Some Very Brief
Overviews
Hugo (2012)
I saw the movie, Hugo (2012), seven years ago and viewed it for the second time
last month. Both times I found that the director, Martin Scorsese, celebrates
the birth of cinema once again. However, this celebration includes Martin
Scorsese's concerns about the art of cinema.
This movie
focuses on the preservation of old films. In one of the shocking and disturbing
scenes, we see Georges Melies, who thinks his time is past and his work is
forgotten, melts several pieces of film to use its cellulose for making heels for
women’s shoes. It reflects the duality of industry and art in the cinema and
warns if originality is abandoned and artists left alone, the industry will
dominate over the art. This warning does not completely prevent the celebration
of cinema as not all of those films were burned. At the end of the movie,
we realise that because of the efforts by Georges Melies, the films are saved
from melting. This is the good news that leads to the happy ending of the
movie.
The Sapphires (2012)
Commenting to
a post by Mirren Kneitel.
You have written a great review of this movie. I am interested in the
way these characters interact with each other and how their interests and
perceptions of identity motivate them and affect their relationships. After a
few years of separation from Gail and other cousins, Kay is yet to know
about her identity. Kay has abandoned her Aboriginal background, thinking
her bright skin will identify her as a white woman. This misconception
about her identity is resolved by joining the girls singing group The
Sapphires (2012). You have correctly written that Gail slaps Kay for
her coming to terms with being a black woman. However, in the movie, it
is Kay who first slaps Gail. Upon acknowledging her true identity, Kay
achieved sufficient courage to act on her will, while Gail merely reacts. This
begs the question that what does the movie say about those returning to their
identity?
I Am Eleven (2012)
The film I Am
Eleven (2012) is a brilliant work in documentary cinema. It begins with a
stunning monologue expressing the director's difficult and tragic situation.
Geneviève Bailey, the director, tells of the harsh experiences in her own life
“being in a serious car accident and my body was not feeling very happy, and my
dad passed away”. These are the moments of her childhood in which she had to
bear the burden of life physically and emotionally. However, I Am Eleven
is not a conventional documentary that depicts the hardships of a child's life.
It is about a broader concept of childhood.
What makes this
film so special is that it shows children of the same age from various
communities, distinctive cultures, and with different concerns. The stories of
the children continue on the basis of being eleven years old. The physical and
emotional experiences of the director are represented by others throughout the
film in various forms. The whole film shows the experiences of childhood. It is
not as if they have the same experiences or views, but because the stories are
narrated by a group of children, who in spite of different cultures, their age
of elevens connects all narratives together. What initially seems like a personal bitter anecdote is
followed by other stories from all over the world and shapes a global
narrative. Therefore, the documentary is the story of a generation exploring
their surrounding world and personal life in various ways.
The Future Makers (2008)
The Future
Makers (2008) documentary shows the
progress of sustainable technologies during the past years. It depicts a number
of talented Australians who are determined to find a solution for sustainable
energy. They are concerned about the future. The future not only needs reliable
energy but the energy that does not harm the environment.
With plenty
of natural facilities, Australia is to play its leading role in developing
renewable energy systems. Using the Solar Sailor to grab energy from the sun,
changing the ocean currents into power, getting energy from the geothermal sources
are the initiatives shown in this documentary film. This documentary is an
interesting snapshot of the pioneering Australians developing the sustainable
energy industry in Australia.
Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
Directed and
written by Malik Bendjelloul, Searching for Sugar Man (2012) is a
documentary about the life and destiny of a forgotten singer called Sixto
Rodriguez. In the early 1970s, Rodriguez
recorded two albums, but both only sold a few copies in the US and led him to a
complete failure. Rodriguez disappeared amid rumours of a horrific suicide on
the scene.
After three decades, Bendjelloul began to
document on Rodriguez and found out that he is alive, had stopped his music
career and had started working in construction. What makes this documentary very
special is that Rodriguez's albums were selling well in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Australia, but the singer himself was unaware. This documentary is about a
man who did not know he was famous.
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Singin’ in the Rain (1952) is a classic musical film directed by Stanley Donen
and Gene Kelly. The main theme of this movie is the cinema itself. It
represents the art and industry of cinema in the transition from silent film to
the talkie. The
transition from silent film to talkie was a process that has dramatically
transformed the film industry and has affected a significant proportion of
artists. It was a period in which "sound" had just entered the cinema
and everything had to revolve around it. Some film companies that were not able
to afford the heavy costs of sound equipment had to leave the cinema industry
and many film artists lost their popularity due to their inappropriate
voices. Singin’ in the Rain mainly illustrates this part of the history
of cinema. This movie showcases new ways of filmmaking, funny comedies, and
brilliant musicals of that era, that is worth watching.
Citizen Kane (1941)
Citizen Kane (1941) is a cinematic masterpiece and the best work of the
director Orson Wells. I think, more than anything else, the cinematic
innovations in this film are important. A variety of techniques that were new
at the time were first used in this movie, but I would like to mention two of
them: deep focus and low angle.
Deep focus is the technique
that has brought the most praise to Citizen Kane. This technique was
introduced in this movie for the first time. Using the deep focus technique, Citizen
Kane has provided the same level of clarity to the foreground and
background of the scene. This was the most innovative technology at the time
because people were able for the first time to view a clear perspective on the
screen while they were watching the main subject in the foreground.
The low angle shot was another
technique that was first experienced in Citizen Kane. This technique was
to emphasise on a person or an object. Positioning the camera at a low angle provides
the subject with a high position. This way, low angle technique in particular
situations such as the ceiling or upstairs at the background of a person tends
to give that person a prestigious position and power.
Cracker Bag (2003)
Cracker Bag is a short film directed
by Glendyn Ivin in 2003 but the movie is set in the 1980s. Eddie buys fireworks
and waits for the important night to come so she runs her special light show.
The story is straightforward, but something happens. At the important night,
Eddie knocks the first rocket over, and it accidentally flashes into the
cracker bag. This accident dissipates the whole plan Eddie had for the show.
This film represents an experience of life in the period of childhood.
Persepolis (2007)
Persepolis (2007) is an animated film
produced in France based on Marjane Satrapi's memoir. Escaped from Iran,
Marjane is a six years old girl who narrates the Islamic Revolution and its
consequences in the country. This animation depicts Marjane’s life and her
family dominated by the religious government, which subsequently leads to
Marjane's opposition to revolutionary values and confrontation with Islamic
authorities. The story of Persepolis is a coming-of-age genre representing
adolescence in a fundamentalist country.