Experimental Films and The Spectator Experience

           The avant-garde film I admired most was the structuralist music video “Her Morning Elegance.”  I love how stop motion animation was used to eloquently express the lyrics of the song.  The mattress is like a world of its own and all the different objects that pass through bring it to life. All of the objects used tie in to the song as well. For example, in the beginning of the music video a violin is plays and a violin passes over the young woman’s head.  With the bright lighting, the all white sheets and the woman’s all white outfit gives the film a clean and light-hearted feel.  After watching this film, I have reconsidered my outlook on film art.  Film art is more than your typical Hollywood film, but encompasses many other types such as this structuralist film. I feel like avant-garde and experimental films give film the diversity it needs to be an art, acknowledging that there is not just one accepted form.

Although we have access to view films on television sets and computers, I do not believe this has changed the way we think about the cinema.  If anything, being able to watch films on our computers and TVs has made film more convenient and available to more people.   Movie watching has become more common because of this accessibility which can be a good or bad thing according to how you choose to look at it.   The upside to watching movies from computers and TVs is that more people would be knowledgeable about film art and could enjoy its many splendors.  The downside to using these devices is that film might potentially lose its value and not be as effective as it would if it were viewed on a big screen in a darkened room or theater. 

A Single Man

After I watched the film “A Single Man” I read an “A Single Man” review by Betsy Sharkey.   The review did a good job at making the movie seem interesting and viewer worthy.  The review mainly offers a plot synopsis and only mentions very little about the artistic elements of the film.  The author tells us about George’s character and the different meanings within the film.  There was nothing negative said about the film in this article possibly because review might be trying to sell the film.  The review does not have the two elements that Susan Sontag says is desirable in criticism.   The author could improve this review by focusing her writing more on the appearance of the artwork in the film. This would do the film justice because in my opinion the visuals in “A Single Man” were beautiful and is one of the main components that make the movie.
      The mise-en-scene element that stood out the most to me was the film’s composition.  The film plays with color throughout the entire movie and uses it to convey messages to the audience.  The director sets the mood of the narrative by using desaturated colors for George’s life. George’s lover has just died and these washed out colors give a feel of no life to the set which how George feels about life now.  When George encounters moments in life that make life worth living for, the colors in the shot become saturated. Whenever George has flashbacks to life with his lover the picture is saturated with vibrant colors. The saturated colors symbolize life unlike the desaturated colors that symbolize lifelessness.  This use of color schemes in the film is linked specifically to how George perceives the world. Such use of color makes it hard for viewer’s not to notice.  The director also uses slow motion in the car scene as well as on the hands of the clock to relate to how George feels about life.  Life is going by so slow and is dreadful without his lover. The film’s composition plays a major role in telling the story.

"Head in the Shark" Commentary

I agree with Marina Vaerst’s opinion that “Shark in the Head” has style.  The movie uses manner as well as setting and props to help tell the story in a creative way creating style.  Mr. Seman is unable to decipher what is real from what is imaginary in the world. Audience sees things from his perspective, making it hard for us to separate the real from the unreal. Marina makes an interesting point when she mentions that the party scene on the street is a pivot point in the movie.  The audience realizes at that moment that the party in the street is in his imagination.  When they show the scene from the young daughter’s point of view, the street is quiet and there is no one there but her.  The camera then shows his point of view where he sees the street full of people dancing and confetti falling down. The streets are full of color in his eyes but are cold and dark from the young girl’s perspective. The difference in perspectives tells us something is wrong and what Mr. Seman has been seeing has been part of his imagination all along. We especially know this when all the people throw their hands in his direction which is unrealistic. Are assumptions are confirmed at the end of the movie when we find out that he has schizophrenia and is leaving to go to a home.  Marina recognizes that movie is doing more than just telling a story but the fact that the director is putting question what we consider craziness. Just because Mr. Seman views the world differently from other people does not mean something has to be wrong with him. Why is it that people criticize others for not following typical norms? Now Mr. Seman will go to a place where he will be unhappy and reproved for his creativeness.

Psycho

In the movie “Psycho” the lead actress Marion Crane is killed in the shower.  A new enigma is formed when this happens and the audience is unaware of what is going on. The movie took a complete turn around and formed a new question to be answered.  When Marion is killed by the antagonist of this film we are unable to see who we think is his mother’s face but only an outline of her body behind the shower curtain.  Now we will never know what was supposed to become of Janet and we ask a new question, “Who is the mother and why has she killed Janet?” As the narrative moves forward one of many delays is formed and the audience is convinced that Norman Bates mother is real and that she is the killer. Viewers are convinced by this fraud visually when we see the outline of a woman’s body sitting in the window of the house behind the motel.  The fraud continues to pull us in when Norman goes into his mother’s room and has a conversation with her about putting her in the cellar. He comes out the room with a woman in his hands and carries her down the stairs to put her in the cellar. We continue to believe that his mother is the killer until we see the scene where Norman is dressed up as an old woman to kill Marion’s sister and the fraud revealed. 

                I would have to say that the movie “Psycho” was a writerly text. There was a lot of room in the film where the audience could interpret scenes, formulate answers and ask questions. I know my personal thoughts guided how I read the movie. For example, when I saw the killer with knife in the shower scene and I did not think she had really killed Marion. I thought the scene was an illusion of Marion’s or maybe partially true because it was random.

Full Metal Jacket

This review of “Full Metal Jacket” by Vincent Canby is a thorough analysis of the film. The review is very keen on Kubrick’s artistic style.  The writer points out the fact that the movie is split into two parts, each a story by itself. He acknowledges that Kubrick does not follow the typical style of movies and that his work is very unique to other directors. The review describes the movie as harrowing, beautiful, and characteristically eccentric. Good points are made in this review and a good amount of things are covered about the film that a viewer would need to know in order to make a decision about seeing the film. The review is pretty easy to read and does not assume that the reader is visually literate of movies. Towards the end of the review a little bit of a summary is given on the movie and some of the characters to help make the movie clearer. Overall this was a good review but because of my personal preference in movies I would not want to go see this movie after reading this review.

"Full Metal Jacket" Review