These Nine Movies

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.