So many films, too little time

First things first, I love watching films.  It is a passion of mine, an art that carries over from generation to generation.

Moving on.....


My three favorite films from class

This film was one of my favorites due to the color palette.  I remember being a child when seeing a big billboard of a woman's stomach and holding a red flower.  I always thought it was one of those movies that exploit women's sexuality or something so I never thought much of it.  Plus, I was not allowed to watch "adult films."   Even when Titanic came out, I had to look away per my parent's request during the "draw me with only wearing this, only this" scene.  Once I did watch American Beatuy in Netflix about when I was 20 or so, I though to myself, "this was it?  What a "pervy" movie with so many sad people?" To me, it was very reminiscent of the Lolita novel.  After taking this class, I got a COMPLETELY NEW perspective on films overall and made me appreciate the films  and the dedication that is put into it.  So when I think back to my 20 year old self, I think that it did have an impact on me because I felt that each character was raw and not a character that had everything going for them not there was a happy ending as I was accustomed to watching.  Seeing this film allowed me to see that films are mirrors of daily interactions and most importantly that life has ups and downs and realizations.

So this is my realization, films are meant to inspire and provoke feelings that you never thought you wanted to feel.  The ability to capture emotions on screen is so powerful.  

I never capture the color red until now.  There was so many red that I missed and so many messages. It was as almost he never could escape it even after death he was covered with it.  It had a very powerful message to me.  And the entire "Mr.  Smiley."  The irony is just genius! 

Let us talk about film noir!

I am a sucker for this genre of film and this movie Double Indemnity.  I adore the entire black and white film.  The use of shadows make this film intense.  I remember a quote I heard once in which discusses the reasons that movies make you feel scared of terrified and it is not because of the action of the film but the action off camera that really makes a statement.  Examples can be found with Hitchcock where a murder takes place but there is not real action.  It think shadows are as important as the real thing.

Pulp Fiction was one I had already watched and loved for the different story lines that come together.  It was confusing to figure out the begging to end liner plot but the way it was edited made it enjoyable.  

This dance scene is awesome!

I was still trying to figure out how exactly the films sequence was because the editing was great.  I found this online a couple of weeks ago via designtaxi.com

I will print this out and watch it to see how it looks like linear, just for fun!

My Personal Favorites

One film that was not assigned but it was mentioned and described in the readings is the City of God by directors Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund.  In the book, there was a feature of the opening scene and the meaning of its representation to the main character.  I think this is  a GREAT film to watch as it shows many techniques that were discussed in class.

  The film constantly uses non traditional techniques that show the way  uneasiness of the city that they live in.

Low Angle Shot is used throughout the film to show dominance.  This shots of the kid below are interesting because he ends up growing up to be the most feared gang leader in City of God.  

One non traditional shot is featured below where the the couple is to the right of the screen and not centered. 

Let's not forget the color wheel!

Color Wheel can be use as in the case of the image below.

These cool colors tend to show up throughout the film and remain consistent.

This color wheel can also be seen for the entire movie, as shown below.  The picture below is of the entire movie City of God.  It is every shot of the movie sliced to show the different colors like a bar code.  You can see more of this beautiful imagery for more movies HERE.  

again cool colors are shown throughout the film.  

Another movie I like was directed by Dee Rees.  This one is Pariah and was released at the Sundance Festival.

 I remember seeing this film and being amazed by the colors even though it was a film that showed so much hardship.  The film uses complimentary colors: Pink/purples and Yellow.  There was always a shot that had a hint of yellow.  Before taking this class I remember being intrigued as to the reason why a film would want to make such an obvious statement with COLORS but this film is a good exampled of the color palette.  

THIS IS THE COLOR PALETTE FOR THIS FILM.  

Last but not least, the film brick by Ria Johnson.  

This film won the Special Jury prize for Originality of Vision at Sundance.  

The plot of the movie is centered around a group of high school kids who are mixed in a world of drugs.  The main character's , Brendan, girlfriend is murdered and he goes on a mission to investigate who murdered her all while hiding her body.  He deals with a a lot of thugs and drug dealers along the way and meets people who "help" him.

There are a lot of wide shots throughout the film.  

The rule of thirds is shown below. 

I love this movie for the over the shoulder shots.  

Close ups of the confrontation as Brenda reveals how his girlfriend died.

Brick introduces a noir feel to the screen as well as the femme fatale Laura.  Once she is told she is the reason why Brenda's girlfriend died, she immediately tells him that the baby was his and that she did not love him and simply walks away.  This is reminiscent of the film noir.

Hope you enjoyed my movies which I think are great to be exposed to other film students.  My only regret in this class is not being able to take a longer week course so learn more!

I know I converted to a film enthusiast and I can't wait to see many more film through my passage of life!

Filmmaker Dees Rees Interviewed on The Treatment

I listened to the KCRW podcasts interview of Dee Rees that took place on May 20, 2015.  Dee Rees is a film director and a screenwriter as well.  She has won several awards for her work including the Iris Prize and the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Director.  She has also been nominated for the NAACP Image Award for  Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture.   One critically acclaimed film was Pariah which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Rees was on the show to talk about her new film based on the life of American Blues singer, Bessie Smith.  She talked about trying to understand the "Empress of the Blues," Bessie Smith and her life in order to engage in the film.  What came to a surprise for me is the dedication that she put in to try to understand her and the time she was living to bring her character to life.  So much research goes into understanding a person's actions before doing a biopic on his/her life.

During the interview, instead of speaking of the production of the film, which is titled Bessie, after the title character, Rees talks about the exceptional woman she was at that point in history as well as her contributions to American Blues.  Rees talked about the struggle that Bessie Smith went through because she was frowned upon for being black and large.  However her talent for singing is still being recognized to this day. She build a brand for herself in the music industry and created a model for others to come. Rees wanted to honor this exceptional women through the film Bessi.  Rees used the music that Bessi Smith sang and used it to compose a period in her life that can be captured on film.  

Choosing the right actress to play Bessie Smith is critical.  Queen Latifah was chosen to play the lead character.  Pictured below is Bees Rees and Queen Latifah on set.

One that stood out from the interview is that Rees wanted to focus on who Bessi was as an individual and...

"A woman who can't love or be loved, except on stage"

This quote stood out to me because it shows the direction that Rees will take in order to understand the ulterior motives of Bessi.  Without seeing the film, I can assume that Bessi, while dealing with her own inner struggles she is accepted in a stage for her singing.  Being able to put that together on screen goes to show the hardships that Bessi Smith dealt with. 

Quote #2:  Why is bessi was the way she was..[in]..a time where people did not want black female entertainers

This is another important quote because Rees is describing culture of the time and the power that Bessi had in order to be one of the top grossing performers.  So not only did she have to deal with racism and sexism in society but also the expectations to be a performer even though she did not fit this mold that society demanded.
Quote #3"

The fragments of ones mother bit by bit  fragmented memory can't quite see it and try to get back on this summer day and idealized love a happy place,,.how to try to fill things between you and a void.

Rees during this quote talks about the direction that she took this film to.  She wanted to have two complete worlds in which one is her "happy place" and she can escape all realities and the second world, her stage and actual reality. The above quote Dees Rees describes how she came to merge both worlds together.

How does Dees Rees contribute to the world?

After seeing Rees's first film I fell in love with the way the story was captured.  I think Rees is a great filmmaker because of the consideration that she puts to try to peel the onions off characters in order to reach to the core of who they are and show that to film viewers.  Finding small details in Bessi Smith changed the way I look at directing- not only are they trying to show the character on the screen to us but they want to understand who they are in and then present it to us in a way that we can empathize or even relate.