Irreversible

Irréversible, a film by director Gaspar Noe is a film that is shot out of chronological order and is one of the most disturbing psychological thrillers I have ever seen. It includes a long and horrific rape scene, and other tarantino-on-steroids type violence. The main posit of the film comes in the final scene, the beginning, chronologically as Alex is sitting in a park watching as children play in a very peaceful manner, not knowing what the audience does of her horrific fate. In the background there is a sign which states "time destroys all things." This film is very audience-raction driven. The first 30 minutes of the film has a background noise with a frequency of 28Hz (, similar to the noise produced by an earthquake. In humans, it causes nausea, sickness and vertigo. It was the main cause of people walking out of the theaters during the first part of the film in places like Cannes and San Sebastian. In fact, it was added with the purpose of getting this reaction. The experimental nature of audience reaction in this film is its driving force.

The diving Bell and the Butterfly

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Le scaphandre et le papillon is a flm by Julien Schnabel is a film that looks at the true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who was completely paralyzed except for the use of his left eye. The film demonstrates a surprisingly uplifting tone of triumph as Bauby is able to escape his imprisonment within his body by taking trips in his mind to fantastic places, and he is able to blink out his memoir despite of his handicap. Like most french cinema this film is not based in plot and is centered around the aesthetics of the shots instead of clarity of storyline.

Dead Again

I watched this movie on my own which stars Kenneth Brannaugh and emma Thompson in a mystery-film that spans generations, and includes an amnesiac and Robin Williams. The script is surprisingly intelligent and the actors play amazingly into their roles. There is a repeated motif of large scissors that comes together as Emma saves herself from her tormentor. It also serves as an interesting critique of the natural damsel in distress theme of most film noir- inspired films. 

The Graduate

This film is Dustin Hoffman's first appearance on screen as a recent graduate of college at the top of his class, heavily involved, and completely aimless, until Mrs. Robinson, a friend of his father's seduces him at his graduation party. She offers herself to him, and a distinction is marked between his innocence and her experience, yet Ben, Hoffman's character, only feels alive when he is with her. The rest of the time he feels trapped as an attraction, like in a fish tank, which there are several cinematic references to throughout the film. If Ben is a fish then Mrs. Robinson is a Jungle cat as she is costumed around large tropical plants, and in animal print through the part of the film where she characterizes and plays out the role of the original "cougar." A cougar is a middle-aged woman who seeks out younger men. 

The tone of the film shifts when Ben takes out Mrs. Robinson's daughter and falls in love with her. Their romance is cut short when Mrs. Robinson tells her daughter that Ben had raped her. Eventually Ben convinces Elaine otherwise and there is talk of their marriage. Elaine decides to be practical and marry another man, but ben rushes to the wedding and steals Elaine away, after saying her vows. 

her mother pulls her back saying its too late, and she says "not for me." They run away together and board a bus, as Simon and Garfunkle's sound of silence plays and the film is left ambiguously. 

Youth culture plays tremendously into this film as a measurable generation gap is explored and exposed in the opinions of the adults and younger characters, mainly Ben, in this film.

The soundtrack of SImon and Garfunkle also lend to the youth culture of this film. it brings contemporary music and film together in an intersting way that has been replicated over and over.

wings of desire

This film follows an angel as he becomes mortal  in order to experience that which is human. He wants to connect, especially with a certain circus performer who when we meet her contemplates suicide, but recognizes her soul's match in the angel. This film questions what exactly it is to be human. Is it to interact with others, to enjoy a cup of coffee, to fly around in airplanes, or to read at a library? And what was it to be beyond that, angelic, unable to affect humans except to comfort them in times of need. The cinematography in this film was interesting in that it almost became its own perspective, as if the eye was another angel experiencing all of the things that the main angel did as well. the perspective shots even followed the characters outside windows and through walls. The divide between color and black and white was an interesting comment between the difference between what is human and immortal. Surprisingly there is not much talk of religion or God in the film, only utilizing humanity as the utmost utopia. the film is set in Berlin, before the wall came down. apparently rabitts live in the no man's land between East and West Berlin. The angel's freedom to move between the two sections of the city is contrasted with many character's memories of what used to be in the rubble that makes up berlin.

Also interesting is that Peter Falk plays himself as another fallen angel who has pawned his armor for his starting money. He spends much of the film finding a hat and aiding the fallen angel to find his match and his desire.

Rashoman

This Kurosawa film interweaves conflicting perspectives of one central crime, the rape of a woman, and the death of her husband recounted through contradictory flashbacks of the main characters involved, including that of the dead man.

The accounts thereof show what exactly each character feels they have to lose, by which detail are accounted for in their story, and the audience decides what to believe. 

Before the Rain

Macedonia, early Yugoslavia becomes the setting for this film. The civil war is on the brink and in 1995 the country is in the midst of an ethnic struggle. London provides the other backdrop for the film. The film follows several interwoven character's lives throughout different perspectives of this film, beginning with a peaceful monastic garden and ending with a young muslim girl running for her life. The monks at the monastery seem to represent Religion that is shown as both problematic between muslims and christians, as they fight for no reason other than religious difference, but sheltering as these monks shelter a young girl. there is both compassion and irrationality within their life, demonstrated very well in the scene that the monk  who took the vow of silence is being turned out of the monastery, with a slap and a hug. 

The images of the film are beautifully shot, especially the scene in which the photographer and his lover make out in the car, as we see the reflections in the windows,  shielding the couple from the real world.  

A storm is coming, but never comes, and yet it does.

Time never dies, the circle is not round.... This is the chronological theory of the film, as there and time discrepancies, and some plot holes, but everything comes together in the end, as all is connected, but lives on. The script is powerful, and the actors are both convincing and effective. They allow a human perspective to the events of the mid 90s that we heard about on the news, but never saw.