Mowelfund Tour

Last September 27 we had our Mowelfund tour in cinema. I was with my friends Regine and Lance. We arrived at 8:30 in the morning. I thought we were late because the call time was 8 in the morning but luckily only a few students were there so we have to wait a little bit longer.

We waited for almost one hour and other block sections little by little came. The tour officially started at 10 am. I was surprised that we had a celebrity speaker in the person of Ms. Boots Anson-Roa. I learned that she was the president of the organization. I did not expect that she would be there. She talked about the history of Mowelfund and a lot more. After her talk, we went inside the museum.

Inside the museum were the memorabilia of different movie actors and actresses. There were pictures of them and different props they used on their movie. The history of Philippine cinema can be vividly seen on the portraits and paintings.

 

As we entered the museum, we saw different posters containing different sorts of film theaters on the past centuries. I haven't got to read all of the posters because there were too many students walking and taking pictures inside. I roamed around the first floor looking at every portrait display and as we went upstairs, there were another variety of props, costumes, sculptures, standees and etc. There were the replicas and the original stuffs that the movie actors used on their films.

 

 

 

The place was great in a sense that the things were preserved and kept for such a long time. I can just imagine the actors or actresses used to wear those clothes and other stuffs. The essence of the Philippine cinema was shared and taught.

 

 

 



I explored the whole 2nd floor. I don't remember what floor was the haunted/horror room was but I felt it was really creepy. The costumes of the horror films were shown in there. The monsters were in life size and they were huge. We made sure that we can take a photo with the monsters.

 

 

 

 

 After the horror room, we went upstairs again and we saw the wooden Machete. On that floor were the dresses and costumes worn by the super heroes and fantasy characters. There were also the portraits of the films about the heroic deeds of our National Hero.

 

 

 

 Outside the museum was another museum soloed by Da King, FPJ. Inside it was FPJ's awards, trophies, list of movies, his pictures and etc. There was a small sculpture of him on his famous character 'Panday'. There was a long painting of his different roles on the wall of the museum. It was cold inside and clean. I must say that FPJ's room was well maintained rather than the other rooms inside the previous museum.

 

 

Mowelfund preserved the treasures of the Philippine cinema and as much as I can say, it was really educational and very helpful for the people who needs support. I really enjoyed the tour because it was so much fun! I hope I can bring other friends here someday..

Stuck in Love

Stuck in Love is a romantic-drama film directed by Josh Boone. 

The Kings of Summer

The Kings of Summer is a comedy-drama film directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts. It was about the friendship of three teenage kids.

PLOT/SUMMARY

Joe, a teenage kid had a problem with his father for controlling his life. He felt like he was suppressed by him. Joe found a solution to end this by running away from his father. He convinced his best friend Patrick, who also had some family problems. Patrick's parents were somewhat weird and they too, dictated Patrick on what to do what not and because of this, he agreed with Joe to run away and live in the woods. All along they met Biaggio, a strange kid. The three lived in the woods that Joe discovered. They built a small house and all that stuff needed for survival. Joe, Patrick and Biaggio became even closer together.

The conflict started when Joe invited Kelly, his ultimate crush to come over their house. From then, Kelly started to like Patrick and Joe got jealous and mad. Because of his anger, he blamed Kelly for ruining everything and he called her a bitch. Patrick on the other hand confronted him and they both yelled at each other. Because of Joe's anger, he stepped Patrick on his foot and told him to leave their house. Patrick got furious and wrecked the wall then walked out. Joe was left alone with Biaggio but later he then told Biaggio to leave him alone too. Patrick and Biaggio went home. Joe was alone in living the woods but then he still managed to live by himself.

Months had passed. After some days when Patrick went home, Joe still hasn't shown up yet. He still was reported missing. Because of this, Kelly reported where he live. Kelly went into the woods with Joe's father and Biaggio but they found an odd situation. They saw Joe cornered by a snake. They all got shocked but Joe kept calm. Kelly was about to be bitten by the snake but Joe saved him then Biaggio came to rescue but ended up bitten by the snake. He fall down and passed out. Kelly, Joe, and his father rushed him to the hospital. Biaggio soon recovered.

After Biaggio recovered, they all went home. Joe and his father where at peace. On their way home as Joe and Patrick saw each other through the cars, they gave a finger at each other jokingly. Then it was understood that they too had peace. The film ended up showing the house Joe, Patrick, and Biaggio built in the woods.

REACTION

I really love this. I love watching films about friendship and this one made a great impact on me. It was very touching, funny and sad at the same time  for me. All the things Joe, Patrick, and Biaggio have done were fun as long as they were together. It seems like they rule their own lives and that nothing and no one could stop them from doing what they want to do. I can see them living young, wild, and free.

As a teenager I feel like being young only happens for a short period of time. You can feel young but not totally young as in you have all the strength and time in the world. This made me feel and realize that I must live life while I still can. I can do crazy things if I want and nobody could stop me because this is my life but not to the extent that I'll hurt somebody or disobey the rules. The Kings if Summer has the sense of youth and I can relate to it very well. Sometimes I feel like I want to escape from real life and just walk away but then I have to face it and be brave to face the problems.

This happened in summer time. I can really feel the vibrant summer look in the movie. I felt the same way every summer where everything's bright and lively. The characters have given their roles justification. I love Biaggio. He was so funny and it was so natural for him to act so strange, weird and bizarre. Patrick's role was nice too. He was a kind and  good friend. Lastly, Joe, he was my favorite. His character was very spirited and he does whatever he thinks.

If you want to watch a feel good, funny, and a youthful movie, I recommend you to watch The Kings of Summer because you'll really enjoy this one. That's all! :)

What's the French New Wave?

We have discussed about The French New Wave of directors that emerged from the late 1950s to early 1960s. To be exact is from 1959 to 1964 according to David Bordwell and Kirsten Thompson's book Film Art.

The new generation of filmmakers at that time were mostly from Japan, Italy, Brazil, Canada, England, United States, and Spain. They were born before WWII and some of them were trained in film schools. Above these countries was France, where the most influential group appeared.

There was a film journal called Cahiers du cinema that contains the critics of the most respected French filmmakers like Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. Francois Truffaut noted "I consider an adaptation of value, only written by a man of the cinema. Aurenche and Bost are essentially literary men and I reproach them here by being contemptuous of the cinema by underestimating it." Aurenche and Bost, whom Truffaut was pertaining to were the leading scriptwriters at that time. While Jean-Luc Godard addressed 21 major directors and said, "Your camera movements are ugly because your subjects are bad, your casts act badly because your dialogue is worthless; in a word, you don't know how to create cinema because you no longer even know what it is." Like directors Truffaut and Godard, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, and Jacques Rivette were also one of the contributors in the journal. 

The Auteur Theory (authors) were also introduced. According to Film Art by Bordwell and Thompson, the auteur did not literally write scripts but they stamp their personality on studio products. 

Having the journal and writing their own criticisms didn't stop the young filmmakers. By 1959, Jacques Rivette filmed 'Paris Belongs to Us, Gordard made 'Breathless', Chabrol made 'Les Cousins', and April Truffaut filmed 'The 400 Blows' that won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Festival. 

Because of the unique styles of these directors, they were give the nickname la nouvelle vague or the New Wave. 

The casual look was the distinct quality of the New Wave films and the New Wave directors admired the Neorealists like Rossellini. 

Le Mepris (Reaction)

Le Mepris is a film by Jean-Luc Godard in 1963. It stars Brigitte Bardot, Michel Piccoli, and Jack Palance.

I haven't watched the beginning of the movie but I think I understand what it was about and what it wants to portray. It was about the married life and relationship of the two major characters Camille and Paul.

I watched the part where all the characters were in a small movie house (or whatever you call it). They characters were talking in four different languages which were French, Italian, English, and German and I found it amazing yet confusing at the same time because of the accents that made it hard for me to understand what language where they speaking at the moment because it were mixed up.

Paul was a playwright and was hired to write a script for Homer's Odyssey, a film directed by Fritz Lang (who played himself in the movie) and produced by Jeremy Prokosch. Jeremy was a rich playboy that  later becomes Camille's lover. Camille and Paul went under a tough time in working with their relationship. Camille feels that she was unloved and that Paul was taking her for granted. When Camille and Paul got home after meeting with Fritz Lang and Jeremy Prokosch, they went home. They had a long conversation about their relationship that led to Camille's confrontation with Paul. Camille told Paul that she doesn't love him anymore and that they should separate but I think Camille still loves Paul though. It's just that she can't feel and see it from him. They had several fights and to make the story short, Camille left Paul for Jeremy. She left a note for Paul that says she could't be with him anymore. As for Camille, she thought that Jeremy can make her happier even though she still loves Paul very much. In the end, when Jeremy and Camille were about to run away, they met an accident. They bumped into a truck and that caused their death.

Honestly, I didn't like the ending because I think Camille doesn't deserve to die soon. Sure she left her husband for another guy but I think that was because she feels unloved and left alone and that was painful. Camille wants to be happy and to start over with Jeremy. The ending for me was upsetting but I liked the movie.

I made some research about Le Mepris. I have read that the film was related to the Greek Gods Ulysses, Penelope, and Poseidon. Each character represents them. Camille, Paul, and Jeremy were the representation of the Gods in Homer's Odyssey. I noticed that the pacing in Classical films were slow unlike the modern films the pacing of the scenes and characters are fast. The scenes here in Le Mepris takes for about 15 minutes I guess, especially the part were Camille and Paul had a confrontation. But I think that was Jean-Luc Godard's way of innovation and it was his style. To end this reaction/opinion/review, I want to say that the story was great. It was not something I expected but it made me feel interested to watch more classical or old films more often.

The Film School Generation

          Steven Spielberg was known for his impressive films. He was recognized worldwide as the greatest filmmaker in our contemporary history. Spielberg was know for his films Jaws, Jurassic Park, E.T, Schindler's List, Lincoln, and many more. He has won countless awards for his films and as a filmmaker, he said that he likes taking people into a dark theater with a thousand strangers and giving them experiences they'll never forget. Next one is George Lucas, who broke all box office records and earned seven Academy Awards in his blockbuster film Star Wars. Third is John Milius, who then came to prominence in the 1970s, when he was associated with Francis Ford Coppola and the pre-Star Wars in 1977. In 1967, John MIlius won the first prize at USC School of Cinema for his student film Marcello, I'm Bored. Lastly, Jonathan Taplin, the producer of the mean streets that became a critical and box office success. Mean Streets was selected for The Cannes Film Festival. Between 1974 and 1996, he produced 26 hours of television documentaries (includig "The Prize" and the "Cadillac Desert" for PBS) and 12 feature films including The Last Waltz, Until the End of the World, Under Fire and To Die For. His films were nominated for Oscars and Golden Globe Awards and also chosen for The Cannes Film Festival seven times. His television work garnered three Emmy Nominations.

           Brian de Palma was one of the well-known directors who spear-headed the movement in Hollywood during the late 1970s. He's know for his films that go from violent pictures, to Hitchcock-like thrillers with his famous film Sisters, Femme Fatale, Mission to Mars, and his latest film, Passion. Next one is Gary Kurtz, a producer who produced several films and TV series. He produced the Star Wars: Episode V in 1980. Third is Walter Murch who was a sound designer. He has been editing sound in Hollywood. One of his project is The Godfather: Part II in 1974. He won his first Academy Award nomination for The Conversation in !974. He won his first Oscar for Apocalypse Now in 1979, and won a double record on Oscar for sound and film editing for his work on The English Patient in 1996. Walter coined the term "Sound Designer", to raise the art and impact of film sound to a new level. Paul Schrader who was a writer/director made several films. After a period as a film critic, he began writing screenplays, hitting the jackpot when he and his brother, Leonard Schrader (a Japanese expert) were paid the ten-record sum of 325,000 US Dollars, thus establishing his reputation as one of Hollywood's screenwriters, which was combined when Mmartin Scorsese filmed Schrader's script, Taxi Driver in 1976. The success if the film allowed Schrader to start directing his own films, which have been notable for their willingness to take stylistic and thematic risks while still working with the Hollywood system. The most original of his films (which he and many other regard as his best) was the Japanese co-production Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters in 1985. And lastly, Gary Frederickson, was the prooducer for all three famous Godfather films, as well as Apocalypse Now, also with Francis Coppola.

some information are based here http://www.imdb.com

New Hollywood and Independent Filmmaking

"I love the idea of not being an independent filmmaker. I've liked working within the system. And I've admired a lot of older directors who were sort of 'directors for hire.' Like Victor Flemming was in a contract all those years to metro and Selznick and Mayer . . . he made Captains courageous. And you know his most famous films: Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind." - Steven Spielberg, producer/director

The Hollywood film industry was prominent during the mid 1960s. Blockbusters such as The Sound of Music (1965) and Dr. Zhivago (1965) were providing huge profits. But then by 1969, Hollywood companies had a huge financial loss. The producers tried to recover and they centered on the youth but this strategy wasn't enough so it failed. 

In this time, the movie brats emerged because of their successful films. These movie brats were Francis Coppola, William Friedkin, Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, George Lucas, Brian de Palma, and Martin Scorsese. They helped uplift the the Hollywood film industry through their blockbuster films. Most of these movie brats had gone to film school to study how to master productions, and to learn the film aesthetics and history. They produced some personal and highly self-conscious films. The movie brats worked in traditional genres but also tried to give it a twist by adding some autobiographical coloring. Many films that the young directors make are inspired by the old Hollywood style. They were also inspired by European tradition. Because of this influence, Coppola made his best-known film inspired by the European tradition, The Conversation (1974) which is a mystery story.

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg became powerful producers when they worked together on the Indiana Jones series and personifying Hollywood's new generation. Fresh new talents were discovered during the 1980s such as James Cameron, Tim Burton, and Robert Zemeckis, On 1990s many successful films from both successive waves of directors of the Hollywood Renaissance came. These are Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993), De Plama's Mission Impposible (1996), and Lucas's The Phantom Empire (1999), as well as Zemeckis's Forrest Gump (1994), Cameron's Titanic (1997), and Burton's Sleepy Hallow (1999). Continuity editing continued and Hollywood's traditional storytelling strategies were added new techniques. 

Independent directors of the 1980s and 1990s with narrative construction and the younger studio directors adapted classical convention to modern tastes. And by the end of the 1990s, these trends were surprisingly rising. As the independent films began to rise and get large number of audience, major studios partnered with Miramax and October Films. 

At the start of the new century, the new generation created many thrilling Hollywood films. They also introduced the videotape, video games , and the Internet. Same with the new generation's film predecessors, they reshaped the formal and stylistic methods or practices of the classical cinema while making their own creations accessible to the broad audience.

HERE ARE SOME TRAILERS OF THE MOVIES I'VE ALREADY WATCHED :)

Mean Streets

Jurassic Park

Forrest Gump

The Star System

The Star System is the most famous part in The Studio System. Movie stars on the late 1920's to early 1960's were managed and promoted by Hollywood studios. They create the stars persona to be famous in the US and they were often glamorized by the studio. The Star System emphasizes on the movie stars' image rather than the acting. They will build and create an image on the actor/actress but in real life, it doesn't have any connection with their true personality. Anyone with a beautiful, promising and attractive face can have a chance to be a discovered and be a movie star.

The actors and actresses always have to maintain their wholesome image. They should act properly and avoid indiscretions that would ruin their image and career. But for some stars who had drinking problems, drug addiction, committed adultery, and may more, their gossips and issues were covered by money to protect their image.

some information are based from http://classichollywoodcentral.com/?p=223

Reflection on Un Chien Andalou

This is an example of a Surrealist film. Un Chien Andalou is a silent film by Luis Buñel. A Surrealist film again is an anti-narrative which means it's story is not linear but diverse and the following scenes are very unexpected in short, it is confusing.

When I watched this short film, I actually don't understand the whole story. It was bizarre and the scenes were like random with no proper sequence of events.I remembered when Luis Buñel slit the woman's eyes, I  honestly can't take to watch it without blinking my eyes.

The film started with a man riding on a bicycle. He was carrying a box with him. Suddenly, he went unbalanced then fall down on the road and hit his head on the concrete cement. A woman heard that, I think because she went down to see him. I think the woman was the main character in the story. Then the next scene, she was with another man with ants on his hand. I don't get the sequence of this story. They were both in a hotel room (I think it was a hotel room). And the following scene they heard a commotion outside. There was a hand on the street and another young woman was there moving it. I think the one who owns the hand was important to her. An officer picked up the hand and gave it to her. The main characters, which are the man and woman in the hotel room watched over her. The young woman was out of her mind. She was hit by a car and the man and woman in the hotel room witnessed the accident. The man was happy then suddenly, he touched the woman's breast. They fought because the woman didn't like what the man was doing to her. Then, the man pulled something. I was surprised to see two dead animals (which I think are horses) at the top of the two grand pianos and another two men tied together.After that, the main character (the man) came in again and fought with the man from the first scene (he was the one with the box I think). The man from the first scene shot the man and he died. The location changed and it was in the forest. Then the woman went with another man again and the scene was on the beach.

The film was very unpredictable because it has many scenes. I thought it was a bit confusing. I can't even identify which is the imagination and which is the reality. But it was a good film though.

What's Surrealism?

       Surrealism is different from Impressionism. Unlike Impressionist films that were first made for commercial purposes, surrealist films were shown for private viewing for small gatherings. The most famous surrealist was Luis Buñuel. He worked for surrealist style for 50 years.

          Surrealism is anti-narrative meaning; its story is not linear where in you can’t tell what will likely happen for the next scenes. One example is Un Chien Andalou by Luis Buñuel. Causality or the connection of cause and effect is absent in Surrealist films. Like in one’s dream, you cannot identify the flow of the story or what is happening because there is no connection of cause and effect in it.

            The dreams, desires, and hallucinations of one character are dominant here. In fact it shows sexual desire, ecstasy, violence, blasphemy, and bizarre humor. Its style is eclectic or diverse. According to the FIlm Art by David Bordwell and Kirsten Thompson, many surrealsit films tease us to find la narrative logic in Surrealist films but they are simply absent. Its style is broad and its editing is a combination of some Impressionist devices. To sum it all up, Surrealism shows us an "undirected play of thought" which means the logic in the films are absent. Surrealism only lasted on 1930's.

German Expressionism

          At first, the German film industry was insignificant. It was never popular among other countries in the film industry. German theatres were not even showing German films but instead American, French, Danish, and Italian films. German films soon were barred by America and France from their theatres, and because they weren’t powerful enough, they cannot ban them in return. But this was all after the World War I. Things became different when the German government finally supported the film industry.

      German Expressionism emerged during the 1920s when it coproduced with companies in other countries. Drama and comedy were the typical film genre that is why German films concentrated on only three genres which are adventure, detectives, and exotic settings. German films kept on improving in spite of the judgements of other countries. Until Ernst Lubitsch’s Madame Dubarry became popular not just in Germany but also in the United States. Lubitsch became the first German director to be hired in Hollywood.

        Expressionism was also an avant-garde movement and it has been significant first on painting, then practiced on theater, then later on in literature and architecture. Company officials decided then to try Expressionism in cinema. They believed that it might be a selling point in the international market.

        This was justified when The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari made a success. Because of this, by the mid 1920's, Germany's avant-garde directors continued to make abstract films and  they were widely regarded as among the best in the world.

     Unlike French Impressionism, which bases its style on cinematography and editing, German Expressionism depends heavily on the mise-en-scene. Distortion and exaggeration are often made to express the story. The actors wear heavy make-up and move in a jerky way. As the Expressionism was accepted as a style, it often function to portray horror, fantasy, or historical epics.

            Soon, German Expressionism took its immediate downfall. Because of this on 1924, they began to imitate the  Hollywood style. The result of the films even though sometimes impressive, weakened distinct qualities of Expressionist style.  Although German Expressionism only lasted for seven years, it's influence in the film industry never died out and it will be forever in the history of film making.

The French Impressionism

           French Impressionism according to the Film Art by David Bordwell and Kirsten Thompson was an avant-garde style that operated largely inside the film industry. 

          World War I had a bad impact on the French film industry. On 1915, American films began to rise in France and soon, by the end of 1917 Hollywood cinema took over the market. After the war, the French film industry had never recovered and most films that were shown were American films. Because of this the French film industry tried to recover and recapture the market so they imitated Hollywood film style. As a result, it encouraged the younger French directors to view cinema as an art similar to poetry, painting, and movie rather than a commercial craft. 

         The younger directors experimented on cinema. They centred on emotion, which is usually about a love triangle. This has become their basis for exploring brief moods and shifting sensation in filmmaking. They patterned it all to the Hollywood style. 

          Impressionist films were giving the story a psychological depth and revealing the role of a character’s consciousness. So it emphasizes more on the personal emotions. It controls plot time and subjectivity. Flashbacks are also common to impressionist films to show memories. Another important thing is that it portrays the character’s dreams, fantasies, and mental states. 

         The smiling Mme. Beudet by Dulac in 1923 contains almost the main character’s fantasy life and her imaginary escape from dull marriage. 

      Filmmakers made an experiment on the cinematography and editing to show mental states or the character’s thoughts and feelings. As in La Roue, Norma’s image is covered with smoke from an engine, representing the fantasy of the engine driver, who is in love with her. To even more exaggerate the subjectivity, the impressionist cinematography and editing presented the character’s point of view. An example of this is L’ Herbier’s El Dorado in 1920. There is s scene here where a man was drinking in a cabaret. To show the atmosphere, a distorted or dizzying camera movement was made to portray how the man was feeling.

          French Impressionism may have ended on 1929. But its influences of the Impressionist form which are the psychological narrative, subjective camera work and editing will be forever in the history of the film industry as it influenced the Hollywood style mainly on horror films and film noirs.

Back to the Future Trilogy

          Hi readers!!! Tell you what; have you ever watched this movie? Well if not, GO WATCH IT NOW. This is a super cool sci-fi movie directed by Robert Zemeckis in 1985. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the three back to back episodes of it!

         Back to the Future is an adventure, comedy, sci-fi film in 1985. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis and was produced by Steven Spielberg. In 1986 the movie won the Oscar Award for best effects and sound effects editing and was nominated for best music and original song, best sound and best writing and screenplay written directly for the screen.

         I’ve watched this a long time ago but until now, I still keep on watching it over and over again. It was one of my all-time favourite sci-fi movies. I really love the adventures of Marty McFly. I can relate to him because I am too an adventurer. I enjoyed every part of it especially the ending part of the first instalment. The story was hanging and all you can do is to wait, be curious and eager to know what happened next.

        Marty McFly was the main character in the movie. He has a friend, Dr. Emmett Brown who’s an inventor and a scientist. Dr. Emmett Brown invented a time machine. One night, after finishing his greatest invention he brought the time machine outside, which is the car, for a test drive and Marty was with him. They videoed the invention for documentation but when they were about to finish, some Libyan terrorists arrived in a van and shot him. They were the owner of the plutonium, a nuclear thing used for the car’s engine that Dr. Emmett has stolen. Marty panicked so he went inside the time machine and drove it fast not noticing that it was set to a another time space in the past. And that started his great adventure.

         As to the movie’s cinematography and lighting, all I can say is that it was great. The shots were good that it directs the attention of the viewers into the important parts. The lighting also was good for it shows the right mood for every scene. The music/sound effects were excellent. I mean, it really suits the theme of the story. Like if the scene is suspense, dramatic, or comedic, it shows.

The Classical Hollywood Style

David Bordwell, Janet Staiger and Kristin Thompson coined the term classical Hollywood cinema. They came to the conclusion that during this period a distinctive cinematic style developed that they called classical Hollywood style. Moreover they claimed that this style has become typical because of the global dominance of Hollywood cinema.

        The most important elements of the classical Hollywood style are narrative, editing, cinematic space and time, and summary.

        Let us now discuss the first element. According to Michael Goldberg, classical Hollywood cinema’s narrative follows building blocks that are part of most Western narratives such as events, actors and agents, linear chains of cause and effect, main point and secondary points. It is also clearly structured with the visible beginning, middle, and end. He also stated that it generally provides a comprehensive resolution at the end and that the character’s goals are usually psychologically rather than socially motivated.

Second, is editing which is the single most important and most influential element of cinematic form that characterizes classical Hollywood cinema. The most important goal of continuity editing is to make the cut invisible by devices such as the shot / reverse-shot or the eye line match.

Third is the cinematic space and time which are constructed in cinema. They are unified, continuous and linear to match our perception of time and space in reality.

Lastly, summary which is the unifying force behind the classical Hollywood style is motivation and conventions. In the development of the narrative every event is motivated. In the same way the use of cinematic style is generally motivated by the narrative. The connection between narrative and cinematic style is highly conventional.

        Hollywood cinema has changed as of this present time and we can notice many changes from the previous Hollywood style up to now. But still, the classics from the past will still remain as the foundation of the great films made from today and it’ll also be the most important part of Hollywood’s filmmaking history even though modernization has taken place. 

Reaction to Trainspotting

Trainspotting

The movie Trainspotting is a British comedy/drama film in 1996 directed by Danny Boyle it stars Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, and Robert Carlyle. Mark Renton, played by Ewan McGregor, is a heroin addict. He has two best friends in the movie. They were Spud, played by Ewen Bremner, and Sick Boy, played by Jonny Lee Miller. Aside from Spud and Sick Boy, Mark met some other friends. They were Tommy (McKidd), and Begbie (Carlyle). They were all heroin addicts.

Short Summary

Mark Renton is a heroin addict with few ambitions in life.  After too many troubles, he quit drugs and went under a rehabilitation program. He moved to London, and found peace of mind. Soon, Begbie, Sick Boy, and Spud, showed up at his apartment wanting to move in. They led Mark into drugs and crime again. He and his friends earned a huge amount of money from selling heroin. During their celebration of success, Mark suggested Spud that they steal the money, but Spud was too frightened of Begbie to consider it. Mark got pissed off by Begbie when he saw him beat a man after spilling a beer over him. The next morning while his friends were asleep on a hotel room, he quietly took the money and left. Spud saw him but didn’t make any move to stop him. When Begbie woke up, he realized that he had lost his money. He was so outrageous and destroyed the hotel room and the police went to arrest him. Mark Renton then promised to live a stable life. Late on, Spud found £2,000 on his locker. He was thankful that Mark, his best friend still remembered him.

some information are from http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trainspotting/

My Reaction

 I liked the story of the movie. It reflects the real life of some people who are at first addicted to drugs but later on, tried to withdraw it and survived in the end. Sometimes there comes a point in our lives that we get conscious by the things that we see and that are happening in our surrounding. Because of this curiosity, we become eager to know these things and eventually try it. This same thing happened to Mark Renton. He got himself addicted to drugs and made his life almost wasted. Mark is somewhat afraid of reality. He used drugs to forget some painful and unpleasant situations and experiences in his life. This is very evident in the real life/world. He got rehabilitated by his parents. They hoped that Mark can still change. In his rehabilitation, he experienced pain and hallucinations. But those were expected in the part of the withdrawal. At first I thought that the story in the movie will finally be okay. He quit drugs and he’ll live a peaceful life but his friends showed up again and his addiction came back. I thought he was going to be miserable until the end. As I watched the movie, Mark stole the money they earned from selling heroine, he thought and imagined what will happen to his life if he runs away with it. He thought of finally having a stable life. One that is peaceful and away from drugs or crimes. I was grateful that even if he stole the money, his intentions were good and that he chose the right path to life.

The Film Noir Genre

        What is Film noir? Film noir is a cinematic term used to describe the stylish Hollywood crime dramas that highlights satirical attitudes and sexual motivations.

Film noir is at its peak from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. In this age, film noir is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that is influenced by the German Expressionist cinematography. Many film noir stories are about crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Great Depression.

"Black film “is the French term for film noir. But before it was accepted in the 1970s, many of the classic films noirs were referred to as melodramas.

Some information are from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_noir

Femme Fatale

Typical femme fatale of film noir uses sexual attractiveness and cruelness to manipulate men in order to gain power, independence, money, or all three at once. Women always portray to reject the typical conservative roles of devoted wife and a loving mother. In the end, her misbehavior of social norms leads to her own destruction and the destruction of the men who are attracted to her.

Film noir's portrayal of the femme fatale seems to support the existing social order and gender roles of society. It builds up the powerful, independent woman, but in the end it only punishes her.

If we dig deeper and take a closer look at the film noir, it somehow suggests an opposite interpretation. Even though it depicts women as dangerous and worthy of destruction, film noir also shows that women are limited by the roles usually open to them. Women’s destructive struggle for independence is a response to the limitations that men place on them.

Film noir gives us a taste of reality in life.  In this type of film genre, women are depicted to be dangerous, corrupt, and irrational and that they contain no order for how they should act. And in the end, the image of the powerful, fearless, and independent woman sticks in our minds. This is because she
remains true to her destructive nature and refuses to be changed even if it means that she must die.

Some information are from http://www.filmnoirstudies.com/essays/no_place5.asp

Lights

          When it comes to the lighting styles, Film noir uses plain contrast between light and shadows to create a moody atmosphere. This style of lighting allows the scene to be extra dramatic in effect.

There is a common threat in film noir lighting; it is the low key lighting. Film noir uses the style called Chiaroscuro. It is a style that emphasizes on the shadow and harsh lighting to create a sense of depth and volume. The hardness of softness of a light is the type of shadow it creates.

Film noir generally uses hard lights because it leaves sharp edge shadows and these hard shadows more or less define the film noir look. On the other hand, it also uses soft light to balance and to leave a fuzzy shadow effect and soft lighting also helps in glamorizing female characters.

See http://vimeo.com/61871347 for the full details on the basics of lighting for film noir

FILM NOIR FILMS