Film Studies Comprehensive Notes

Uganda Film

  • The music feels unoriginal, reminiscent of an N-C soundtrack, with an Aladdin-like feel.
  • The use of "4" instead of "four" is noted.
  • The Iwakaliwood movies are highlighted.
  • The CGI and the actors' dedication are appreciated.
  • The filmmaker builds his own computers and props.
  • The actors are volunteers, indicating the community's nature.
  • A sad story about a white man whose girlfriend left him the day he bought her a ring which feels like a disney channel story.
  • The notes were forgotten due to being caught up in the film.

Costanzo Reading: Cinema as a Global Map

  • To understand films better, understanding the map of marks is needed.
  • Four Strands of Film History:
    • Economic
    • Aesthetic
    • Technology
    • Societal: The impact that films could have.
  • Auteur Theory: Directors are the main creative minds behind the film.
  • Miss-en-Scene: Elements that make up a film's scene.
  • Vertical Integration: Studios control production, distribution, and exhibition.
  • Three Questions:
    • Does Hollywood's dominance represent Imperialism, or is it just because it's the most entertaining style?
    • How do co-productions affect the artistic mind behind a film?
    • Does globalization dilute or enhance the diversity of films?

Reading Questions/Stephen Ssahadba

  • Missing from Film: The film lacked Ugandan myths and superstitions like inkungu.
    • Inkungu is a powerful spirit announcing prophecies like wars, disasters, or peace, affecting everyday life.
    • Films that tackled current issues like corruption and superstitions were also missing.
    • While Isaac had similar motives, he didn't address these serious issues.
    • Nabware wanted to start schools for underprivileged children, which was absent in the movie.
  • Missing from Reading: Haabu rarely mentions Alan.
  • Emotions were sensed in the movie, but the lead actor didn't fully dive into them.

Sergei Eisenstein - Analysis

  • Montage is the foundation for cinematic language.
    • Draws from Japanese ideograms.
  • Montage of Attraction: The idea that film can be structured like old theater style.
  • Intellectual Montage: Editing to create an abstract meaning as opposed to creating a story.
  • Kuleshov Effect: A shot's meaning depends on its context.
  • Written in the 1920s.
  • Eisenstein was a Soviet filmmaker.
  • Questions:
    • How does Eisenstein's theory of montage compare to contemporary editing styles?
    • Can montage be used effectively today, or has modern media changed things?
    • Is there a time in cinema where a softer, calmer editing is more effective than bold, strong edits?

Movie Night: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

  • No words; seems to be German.
  • Music seems to be the main source of emotion.
  • Some type of inventor creates a spectacle with a somnambulist.
  • The somnambulist is Cesar.
  • Act 2: The town clerk is killed.
  • It was said that he died at the break of dawn
  • Both like the same woman
  • They send a murderer
  • Settings appear to be in 2D.
  • Under a curse.

JP Telotte

  • Aesthetic Distortion: German Expressionists use visual distortion to convey messages.
    • Seen in "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari."
    • The scene's setting often ties into this idea.
  • Mise-en-Scene: The usage of certain visual elements is brought up again.
  • Telotte was a well-known scholar in film studies.
  • Meant to give an understanding of German Expressionism.
    • Theme.
    • Emotion.
    • Form.
  • Formal Innovation: German Expressionism has had a lasting impact on media.
  • Questions:
    • How do Telotte's interpretations challenge or expand the narrative and emotions carried in film?
    • Do we see other examples of Telotte's ideas in modern-day cinema?
    • What are the limits of viewing a movie only through this lens?

The Syntax of his films: Donald Richie

  • Ozu's filmmaking is compared to a craftsman building a house, showing how precise and intentional everything is.
  • Ozu edits in ways that offer world-building; instead of keeping focus on the main characters, we see how the people in the back act.
  • Key Points:
    • Syntax: The way the film is structured.
    • Still-life shots: Instead of images capturing a meaning, they are meant to set the mood/tone.
    • Circular Narrative: A method of storytelling where the ending & beginning mirror each other.
    • Minimalist Editing: Avoiding flashy transitions, using cuts sparingly for emotional effect.
  • Questions:
    • Ozu tries to avoid direct symbolism, so how would he convey meaning?
    • Has Ozu's unique style been used in modern-day media at all?
    • How does Ozu balance realism and his usage of unique editing?

Bondanella - Italian Neo-Realism

  • Neo-Realism came about as a rejection of fascist-era cinema.
    • Often rejected studio sets and favored using real-world locations, non-professional actors, avoided typical Hollywood tropes/scripts, and ended films off on a good note.
  • In the 1950s, directors moved beyond this idea to explore psychological themes, known as the 'crisis of neorealism.'
  • Key Terms:
    • Neorealism: A Post-WWII film movement emphasizing realism, social critique, and everyday struggles.
    • Commedia all'italiana: A genre of Italian comedy that satirized social issues involving neo-realism.
  • Questions:
    • Do you think politics had an effect on the uprising/fall of neorealism?
    • Although Neo-realism was moved on from are there any signs or hints that it's still around?
    • Neo-Realism did use scripts dognt this take away from the 'real sm'

Zavattivi

  • Key Themes & Ideas:
    • Notes how rich & complex life is and that movies based on realism should naturally be engaging.
    • States that Hollywood purifies and fabricates reality, while neo-realism embraces it.
    • Believes that everyday people should be the protagonist instead of having fictional heroes.
  • Key Terms:
    • Mentions Dailiness, which is the idea that everyday life is full of film-worthy content.
  • Questions & Reflections:
    • Is there a limitation to how neorealism is used today in movies?
    • Has Zavattini's critiques on Hollywood cinema still being considered today?
    • Is it possible to make a film strictly on realism: No scripts, non-professional actors, and real settings?

Breathless: Movie

  • He had to jump his car.
  • Some woman also left behind; he stole the car.
  • He seems mean and shot the cop; he's a fugitive now.
  • He's trying to steal money.
  • Buddy got denied and rejected, and he insults the girl.
  • He is a liar, he lives a fake life (the Ford is in the garage).
  • Jump cuts give some life and energy to the film.
  • Everybody seems nonchalant and "whatever" about life; the woman getting her car stolen barely freaked out.
  • Patricia betrayed him, then outlined her lips for a kiss.

Godard on Godard

  • Key Points:
    • Godard sees the French New Wave as something new that can change Cinema forever.
    • Godard tends to create cuts that at first seem misplaced, but that's how meaning is conveyed & portrayed.
    • He sees Hollywood filmmaking as manipulative and overly polished, not showing the imperfections of life; he wants the audience to think and use their brain power to decipher what's going on.
  • Key Terms:
    • Cinema as truth: 24 frames per second - Godard's famous statement suggests that film should reflect life.
    • Anti-Narrative Cinema: Godard's films lack the normal Hollywood plot structure, putting emphasis on emotion, ideas, and contradiction.
    • Auteurism: The director becomes an artist, controlling everything about the film.
  • Questions:
    • If cinema is the 'truth,' should all films be reflections of reality?
    • If the audience knows how the film is structured, does that desant the purpose?
    • Dos Browth less res lect a part of real lisser

About Elly Screening Structure and Style

  • Structure:
    • The story is linear but reveals information strategically to maintain suspense.
    • Starts with a light-hearted, almost documentary-like portrayal of a vacation, but gradually shifts to a psychological thriller after Elly's disappearance.
    • The narrative relies heavily on dialogue and social dynamics rather than action, unfolding through intense group interactions.
  • Visual Style:
    • Utilizes handheld cameras and long takes to create a sense of realism and immersion.
    • Frequent use of close-ups captures subtle expressions, heightening the tension and conveying unspoken emotions.
    • The camera's constant movement mirrors the instability and shifting perspectives of the characters.
    • The contrast between dark, claustrophobic indoor scenes and open, windy beach shots visually represents the confinement of social norms versus the unpredictability of truth.
  • Color and Lighting:
    • Predominantly natural lighting enhances the realism.
    • Muted, earthy tones dominate, reflecting the moral ambiguity and the coastal setting's bleakness.
    • The use of gray and blue hues in the beach scenes reinforces a sense of foreboding and isolation.
    • The Sea symbolizes both freedom and the unknown, becoming a visual metaphor for the truth that remains submerged.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

  • Edwards argues that the traditional diaspora paradigm, which emphasizes a fixed sense of belonging and longing for a homeland, is too limiting.
  • Suggests that the film's setting, "Bad City," acts as a metaphor for the oppressive conditions faced by those caught between cultures.
  • Key Terms:
    • Diaspora Paradigm: The traditional model emphasizing loss, longing, and a fixed homeland.
    • Mediascape: A landscape of information and cultural texts shaping diasporic identities.
    • Deterritorialization: The creation of identity outside territorial or national constraints.
    • Liminal Cinema: Films that blur boundaries between cultural, national, and genre categories.
  • Questions:
    • How does A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night subvert traditional Iranian gender roles through the vampire protagonist?
    • In what ways does the portrayal of Bad City as a dystopian space comment on both Iranian and Western societal norms?
    • Can the use of horror and noir elements in the film be seen as a strategy to critique both the diaspora paradigm and patriarchal structures?

Naficy - Accented Cinema

  • Naficy defines "accented cinema" as films made by exilic, diasporic, and postcolonial filmmakers that express a sense of displacement, hybridity, and marginality.
  • Sound design often emphasizes diegetic sounds and multilingual dialogues, enhancing the sense of dislocation and authenticity.
  • Hybridity is a core element, reflected in the mix of languages, visual styles, and cultural references, resisting clear categorization within national cinemas.
  • Key Terms:
    • Accented Cinema: A film style that embodies the displacement and hybridity of exilic and diasporic filmmakers.
    • Hybridity: The blending of multiple cultural elements in style, narrative, and language.
    • Liminality: The exploration of in-between spaces where identities are negotiated.
    • Exilic Consciousness: A perspective characterized by nostalgia, loss, and a search for belonging.
  • Questions:
    • How does accented cinema challenge the dominant narrative structures of Hollywood and national cinemas?
    • Can the emphasis on liminality in accented cinema be seen as a critique of fixed national and cultural identities?
    • Does the focus on personal narratives in accented cinema risk undermining the political potential of these films if applicable?

Richard Roud - Children of the Cinémathèque

  • Langlois was instrumental in preserving film history and providing access to rare films. He created an environment where young cinephiles, later known as the "Children of the Cinémathèque," could discover cinema's past and shape its future.
  • Unlike traditional film education, Langlois emphasized learning through experience instead of structured lessons.
  • A group of young cinephiles including François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, and Claude Chabrol gathered at the Cinémathèque, forming the intellectual core of the French New Wave.
  • Key Terms:
    • Cinephile: A person who is fond of motion pictures.
    • Cinémathèque Française: A film archive and screening space founded by Langlois that became a haven for cinephiles and future filmmakers.
    • Juxtaposition Programming: Langlois's unique method of screening films in unexpected pairings to enhance appreciation of different cinematic styles.
  • Questions:
    • Does modern film education follow Langlois's method of osmosis learning, or is it more academic today?
    • How does Langlois's anarchic approach compare to contemporary film archives, which emphasize structure and control?
    • Would film history be the same without Langlois?

Richard Bingham - Iran

  • Many Iranian films feature characters who are themselves caught between reality and fiction, mirroring the films' own unstable genre identity.
  • A defining characteristic of Iranian art cinema is its fusion of fiction and documentary.
  • While pre-revolutionary films were influenced by Italian neo-realism, post-revolutionary directors took it further by incorporating documentary techniques into their narratives.
  • Key Terms:
    • Poetic Naturalism: A blend of realism and lyrical storytelling, characteristic of early Iranian art films.
    • Therapeutic Re-enactment: A method used in Iranian cinema where real individuals re-enact past events as a form of catharsis.
    • Self-Reflexive Cinema: Films that draw attention to their own storytelling process, questioning the distinction between fiction and reality.
  • Questions:
    • Why does Iranian cinema lean so heavily on blending reality and fiction? Is this a cultural preference, a response to censorship, or an aesthetic choice?
    • How does Iranian art cinema differ from Italian neorealism? While both reject Hollywood-style storytelling, Iranian films seem even more experimental.
    • How has Iranian cinema been shaped by political and social restrictions? Could the use of blurred boundaries between reality and fiction be a way to navigate censorship?

Dadar About Emily

  • About Elly combines elements of realism and melodrama, using a style Dadar calls "realist excess", an overemphasis on realistic details that complicate the moral clarity typical of melodrama.
  • Farhadi's realist excess involves detailed observation of everyday life, movement, and dialogue that feel raw and unscripted, creating a documentary-like effect.
  • The use of deep focus, long takes, and a hand-held camera enhances this effect, making the viewer feel like an observer caught in the chaos of real life.
  • Key Terms:
    • Melodramatic: A style marked by heightened emotions and moral polarization, subverted in About Elly by the ambiguity of truth.
    • Social Verisimilitude: The realistic portrayal of societal norms and class dynamics, reflecting the complexities of modern Iranian society.
    • Narrative Ambiguity: A deliberate lack of clear answers in the plot, leaving key questions unresolved to maintain a sense of realism.
  • Questions:
    • Is Farhadi's portrayal of moral ambiguity a subtle critique of state censorship in Iranian cinema?
    • Can the persistent use of lies among characters be seen as a metaphor for societal repression or censorship in Iran?
    • Does the group's shifting moral stance toward Elly suggest that truth is less important than social perception?
    • How might the film's ambiguous ending serve as a critique of the desire for clear moral judgments in society?