Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Night Watch
Night Watch kept my attention very well. It definitely was a bigger budget film than probably any of the other movies that we watched this term. It was definitely more of an entertainment film. The fight between the light and dark is a pretty common theme in movies. This movie reminded me very much of the movies that we have like Star Wars. It also had kind of a Lord of the Rings feeling to it. These movies are fun to watch but you also get kind of tired of seeing the same things over and over in movies. It was nice, in a wierd way, to see the kid choose the dark side. The father didn't know that it was his son until the end. When it was exposed to the son that the father went to a witch to have him killed before he was born, the kid chose the dark side. The ending in this movie definitely makes me want to see the second part, with hopes that the kid switches sides. There didn't really seem to be any hidden themes or messages, just an entertaining movie to see, I could see it being a block-buster film when it came out. I really liked the fight scenes and the way that they used montage during these scenes to create even more confusion and excitement. I enjoyed the film alot and am interested in what happens in part 2.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Return
It is easy to see that Andrei Zvyagintsev was influenced alot by Tarkovsky. The overall atmosphere created in the film seemed to be one of confusion. You didn't really know whether to be angry or happy. The movie changed sides several times. Their was sharp contrast between the two boys and the father brought that contrast out even more. Ivan was very irritable and stubborn. Andrey seemed to be more mature, but by that I mean that he was able to keep a cool head with his father and he showed some respect for him.
St. Petersburg is not portrayed to be quite the same in this film as in Brother. There are some similarities that I noticed. It tends to show people sort of out and about, children rough housing just like the "kids" out with Kat in her little area of the city. However I sort of felt like this film showed the city as much more isolated, there wasn't alot of people out on the streets.
The mother doesn't seem to be too excited that her husband is back. I think that she is pissed off that she has had to raise her kids for the past twelve years without him. You don't really see any type of excitement from her or spark between them. I felt like they were like a divorced couple getting together to exchange the children. The house seems very plain and simple. The bed that the couple sleeps in is like a one person cot. I think that the mother cares alot about her children from the first scene that she comes into.
The father is very hard to describe. He is a guy that you can't really break down to a science. There seems to be many different varying aspects of him that kind of throw around your feelings towards him. At many times during the film, I had extreme hatred of the father. Finding out that he had been gone for twelve years. When he hits and beats his children, and just the way that he think that he deserves their respect and doesn't try to earn it. On the other hand, there are alot of times where I second guess those reasons that make him a bad guy and I think maybe he is just trying to reconnect with his kids. He atleast came back, so maybe he missed them. Maybe he is just looking for a second chance. He might be attempting to make up for it by taking them on the trip, even though it seems like there is some sort of personal gain in it for him besides spending time with his kids. Ivan is very irritated by his father and is stubborn to him. Sometimes he even doubts that it is his father. Andrey is much more obedient to the father but is easily persuaded by Ivan to join his side. In this way I think that the father brings the boys together.
We never find out what was in the box that the father goes to the island for and digs up. We also never find out if he needed the boys on the trip for some reason or if he just wanted to spend time with them. I think the director really wanted you to be able to develop your own opinion of the father without these pieces of information. It creates alot more debate and discussion. It allows your own thoughts, ideas, and feelings to be created. He didn't want to just lay it all out in front of you, he wants you to make of it what you see and feel.
Very good movie, to say the least. It was a very artistic, but it was also very entertaining for me. I thought right from the beginning that the first two scenes or days seemed alot like journal or diary entries, then to my suprise, that is how the rest of the movie went. It would kind of jump into certain parts of days, where something interesting happened, then we could leave the scene and move ahead several hours to something else prominant.
I enjoyed this film very much.
St. Petersburg is not portrayed to be quite the same in this film as in Brother. There are some similarities that I noticed. It tends to show people sort of out and about, children rough housing just like the "kids" out with Kat in her little area of the city. However I sort of felt like this film showed the city as much more isolated, there wasn't alot of people out on the streets.
The mother doesn't seem to be too excited that her husband is back. I think that she is pissed off that she has had to raise her kids for the past twelve years without him. You don't really see any type of excitement from her or spark between them. I felt like they were like a divorced couple getting together to exchange the children. The house seems very plain and simple. The bed that the couple sleeps in is like a one person cot. I think that the mother cares alot about her children from the first scene that she comes into.
The father is very hard to describe. He is a guy that you can't really break down to a science. There seems to be many different varying aspects of him that kind of throw around your feelings towards him. At many times during the film, I had extreme hatred of the father. Finding out that he had been gone for twelve years. When he hits and beats his children, and just the way that he think that he deserves their respect and doesn't try to earn it. On the other hand, there are alot of times where I second guess those reasons that make him a bad guy and I think maybe he is just trying to reconnect with his kids. He atleast came back, so maybe he missed them. Maybe he is just looking for a second chance. He might be attempting to make up for it by taking them on the trip, even though it seems like there is some sort of personal gain in it for him besides spending time with his kids. Ivan is very irritated by his father and is stubborn to him. Sometimes he even doubts that it is his father. Andrey is much more obedient to the father but is easily persuaded by Ivan to join his side. In this way I think that the father brings the boys together.
We never find out what was in the box that the father goes to the island for and digs up. We also never find out if he needed the boys on the trip for some reason or if he just wanted to spend time with them. I think the director really wanted you to be able to develop your own opinion of the father without these pieces of information. It creates alot more debate and discussion. It allows your own thoughts, ideas, and feelings to be created. He didn't want to just lay it all out in front of you, he wants you to make of it what you see and feel.
Very good movie, to say the least. It was a very artistic, but it was also very entertaining for me. I thought right from the beginning that the first two scenes or days seemed alot like journal or diary entries, then to my suprise, that is how the rest of the movie went. It would kind of jump into certain parts of days, where something interesting happened, then we could leave the scene and move ahead several hours to something else prominant.
I enjoyed this film very much.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Brother
There were many things that I found very interesting about the film Brother. Brother was a very good movie to me. It reminded me alot of the mob movies that we have here in the US. One of the things that I liked the most about the film was how the brother came onto the scene and just took everything over. His older brother was supposed to be some crazy guy that was really high up and kind of a man in power, but the kid comes in and is dominating everything that goes on.
Besides noticing this about the film, I also noticed that their seemed to be alot of economic depression. Other than the money laundering and stuff like that going on, all of the other people seem very poor. We see the german and all of the other "homeless" people. I think that they are in the cemetery too. There is also alot of drug use shown in the movie. It is kind of an interesting scene when he is in the club, which I think shows his youth and immaturity, even after we see him killing guys and crafting his own weapons.
I would definitely recommend this film to others and I would love to watch it again.
Besides noticing this about the film, I also noticed that their seemed to be alot of economic depression. Other than the money laundering and stuff like that going on, all of the other people seem very poor. We see the german and all of the other "homeless" people. I think that they are in the cemetery too. There is also alot of drug use shown in the movie. It is kind of an interesting scene when he is in the club, which I think shows his youth and immaturity, even after we see him killing guys and crafting his own weapons.
I would definitely recommend this film to others and I would love to watch it again.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Little Vera
I thought that Little Vera was a very interesting film. I enjoyed it alot. It had a very good story line and I like some of the thematic elements used.
One of the major things that caught my attention in the film was how alcohol was used in the film. It was used very often in the movie. Also, almost all of the characters in the movie drank at some part during the film. It seemed like whenever any of them would drink gin, they would become very angry and violent. Their true emotions would come out. Usually it is the father that becomes more drunk and angry than any of the other characters. He will yell at his family, even calling his daughter a slut or a whore. Then, he even stabs his daughters fiance after he tried to control the dad's drunkeness.
The drinking was one of the ways in which I saw that alot of the film was spent showing the almost absence of care about what they are really doing. The daughter is shown several times out partying, which is how she meets her fiance. They sleep together, unmarried, really early in their relationship. They don't really seem like they are in love, even though they try to pretend like they really are. This also seems to be the case with the parents as well. They don't really show true love between them.
I enjoyed watching the movie alot. I would like to see it again sometime to see if I develop any ideas about the messages that were trying to be conveyed.
One of the major things that caught my attention in the film was how alcohol was used in the film. It was used very often in the movie. Also, almost all of the characters in the movie drank at some part during the film. It seemed like whenever any of them would drink gin, they would become very angry and violent. Their true emotions would come out. Usually it is the father that becomes more drunk and angry than any of the other characters. He will yell at his family, even calling his daughter a slut or a whore. Then, he even stabs his daughters fiance after he tried to control the dad's drunkeness.
The drinking was one of the ways in which I saw that alot of the film was spent showing the almost absence of care about what they are really doing. The daughter is shown several times out partying, which is how she meets her fiance. They sleep together, unmarried, really early in their relationship. They don't really seem like they are in love, even though they try to pretend like they really are. This also seems to be the case with the parents as well. They don't really show true love between them.
I enjoyed watching the movie alot. I would like to see it again sometime to see if I develop any ideas about the messages that were trying to be conveyed.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
Today we had the opportunity to enjoy Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears. This movie was a very good movie. I am not normally attracted to this type of a movie, but I actually really liked it.
The three girl friends were the main characters in the film. They were great friends, but somehow very different from one another. Antonina represented a very, very modest girl. She didn't want much. She only wanted someone who she loved and would truly love her back. This is not to say that the other two did not want this as well, but this is all that she wanted. She didn't care about the money or the fame. Lyudmila, however, is the complete opposite. She is looking for a man with alot of security. She wants them to be rich and famous, therefore making her rich and famous. I find Katerina to be in between these two polar opposites. We sometimes see her wanting the more famous, wealthy men. I think that alot of this comes from the influence of Lyudmila though. Later in the film, more in the second half, we can see that she is more looking for the same type of thing that Antonina found.
One other difference that I noticed between parts, besides the change in Antonina, was that there was almost a change of luck in general if you would call it that. Everyone seemed quite a bit happier in the second part, whereas everything was kind of falling apart throughout the first part. In part one, Katerina is doing really crappy work. It is alot of hard labor. In the second part we see her being the boss figure of a plant.
The three girl friends were the main characters in the film. They were great friends, but somehow very different from one another. Antonina represented a very, very modest girl. She didn't want much. She only wanted someone who she loved and would truly love her back. This is not to say that the other two did not want this as well, but this is all that she wanted. She didn't care about the money or the fame. Lyudmila, however, is the complete opposite. She is looking for a man with alot of security. She wants them to be rich and famous, therefore making her rich and famous. I find Katerina to be in between these two polar opposites. We sometimes see her wanting the more famous, wealthy men. I think that alot of this comes from the influence of Lyudmila though. Later in the film, more in the second half, we can see that she is more looking for the same type of thing that Antonina found.
One other difference that I noticed between parts, besides the change in Antonina, was that there was almost a change of luck in general if you would call it that. Everyone seemed quite a bit happier in the second part, whereas everything was kind of falling apart throughout the first part. In part one, Katerina is doing really crappy work. It is alot of hard labor. In the second part we see her being the boss figure of a plant.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Ivan's Childhood
Today we watched the film Ivan's Childhood. I thought that this film was very good. I especially enjoyed the idea of the kid being such a big part of the war. When he first comes back to the Russian side, the military officer doesn't even believe what Ivan is trying to tell him. Ivan is shown to be a huge part of the Russian military and at one point it is even said that scouting is the most important part of war. This film ends tragically when we find that the boy has been killed. Ivan knew that he had the chance of death though. He didn't care, he wasn't scared of anything really. At one point he said that anyone able to be in the war but not helping is a useless person.
The film shows the maturity of Ivan very well. Ivan lost all of his family and was left alone, but then he found the military. He is already great friends with Kholin and Katasonov and then we get to see the great friendship develop between Ivan and Galtsev. I think it is almost like a brotherly relationship. Sometimes it appears like they are trying to control him, like a father, but he ultimately makes his decisions which makes it feel more like a brother trying to look over him but eventually letting Ivan decide.
This movie seemed alot different to me than Mirror. It had a much better story line. One of the repeating images that I noticed were the birch trees. I really enjoyed the multiple scenes where the camera would be moving through the birch tree forests. This type of forest is very repetitive. The trees all look the same and it almost seems like you lose track of where you are or where you started. You look around and all you see is trees. He did a very good job directing this movie.
The film shows the maturity of Ivan very well. Ivan lost all of his family and was left alone, but then he found the military. He is already great friends with Kholin and Katasonov and then we get to see the great friendship develop between Ivan and Galtsev. I think it is almost like a brotherly relationship. Sometimes it appears like they are trying to control him, like a father, but he ultimately makes his decisions which makes it feel more like a brother trying to look over him but eventually letting Ivan decide.
This movie seemed alot different to me than Mirror. It had a much better story line. One of the repeating images that I noticed were the birch trees. I really enjoyed the multiple scenes where the camera would be moving through the birch tree forests. This type of forest is very repetitive. The trees all look the same and it almost seems like you lose track of where you are or where you started. You look around and all you see is trees. He did a very good job directing this movie.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Mirror
Today we watched the film Mirror by Andrey Tarkovsky. It was a very challenging film for me to watch. I kept my mind open and tried to rely on my instincts to figure something out about the film, but it never happened. I just couldn't grasp exactly what was going on. This great challenge, although tough, makes the movie one of a kind. I have never seen another movie like this. I guess that their were similarities to horror films, like the hair washing scene, which was very creepy. I think that the main problem with understanding this movie is that there is a hard connection to make between scenes.
One of the things that I did notice about the film was the change of time(year). There were many times where it was a big flashback, where it would change to black and white, and where houses were being destroyed. There were also other times that there might have been glimpses into the future.
This was a very artistic film. There were some recurring themes or images that I noticed. I think that the wind blowing had alot of significance in the beginning and end of the movie. Also, the water well that is shown a couple of times in different shots. And obviosly, mirrors and reflections were found alot in the film. These were used and the film was more than likely named as it is because of what mirrors do. It is almost like another world exactly like yours on the other side of the mirror. People use mirrors alot and I think this movie likes to use them to show some deeper message that I can't quite grasp.
It was probably my least favorite film so far, only because I couldn't follow it. I appreciate the artistic quality but I would need to hear some explanation and watch it a couple more times to enjoy it more.
One of the things that I did notice about the film was the change of time(year). There were many times where it was a big flashback, where it would change to black and white, and where houses were being destroyed. There were also other times that there might have been glimpses into the future.
This was a very artistic film. There were some recurring themes or images that I noticed. I think that the wind blowing had alot of significance in the beginning and end of the movie. Also, the water well that is shown a couple of times in different shots. And obviosly, mirrors and reflections were found alot in the film. These were used and the film was more than likely named as it is because of what mirrors do. It is almost like another world exactly like yours on the other side of the mirror. People use mirrors alot and I think this movie likes to use them to show some deeper message that I can't quite grasp.
It was probably my least favorite film so far, only because I couldn't follow it. I appreciate the artistic quality but I would need to hear some explanation and watch it a couple more times to enjoy it more.
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