MONSOON WEDDING

This film was great! Despite the fact that it was culturally foreign to anything I was accustomed to, I had no difficulty at all understanding just about everything that was taking place. Monsoon Wedding is the story of an arranged Indian marriage within a traditional (seemingly well off) Indian family. Intially, the bride finds herself still in love with another man (whom i believe is married himself) and has doubts about going through with her own marriage. She ends up, however, giving her heart to her future husband and going through with the wedding.
There are several underlying stories within this film that enabled me to delve in and gain clear understanding. The family experienced real issues just as any other family would and these issues were clearly depicted. From the "help" (Alicia) falling in love with the last man on Earth one would think would give a woman his heart, down to the sexual abuse Ria had exprienced as a child thus fearing for the younger girls in her family who were beginning to experience the same thing. The chain of events were clear and easy to follow and the conflicts were not all dumped on the audience at once. They were presented in a very realistic and believable manner which allowed the audience to take its time understanding the film for everything it was saying.
One of my favorite aspects of this film was the rich and vivrant colors! There was even some attention drawn to the intentional use of these colors during the decorating for the wedding when the planner proceeds to put up a white tent. In American culture, this is the typical color for a wedding ceremony, representing purity and such. However, the father of the bride was insulted by this and demanded that the white be taken down immediatly and replaced with red. When he first made this request I frowned my face at the thought, however after it was complete I thought it was simply magnificent and stunning! Also, the color of the young girl who danced at the party's costumes was a vivrant bright pink, the bride wore red and various golds to get married in! It was exciting to look at! To think that this is a part of their customs and traditions was very informing and enlightening to say the least!
I enjoyed viewing this film a great deal and would recommend it to anyone!

DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST

From what I can recall about this movie, it was a very richly cultured tale of a Gullah family situated off the coast of South Carolina. The Peazant family is due to move North for what is supposed to present them with a better way of life. In leaving, they plan to leave behind all of the customs and ways of their land, which presents the conflict. The film goes on to show the ongoings of the family the day before they are to leave, complete with discussion of struggles and issues the family faces and has faced.
My issue with this film was that it was extremely boring. The colors were not at all narrative, in that most of the women wore white and the setting was a sandy white beach. During the times when the narrator (an unborn child) was presented, she too wore white but had a blue ribbon in her hair. What the color of her ribbon was supposed to represent was unclear to me. Also, there were far too many conflicts in the plot for this to have been one story. You had the contreversy of heading up North, the issue of whether or not the unborn child was concieved immorally, whatever the issue was surrounding "Yellow Mary" (for the life of me I could not figure it out), and the one daughter who wanted to remain on the island with the Native American Gentlemen. All of these issues made the already difficult to comprehend film even more difficult to comprehend.
Aside from the plotline, there were aspects of the filming itself that made the film hard to keep up with. For example, the random times the unborn child would appear were not particularly significant times within the plot. It was also not completely evident who this child was; had it not been for the character sheet that had been provided for me, I definitely would not have known who this child with the blue ribbon running in slow motion was. There were also times when random images would be displayed. For example, the girls gathered on the beach dancing intensely for no reason at all had so much emphasis on it and it confused me greatly. Instances such as these were repetitous throughout the film and threw me for a loop.
Overall I would have to say that this was not my favorite film. I wasn't extremely fond of anything about it and it is not something I would watch again or encourage anyone to go see.

Bonnie and Clyde

This film was an exhilarating, comical, romantic depiction of crime at its moments of vulnerability, spontaneity and ignorance. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Had I not been required to view this film for my class I'm not sure it would have been one I would have watched. However, I am grateful tot he opportunity to have seen it. While the plot line was for the most part clear and concise, i wasn't exactly sure of how the two (Bonnie and Clyde) became initially acquainted. But once their journey began, it was non stop action from start to finish, literally. There were definitely establishing shots at the start of every scenario change. The establishing shots were then followed by the two shots which confirmed the Hollywood continuity style of filming. The more members of "the gang" that were added on, the more shots were included int he shots that followed the establishing shots. What did catch me off guard was the ending shot. After Bonnie and Clyde had been murdered, there was really no re-establishing shot to close with. Unless I am misinterpreting the content of a re-establishing shot, the gentlemen who murdered them standing there, guns in hand, did not serve as much of a re-establishing shot. Despite the fact that this was the man who Bonnie and Clyde had previously humiliated, it reiterated nothing about what was going on int he scene before they had been murdered.
Overall this film was a blast to watch! I enjoyed every moment of it. I laughed and cried (well I didn't literally cry but you know what I mean), and it was truly a roller coaster of events from start to finish!

RUN LOLA RUN

This film was among the most interesting films I have ever seen. By the time it had ended, however, I decided that I enjoyed it thoroughly. It recounted three differing story lines of how Lola and her boyfriend Manni acquired 100,000 marks which they owed someone but he had lost. In each of the first two scenarios, either Lola or Manni had close calls with death. Both of the first two story lines has detailed affects on others along the way as well. In the final scenario, neither Lola nor Manni were injured, and they not only paid off the money, but ended up with a great deal to keep for themselves!
There were certain aspects of this film that were quite disturbing to begin with. Initially, the "running" music was freaking me out a great deal. It was a cross between house and techno music and it was accompanied by this creepy animated Lola on screen, running. Also, the appearance of Lola was disturbing to say the least. However, all of these things came together as the plot unfolded. For example, it made sense for Lola to look this way when her father spoke in a heavily condescending manner to her, denying ever having fathered her. It also made sense for her to look unkempt when she was in the casino and finally won money, for others to be looking at her like she was insane; for this to have been such an unorthodox win. The deeper the plot became, the more the smaller details made sense.
I suppose I walked away still unsure of the point of the three different story lines. However, with both the first ones ending unhappily, I was very relieved by the movie's end. I am not one who is a typical fan of happy endings but the primary scenarios had such devastating aspects to them, it was refreshing to know that Lola and Manni made out ok. The turn of events sort of had me rooting for them a great deal! I thoroughly enjoyed this film and I would definietly see it again if given the opportunity.

DO THE RIGHT THING; a closer look...

When it comes to more technical aspects of this film, I was impressed. Spike Lee's use of color and camera tricks all blended well to allow the film to have an increasingly strong effect on its viewers. One thing I did take great notice of, was that there were times when Mookie (Spike Lee's own character) wore the Italian colors. Now, while he worked for Sal (who is Italian), he was yet black and there were actually friends of his who disagreed with aspects of Sal's business. I felt like the fact that he wore the colors represented the fact that he saw no need for the barriers that were being placed between the different ethnicity's within his neighborhood. He represented the start of prospective unity. Another example of Spike's use of color was the great red wall that the three gentlemen would sit in front of for the duration of the day and discuss everything and nothing all at the same time. Being as though it was repeated time and time again that the temperature was exceedingly high, I enjoyed the use of such a bold red to serve as their backdrop. It was not too suggestive, it gave the idea that they were at a very neutral corner on a very average day. It also gave off the impression that this was something these gentlemen did day in and day out. The red wall intensified the notion of the blazing heat, and the fact that these gentlemen remained here, only to discuss the ongoings of the community, suggested that either they had nowhere else to go, or they did not wish to go back to where they had come from when they traveled to this spot. Either way, the use of the red was brilliant.
If I had to choose one of the most important symbols within this film, I would undoubtedly choose the radio. From the beginning, we are introduced to the nieghborhood through the voice of the radio Dj and it goes on to show us that the radio is on in just about every household, It is important, a source of motivation. The radio Dj narrates most of the day if not the entire day. He acknowlegds Radio Rahim who is apparently known for carrying his radio and playing extremely loud music. The radio also causes discourse when he enters Sals and Sal orders him to turn it down. Despite the fact that he comply's, you can almost sense his frustration in that he expects that everyone understands the relationship he has with his rado. The same expectation applies when Radio Rahim is met by the latino's who are playing their cultural music nice and loud and Radio Rahim has no problem drowning their music out immediately. At the climax of the movie, when Sal destroys Rahim's radio, you get the sense that he feels as thoough he just lost his mother or something heavy such as that. This then leads to a huge fight which eventually leads to the death of Rahim and Sals Famous Pizzeria. Music served as the one thing that had the power to tie all of the differences among these people together and I believe that it why the radio was stressed so strongly. Also, the song Radio Rahim constantly played was "Fight the Power" which suggested a desire for change in some way.
The use of symbols, colors, and camera tricks in combination with the casting and acting in this film made it the classic film that it is! The various themes and ethical challenges and lessons that are compacted within this plotline are incomparable toa ny other movie i have ever seen.

DO THE RIGHT THING

I absolutely adore this movie! Spike Lee does an incredible job illustrating the affect of common stereotypes in close knit neighborhoods by allowing us to follow a day in the life of "Mookie" (Spike's own character) around his New York neighborhood. The fact that Mookie works iin an italian family owned pizza shop alone adds an incredible spin to the film. It demonstrated the fact that in order adequately remove racial barriers it will take more than simple effort. Sal and Mookie working together did not prevent the devastation from occuring at the movie's end. There was much hate among the residents be they black, white, asian, or latino; and hate only leads to demise. I believe that was Spike's intended theme throughout the film. Despite the fact that the nieghborhood was racially tense, it was still a functioning neighborhood until the riot occurred at the end. It was not just the black community that experienced loss witht he murder of Radio Rahim, but the entire community as a whole experienced a great deal of loss. Sal and his sons definitely lost their place of business which meant that the youth of the nieghborhood then lost a place to commune and enjoy good pizza. The asians across the street lost trust in its customers; the gentlemen felt the need to uphold a broom in defense of himself when the men were contemplating attacking him. Once the police officers came with the hoses to initially put out the fire at Sals and ended up resorting to using them on the neighbors, a great sense of despair came over me and I witness what could have been seen as a town headed toward equality, took great steps backward. Yes, there was a great deal of name calling and racial slurs that were made quite often, however, all it took was for one seed to be planted amongst those people for things to have possibly worked out for the better. Mookie was involved in several interracial relationships yet he maintained a significant deal of respect among his peers. If Mookie could accomplish this, so could the rest of the nieghbors.
All in all I enjoyed the movie thoroughly. Spike Lee achieved what he set out to achieve in my personal opinion. I would recommend this film to any and everyone.

The Godfather

This semi-dark film, though exceedingly violent at some points, held a surprising amount of valuable themes in its undertone. Loyalty, disloyalty, family, honor, violence and power are just a few of the things I felt were being communicated within this film. Overall I must say I enjoyed it, it having been my first time viewing it, and definitely plan to view it again sometime soon.
Don Vito Corleone is the patriarch of the Corleone family as well as the head of the "mob like" structure of the family. The film is a basic depiction of his power and loyalty to his word and his family. He had three sons and despite the youngest son not initially wanting to partake in this family business of violent acts, he eventually takes over once the Don retires and runs the business just as his father would have. I particularly enjoyed this train of events because, while the Don was not assumed to be a very trusting man, and while he had two other sons he could have entrusted his family to, he exercises wisdom in allowing Michael (the obviously most wise son) to take over the business. This proved to me that he was not simply a power hungry man with fire power to back up his demands, but that he was ingenious and careful when making decisions about matters concerning his family. It was in these particular occurrences where I obtained the themes that I gathered were amidst this film.
The mise en cine within this film left some to be desired, however. While the film took place i the forties and did a great job depicting that, there was not much extra to take note of, in my opinion, within the constraints of the frame. Everything was intentionally set up to be quite directly applicable to exactly what was happening in the scene; if this constitutes as mise en cine then that is what I observed. One particular scene (or rather combination of scenes) where the set, costuming and casting was simply beautiful, was the entire depiction of the romance between Appelonia and Michael in Sicily. From the time they met and everything else around them was moving but they had fixed there eyes on one another, to the moment at the dinner when he bestows a gift upon her and she is then seen at the dinner table gesturing to it. The set was set up to illustrate that out of all the things happening around the two of them, nothing else mattered but what was occuring between them two. There was always much business going on around them, but they always found moments to lock glances in a way that seemed to freeze time. This effect is due partially to the incredible acting and partially to the mise en cine. The shot of Michael courting her when the two of them are walking along and then a crowd is scene following them is a particular example of how the set up of the shot was very intentional to illustrate that feeling of the spotlight being on them. And finally the wedding, when from a long shot the entire bridal party is seen following behind Michael and Appelonia down the side of the cliff. The scenery in combination with the mass amount of individuals in the shot made for a surreal, fariytale princess kind of feeling. This feeling was evoked entirely due to mise en cine as there was no dialogue int his particular portion of the scene.
All in all, this movie was a great success! The storyline was intruguing and kept me engaged. The mise en cine served its purpose in most areas, and even where it left some to be desired, the storyline was so interesting that that could be forgiven. The themes that lay within the plotline were motivating and entertaining to say the least. I give this movie FIVE STARS!!!

Apocalypse...NEVER!

Apocalypse Now takes place during the Vietnaw War. Lieutenant Willard (Martin Sheen) has been given the mission to track down the long lost Colonel Kurtz and kill him. Apparently, Kurtz has rebelled in Cambodia, leading an entire tribe of people who worship him as God, ordering indivudals to be slain upon his command. The movie follows Willard along his long journey to find Kurtz, experiencing loss of teammates and such along the way. Eventually Willard discovers Kurtz, finding that yes, he is in fact as insane as the soldiers had warned him before sending him on the mission. He carries out his duty but it is evident that he is disturbed by his entire journey and possibly by the fact that he has murdered a man of such prestige.
I absolutely did not enjoy this movie. While I can understand why it won Academies for Best Cinematography, the movie itslef in my opinion was a complete drag. Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of war/violent movies anyway. I was immediately turned off by the army fatigues, helicopters and explosions at the very start of the film. Also, Willards character narrated the film in a monotonous, flat way that didn't further intrigue me at all. About a quarter of the way throught he film I lost focus and when I came to, I felt like I was on the set of Indiana Jones (but like, a really bad version). It took a great while to get to the climax of the film, which didn't really occur until the very end. By the time we meet Kurtz we already have a pretty good idea of what he is going to be like, and the scene where he and Willard meet is very dull and short considering the entire movie led up to this point.
There are some pretty good camera tricks that take place. In the beginning, the camera does very slow dissolves from one shot to another, giving the illusion of seeing two things at once. During the scene where Kurtz and Willard meet, there are moments, in the dark room when only Willards shadow can be seen on the wall while Kurtz is speaking. I thought that was pretty cool. Small camera influences such as these caught my attention every once in a while but overall, I thoroughly disliked this film. It was long, drawn out, and just not my type of film.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Jean-Dominque Bauby was the editor of the prominent fashion magazine ELLE. He carried on a seemingly ordinarily happy life, filled with family, fun, and love. His entire life would be changed forever when he suffered a stroke while taking a ride in his brand new car with his beloved son. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is an outstanding depiction of, what is said to have been, the true accounts of Bauby's post-stroke life as a man paralyzed from head to toe, unable to speak, and limited to the use of one eye. The film is narrated by his thoughts, the things he would in fact be speaking if he were able. It travels through his experiences with various emotions, rememberances of his past, and appreciation for his vivid imagination. Despite the fact that he can not speak, he uses his means of communication fervently, and with help, writes a book. Jean-Dominique Bauby brought about an entire new meaning of life to me in the way he was depicted in this film. It encompasses lessons of determination, recognition of blessings, and love, just to name a few. The fact that the film is narrated by Bauby who can not be heard by the characters in the film is fascinating in that its almost as if we are his only friend, the only ones who understand his specific desires. It enlightened me to the fact that individuals who are paralyzed and may not have speaking capabilities may still have passion for life and deserve to be given the chance to live out their passions. This film was captivating! There were moments that were devastating to say the least, but this only enhanced my experience of empathizing for this man who seemingly lost everything, but still found inspiration enough to write a book, unable to move or speak. I loved every moment of this film!