

The element of smoking is very commonly used in film, it helps to show the character’s power. For example, Mr. Wilson is a detective who always smokes cigar.

Setting

There are many settings in this film. One of the setting is when the protagonist is burying a corpse in the forest. The dark area is common in film noir. For example, in the beginning of this film, Konrad Meineke was at a photography shop in search of Rankin's new identity. The environment which they were in are dark and tight, this brings a message to the audience to tell them that the person who is he looking for is not a good guy.

 

Lighting

There is also low-key lighting used in this film. It helps to create  clear shadows, clear textures, and sharp edges. For example, there is a scene when Mary Longstreet is having a nightmare while Mr Kindler is coming back from the forest. We can see a shadow is clearly shown on the wall and the use of the shadow is to  create a mysterious atmosphere for the audience.

Editing

The editing also used in the film noir. There is several editing are used in this film. Some of the scene has used fade to black and fade in & fade out. Some of the scenes have used black and white filters throughout the movie. Besides, some of the scenes used jump cut and some of the scenes have used quick cut.

 

Conclusion

From a viewer perspective, this film is good, and the story plot is nice. The elements and editing use in this film are also perfect. However, I still don’t like this film as this film is not the type which I like to watch, but I still learn several things from this film as it is a good experience for me.

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stranger_(1946_film)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038991/

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015) - Film Review

 

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015)

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is a 2015 American action film. This film was written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. This film mainly stars Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn, Jeremy Renner as William Brandt, Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust, Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell, and Sean Harris as Solomon Lane.

Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt

Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn

 

Jeremy Renner as William Brandt

 

Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust

 

Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell

 

Sean Harris as Solomon Lane

 

Plot Summary

After the IMF is disavowed by the CIA, Ethan is marked as a rogue agent. The CIA assumes the Syndicate is a figment of the imagination of Ethan, so they are desperately trying to take him in. The Syndicate, meanwhile, is getting stronger and an undercover British Secret agent, as a member of the Syndicate, joins Ethan and his team to eventually take down the Syndicate.

 

Analysis of Editing and Sound

Editing

1. 180- degree rule

180-degree rule is a cinematography principle that establishes spatial relationships between on-screen characters. The 180 rule sets an imaginary axis, or eye line, between two characters or between a character and an object. By keeping the camera on one side of this imaginary axis, the characters maintain the same left/right relationship to each other, keeping the space of the scene orderly and easy to follow. For example, a 180-degreee rule is applied in a scene when Ilsa Faust suddenly meet Ethan Hunt in an airport. The camera shows the eye contact between both, although they are standing from a distance away.

 

 

2. Eye-line Match

Eyeline match is a technique in film editing to show what a character is seeing to the audience. The Eyeline match encourages the audience to assume that through the character's eyes they are looking at something. For example, there is a scene when Benji Dunn is playing video game during his working time. In this scene, the eye-line match is used. First, the camera shows Benji staring at the computers from a medium to a close-up shot. Then the camera goes to the video game display on the computers. This shows that Benji is playing and looking at the video games on the computers.

 

3. Shot-reverse shot

Reverse shot refers to when a filmmaker places a camera configuration on a subject, and then uses a subsequent configuration to display a reverse view of the previous configuration. For dialog scenes, shot reverse shot is most widely used and will also use over-the-shoulder shots or matching single shots for the interaction. For example, there is a scene when Ethan Hunt is talking to Ilsa Faust in the airport after they meet each other. The shot-reverse shot is used in this scene to show the conversation between Ethan Hunt and Ilsa Faust.

 

Sound

1. Diegetic Sound

Diegetic sound is any sound that occurs from the film's story setting. The term comes from the word mise-en-scene, which means narration or narrative, which is the evolution of a Greek term. If the viewer knows that it comes from something within the film, the source of diegetic sound doesn't need to be seen on screen. For example, there is a scene of the opera call Turandot is going on.

 

 2. Non-diegetic

Any sound that does not come from inside the world of the film is non-diegetic sound, often called commentary or nonliteral sound. The characters in the film are unable to hear non-diegetic sounds. In post-production, all non-diegetic sound is added by sound editors. For example, in the beginning of the film, the theme song is being used. It is used to bring up the tension and emotion of the audience towards the scenes of the film as well as increasing their expectations towards the story of the film.

 

Conclusion

From a viewer perspective, I feel that this film is so amazing and hot to watch. The story plot of this film is well written, and the editing of this film is also excellent. Every shot in this film is perfect and I cannot quantify by words. Besides, the theme song of this film is also nice as it makes me feel like I am in this film. Overall, I like this film very much and will share it to others.

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission:_Impossible_–_Rogue_Nation

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2381249/

https://www.masterclass.com

 

Braveheart (1995)

 Braveheart (1995)

Braveheart is a 1995 American epic and historical war film. This film was directed and co-produced by Mel Gibson. The screen was adapted by Randall Wallace and the film also stars Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan as well as Catherine McCormack.

Mel Gibson as William Wallace

 

Sophie Marceau as Princess Isabelle

 

Patrick McGoohan as Longshanks – King Edward 1

 

Catherine McCormack as Murron

 

Plot Summary

William Wallace is a Scottish rebel leading a rebellion against Edward the Longshanks, the ruthless English king, who wants to inherit Scotland's crown for himself. When he was a young child, the father and brother of William Wallace, along with several others, lost their lives attempting to free Scotland. William Wallace begins his long journey to make Scotland free once and for all, along with the help of Robert the Bruce, once he loses another of his loved ones.

 

Cinematography

Cinematography is the art of photography and visual storytelling in a motion picture or television show. Cinematography comprises all on-screen visual elements, including lighting, framing, composition, camera motion, camera angles and other.

Below is the chosen scene to analysis the cinematography elements :

 

Scene of William Wallace Death

Undoubtedly, the scene in which Wallace is being tortured is the climax of the movie, since most of the film is performed using long shots, and the use of close-ups in the scene makes the theme even more prominent.

 The first shot of the film clip is a close-up shot with a bird’s eye view of Wallace in an enormous amount of pain.

 

                    

From Wallace, to the magistrate, and to Wallace's fellow countrymen, the next few shots pan back and forth. From a different camera angle, each shot is shown. A bird's eye view is the view of Wallace. The other view is a view of the magistrate from a low angle, as to indicate a placing of power. A medium to close-up shot is the shot of the countrymen to get all their feelings in the scene and what they are going through as they watch their friend die.

 

      

After William Wallace shouted "Freedom" in these scenes, the camera quickly takes a close-up shot of the King of England (Edward Longshanks) lying on his bed, immediately opening his eyes in amazement at what he had seen. Then the camera makes its way to all the other characters in the film, and each shot is a close-up of their own reactions and perceptions that Wallace is dead. These shots are low in density because they're just the characters' shots and there's nothing around them, just their own reactions.

                     

         

The next shot gives the magistrate gives the okay to kill Wallace. The camera pans back to Wallace, and he turns his head on the table to face the crowd. This shot is a long shot of his two countrymen looking on, and as the film starts to play in slow motion, the background music begins to fade and play softly. Wallace starts seeing his dead wife, who was killed in the film earlier. Behind the two countrymen, she starts walking and makes her way around them so Wallace can get a full view of her. The camera pans into a close-up of Wallace, and because he sees his wife, he starts to have this feeling of calmness for him.

 

 

The last final shots are close ups again. One of the shots was Wallace holding his wife's handkerchief, the other a shot of an axe going down to behead Wallace. Furthermore, there are also shots of Wallace's wife getting closer to Wallace between those shots and smiling at him, giving him peace of mind. To display the strength of the scene, there are three or four shots of each one from various camera views and angles. Wallace drops the handkerchief as the axe finally falls. The audience watches it slowly fall to the ground to signify William Wallace's death.

 

Conclusion

From a viewer perspective, I feel that the soundtrack of this film is masterpiece. The story from the beginning to the end is very epic. Every shot that takes in this film is amazing and I cannot quantify by words. This film also shows me love, friendship, trust, betrayal, and others. Overall, I like this film so much and may watch again another time.

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braveheart

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112573/

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/film-101-what-is-cinematography-and-what-does-a-cinematographer-do

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-cinematography/