Schindlers List.

Often considered one of the greatest films of all time (American Film Institute, 1998), Schindler’s List (1993) was one of the pioneers in film that audiences were truly invested in the characters. Based on a true story, its famous portrayal of how ugly war can be was at the time considered a remarkable achievement (Mintz, 2001). The gritty and realistic scenes used in the film drew controversy and critical acclaim for the raw intensity brought to cinema that was previously unheard of.

Despite all the gruesome and bloody action to take place in the film, critics and audiences alike agree that it was the believable characters that made the film so heart breaking and emotional. There was the wicked Amon Geoth who was played by Ralph Fiennes, and Itzhak Stern played by Ben Kingsley. The main source of praise however goes to the unknown actor at the time Liam Neeson, who plays the titular Oskar Schindler. These three actors played their roles to absolute perfection that had audiences believing they were real, and to a point even the actors themselves were deeply affected due to the filming of this movie.

Ralph Fiennes did a great job at being the evil Nazi Amon Geoth. So much so that when a real life holocaust survivor saw him in costume, “she trembled with fear” (Corliss, 1994). I would categorize his acting as a mix of stylized acting and method acting. In the film he is so evil that it is almost unbelievable. He purposely goes out of his way to exterminate the Jewish population, if it was not written in our history; it just might have been too over the top to believe at all. Yet it is in his overabundance of evil that made Amon Geoth such a formidable and fearsome character.

The character of Itzhak Stern, played by Ben Kingsley is someone the audience genuinely relates to. Ben Kingsley uses realism to portray the fearful, yet brave Stern. Throughout the movie Stern is shown to be somewhat of a moral compass for Schindler. He guides him and shows him that Jewish people are not less than human. They deserve the gift of life as do all men and he nurture’s Schindler’s conscience to do the right thing. Kingsley plays the character flawlessly, never giving the audience too much to think about, but just enough to keep wanting more.

The titular character Oskar Schindler is of course the most engaging, interesting, and genuinely likable character in the film. He is consistently regarded as one of the greatest heroes and humanitarians of all time (Anderson, 2014), risking his life and using his fortune to save innocent lives from the Nazi regime. Liam Neeson succeeds in doing the character justice. It is well known that Neeson became so invested into the film that he actually developed a lot of emotional attachment to the film and the characters themselves (Onda, 2013). That is why the only form of acting that can be applied to Liam Neeson in this role is method acting. He did not play the character, he became the character. From Schindler’s selfish beginnings as a man just trying to take advantage of the cheap Jewish labor, to the remarkable growth into a hero saving the lives of his friends, workers, and even strangers. The character growth shown throughout the film made Neeson a breakout star and would elevate his career into super stardom.

Nowadays Liam Neeson is well known for being an action star rather than portraying a convincing historical figure. With films like the Taken trilogy, Star Wars series, and Batman Begins, he has become a household sensation for action films. However true fans of Liam Neeson will never forget the iconic role he played as Oskar Schindler.

American Film Institute (1998). AFI’s 100 Years … 100 Movies. Retrieved from

http://www.afi.com/100years/movies.aspx

Anderson, S. (2014) Oskar Schindler: The Untold Story. Retrieved from

http://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2014/03/19/oskar-schindler-the-untold-story-3/

Corliss, R (1994). The Man Behind the Monster. Retrieved from

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,980191,00.html

Mintz, Alan (2001). Popular Culture and the Shaping of Holocaust Memory in America. The

Samuel and Althea Stroum Lectures in Jewish Studies. Seattle; London: University of Washington Press.

Onda, D. (2013) Liam Neeson Gives Emotional Speech at ‘Schindler’s List’ Event. Retrieved

from http://xfinity.comcast.net/blogs/popcast/2013/09/13/liam-neeson-gives-emotional-speech-at-schindlers-list-event/

Gravity.

It is no secret that one of the most important aspects of a film is the sound that it produces. Whether it is through dialogue, sound effects, or music, sound can capture a person’s attention and make or break a scene. In the recent film Gravity (2013), director, producer, and writer Alfonso Cuaron did a splendid job on portraying a relatively accurate and aw inspiring film about a woman’s fight for survival in space. One thing that is particularly unique about this film is that the sound is used sparingly. Other than dialogue and a few pieces of music, not much other sound is actually used in the film to represent the true silence, beauty, and danger of real life space.

The first hour of the film features light hearted and realistic dialogue between the two main characters Dr. Ryan Stone and Lieutenant Matt Kowalski. They talk about the beauty of being in space and how they deeply respect each other. Matt also points out that this is going to be his final mission in space. While many would deep this kind of banter pointless, I found it to be interesting because of how normal it makes these two characters seem. You really get the notion that they are just like you or I, the average person just doing what their job asks of them, and getting to know your co-workers while you are at it.

This also sets the tone of the film to be cheerful, or even happy. This is all to build up for the fall however, as eventually debris for a Russian satellite makes it way to collide with their shuttle. The dangerously beautiful crash happens without a sound as sound cannot exist in the empty regions of space, but Dr. Stone’s cries speak volumes about how devastating the impact of the debris is. “I see nothing, I can’t breathe” is repeated over and over again, she is also breathing hard and the sound of panic is easy to spot in her voice. Rapid beeping sounds (associated with danger) play throughout the conversation as she tries to establish contact with mission control.

Cauron has proven himself to be a master at directing, writing, and producing movies. He goes against the norm by using silence as one of his greatest strengths in this film. With nothing more than straight forward dialogue he manages to capture the characters emotions in ways that many film makers could only dream of. Instead of overusing something as simple as sound effects, he minimizes it so every time something happens on screen, it will be heard much louder metaphorically speaking.

The character Dr. Stone had a huge array of different tones in her voice, and it made it extremely easy for the audience to relate. This film is about a woman’s struggle to survive in a deadly environment, and it holds no punches back to visually and auditorily show the audience how she changes with each situation. It starts off light heartedly with simple banter between friends, then progresses to a clearly frightened and confused tone as Dr. Stone continues to push forward to seek an escape route back to Earth. When she finally makes her way back home, the triumphant music that plays makes the audience feel like they were a part of her success.

Goodykoontz, B. & Jacobs, C.P. (2011). Film: From watching to seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint.

IMDb. Gravity (2013). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454468/

Youtube. Gravity – Official Main Trailer (2013) Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiTiKOy59o4

Week 2 Blog

Lighting is often one of the most underrated elements in a movie. While it may not seem like a huge factor in affecting a movie, good lighting techniques can really accentuate a film. One example of a film that has been greatly praised for its lighting is The Dark Knight (2008) written and directed by Christopher Nolan. This film used a low-key lighting technique to great efficiency, and the film would not have been as good as it was without it. The film was meant to be dark and gloomy, almost to the point of depression, and the generally grey overtone of the film matched this setting perfectly. In an ironic twist the only character who is “colorful” is The Joker, a character who represents chaos and anarchy. One of the best things was brought out from this color pattern was how it could be interpreted; the world is generally a dreary place, where its entire population follow a strict set of rules. The very animated Joker however brings color to this world and with it a complete obliteration of established order is. The film made great use of low-key lighting, and it I don’t think any other kind of technique would have had the same impact. While we may not notice it, every single scene is important to the film, for its ability to convey a feeling or thought into its audience (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011)Even though the characters in the movie showed a great deal of personality, all of it was brought to its peak by the way Christopher Nolan meticulously filmed each scene.

Goodykoontz, B. & Jacobs, C.P. (2011). Film: From watching to seeing. San Diego,

CA:Bridgepoint

The Dark Knight Trailer (2008) Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=yQ5U8suTUw0

Movie Time

Title: Slumdog Millionaire (Based on the novel “Q & A” by Vikas Swarup)

Writer: Simon Beaufoy

Director: Danny Boyle

Starring: Dev Patel and Freida Pinto

Story: Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 film about the journey of a young Mumbai boy who eventually grows up to win the grand prize on a game show. The game show host suspect he is cheating and has him arrested, and tortured. It is during this torture that he recounts his life story and how he overcomes many obstacles that gives him the knowledge to win the grand prize.

Plot: In the country of India a young teenager, Jamal Malik, is a contestant on a game show, and is one question away from the grand prize of 20 million rupees. The game show host ends the game early however and tells the audience that the show will continue tomorrow. As Jamal exits the show he is quickly detained by the police for suspicion of cheating. They refuse to believe that a boy from the slums could possibly get further on the show then the previously highly educated doctors and lawyers. Through a series of many flashbacks Jamal recounts the many obstacles in his life that would eventually teach him, and lead him to where he is now.

As a child he and his brother Salim experienced many tragedies, including the loss of their mother during the Bombay Riots, several encounters with gangsters, and the unfortunate poverty that comes with being born in the slums. Along the way however Jamal meets a girl of equal age named Latika, and the three form a friendship and would go on to call themselves “The Three Musketeers”. The trio eventually run into a gangster by the name of Maman who tries to blind them in order to make them more sympathetic as beggars, but the brothers manage to escape while Latika is captured due to Salim’s selfishness.

Fast forward a few years later, a teenaged Jamal has still not forgotten about Latika, with whom it is clear he is infatuated with. He convinces his brother to save her and they embark on a journey to free Latika from Maman’s clutches. They eventually find that Latika has been raised to eventually become a prostitute, and Maman has been saving her virginity to sell for a high price. Salim ruthlessly kills Maman and shows a far more sinister side of himself, he orders Jamal to leave and never return. Only by the insistence of Latika does Jamal relent.

Several years later Jamal again tries to locate Latika through his resources at his job as a call centre. He succeeds and finds Jamal, who is now a member of another gang lead by Javed. Salim shows remorse for his past and asks for forgiveness. Jamal manages to sneak into Javed’s house and tells Latika to meet him at 5 o’clock at the train station, before she can meet him however, she is recaptured by Javed’s men.

After losing contact with Latika, Jamal manages to get on the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” as he knows Javed and more importantly Latika watch the show. Through his unimaginable rise to the final question Jamal becomes a national sensation. The film resumes back into the present where the police officer gives Jamal the benefit of doubt and lets him return to the show. Back in Javed’s house, everyone in the household is watching the story of Jamal. Salim racked with guilt of the past allows Latika to escape and kills Javed, dying in the process.

Jamals final question ironically asks, “What is the name of the third musketeer”, something that Jamal has never learned. He calls his brother, only to have Latika answer. Jamal ecstatic that Latika escaped no longer cares about the correct answer and randomly picks Aramis, the right answer. He goes on to reunited with Latika at the train station where they share their first kiss.

Chronology: The film was told out of order, and included several flashbacks to Jamals life as a child and teenager. While this can potentially throw the story out of shape and confuse the audience, this film did it in a way that was extremely satisfying. At no point did any “part” of the story overpower the other. I wanted to know all three sides of the story and the film had me glued to my seat the entire time.

The story was very well down, every character; including the minor ones had ample time to develop themselves. We get to see the beautiful journey of Jamal from boyhood into a man.

I think that the film was perfect exactly the way it was. Everything from the tone, mood, setting, and characters really built upon the tragic story of what it is like to grow up in the slums. They consistently provide obstacles in Jamal’s way, and provide a very dark tone throughout the entire movie. This gives the audience an urge to root for Jamal not only because he is the underdog, but because he is genuinely a likable character. The film masterfully provides details from his past and present without giving away too much detail all at once. It eventually reaches its climax where we receive an extremely satisfying yet surprising happy ending.

Resources:

Colson, C (Producer), Boyle, D (Director). (2008) Slumdog Millionaire [Motion Picture] United States: Warner Bros. Pictures

FoxSearchlight (2008, October 30) Slumdog Millionaire – Trailer. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIzbwV7on6Q