CCW Film Season 2011 review - Roger Miles 29 February 2011
I saw all eleven films at the Odeon Leicester Square, as well as visiting the film projection room and I claim my prize!
My individual film reviews are at
Every film contained inspiring images and challenging ideas. It has led me to trying out new creative approaches to my artwork. I was particularly interested in the following :
Script
Slacker used a stream of consciousness approach to its script and, looking back at my notes, I was struck by how many insightful, humorous and memorable quotes I wrote down. My favourites were “Terrorism is the surgical strike capability of the oppressed” and “Who's ever written a great work about the immense effort required in order not to create”. One after-film gallery visit to the Simon Lee gallery showing of Larry Clark work led me to watching Kids (1995), which clearly owes a lot to Slacker.
In contrast, Rashomon used its script to portray one murder from five different viewpoints and really challenged the viewer to consider what truth was. Whilst I have seen this idea used in subsequent films, I don’t think they capture the point that everyone telling a version of the truth has their own agenda.
Cinematography
Sherlock Jnr, by Buster Keaton, was probably the most innovative cinematography with each scene being meticulously planned and brilliantly executed.
Festen, however used restrictive dogme rules to govern its filming but showed that, if the script is strong enough, this does not detract from the success of the film. I am also watching The Killing at the moment , one murder and twenty episodes, and Festen is an excellent introduction to Danish society and culture.
Use of music
The Long Goodbye cleverly repeated the same tune throughout the film but using lots of different forms, the use of a musical doorbell being the most extreme treatment.
Man with the Movie Camera was shown with a live music score and, whilst a real treat to see the 1937 organ in action, it slowed the film down. I subsequently watched the version with a faster soundtrack performed by The Cinematic Orchestra and found that the jazz based musical score supported the images of the Soviet Union’s rapid industrial and urban progress. I also recommend Man With a Movie Camera: The Global Remake which is a participatory video shot by people around the world who are invited to record images interpreting the original script and upload them to a dedicated website - http://dziga.perrybard.net/
Propaganda
Man with the Movie Camera was the most obvious work of propaganda. I liked the film season curator’s story about the Soviets using the film to surreptitiously encourage film goers to take up goalkeeping to help fix a weakness in the national football team.
Rashomon’s entire story could be read as an allegory for Japan’s experience during the Second World War, finishing with the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the abandoned baby at the end portraying the rebirth and subsequent success of the Japanese nation.
The film season has been a highlight of my foundation course and I hope it is continued for future courses. My suggestions for the next season are shown in the appendix.
APPENDIX 1
My own choices for the next season:
Sabotage – Alfred Hitchcock (1936) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028212/
Down by Law – Jim Jarmusch (1986) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090967/
Les Vacances de M. Hulot(1953) - Jacques Tati http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046487/
White Ribbon – Michael Haneke (2009) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1149362/
Oldboy – Chan-wook Park (2003) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364569/
Jar City – Baltasar Komakur (2006) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0805576/
The Wire (Season 1) – David Simon (2002) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0306414/
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