Global Cinema

Read through MLE worksheets - background info, production context at time of production and diegesis, Look at what Del Torro says about it


Pans Labyrinth
Childlike storytelling at the beginning, narration and cinematography - comic book almost, cartoonish. Combined with the Ofelia's bookish nature it immediately creates a fairy tale esque plot, which is twisted into almost horror
Watching from the insect's perspective multiple times at the start creates a sense of foreboding
Fire goes against the blue when Ofelia and the mother are in bed, possibly showing isolation
Military uniforms are blue, contrasting with the woods and nature, they don't belong#
Starts like either a war film or a fantasy film
Key elements of film form: always moving cameras, always soft lighting, orangey-blue colour scheme
High pitched noise is a motif for tools, metal


Research:
Although audiences have interpreted the film's bittersweet ending as everything from a religious metaphor to a psychological allegory, Guillermo del Toro offers a simpler, but more poetic, explanation, "I always think of that beautiful quote by Søren Kierkegaard that says the tyrant's reign ends with his death, but the martyr's reign starts with his death. I think that is the essence of the movie; it's about living forever by choosing how you die."
While some viewers believe Ofelia's eating the grapes in the Pale Man's den to be something of a "too dumb to live" moment for the young heroine, it would actually seem to be a reference to what turns out to be her ultimate virtue: Courageous disobedience. According to Guillermo del Toro this theme is why the movie is set against the backdrop of falangist Spain (where disobeying the fascist regime was dangerous), and the final test of character for the princess confirms the importance of disobedience as well.
Javier Navarrete's score is structured around a lullaby.
+

Short Films

The Grandmother (1970) - David Lynch
Much more acceptable to express things surreally in short film


The Swimmer (2012) - Lynne Ramsay
Metaphor can be explored more freely, less need to draw out ideas
Can be more about the aesthetic than narrative, don't restrict yourself
Possibly about escapism - dialogue about moving freely, swimming in countryside water, water allowing all direction of movement, sport being cathartic, Lord of the Flies references, losing yourself in rides (although the swimmers detachment from them could show his inability to lose himself, be free, as he goes through many options without sticking to one)
'The film aims to give a real feel for the diversity of landscape and people of Britain' - BBC

 

CONNECT
Title cards like tube map
Bigger overall message - what we think on the tube (killing the woman to get her seat), what we want to do (reach out to the man), being together (dance at the end) happily not awkwardly




Wasp (2003) - Andrea Arnold
Dependent on the spectator


La Jetee (1962)
The more you watch it the more you forget the stills and create movement for yourself, still suspends disbelief
Looks very, very French
Didn't expect science fiction

Trainspotting cinematography

Lighting and colour - bleak unless showing heroin use, shows their outlook on life, especially without it, and also links to addiction. I.e. Mother Superior's red light and carpet, the green of the park
Camera - Perfect Day, showing people in a wide angle shot, highlights the people and the system he's abused to perpetuate his habit, while still gaining preferential treatment to save his life. Also go past two nihilistic punks who look at him confused - they don't think that's what nihilism is about
Baby scene/death - sets up disequilibrium, first time in the film that he's cared and has been deeply affected by something. Interrupts the status quo, possibly eliminates the idea of nihilism as he moves to London after and shows he cares
Used a wide angle lens without edges bowed out, makes things look further away, spend a lot of time at a low angle, like a 'rats' eye view down on the floor. When entering Mother Superiors, at same levelish as baby, but when the woman takes heroin we're on a level with her
People inject each other, comradeship, but Renton's in a different room as if not part of it
When showing people's opinions they're far away, as if it's not real. Colour is browns and greys, Renton in shadow in middle of parents
Friends-narrative-cinematography - friends are together by chance and use, no allegiance to each other (as shown in the end and that he can move away so easily when he's sober). His friends are almost antagonistic 'the problem with being sober is that I have to interact with my so called friends (park scene) and when Tommy takes him walking. And with Begbie he's using them as cronies, to respect him while he has none for them or their habit. Nihilistic, selfish. Heroin use is solitary, not communal like party drugs, so they don't even take it together, literally just score together
As Renton improves the camera gets closer and higher (as with Diane's conversation) he sees her for the first time properly as a person and not part of his surroundings. And when Begbie comes to visit him it's clear he's annoyed as the amount of reaction shots showing it increases. Shots on Begbie are steady while Renton's are handheld - unsure.


Mise-en-scene
'Who needs reasons when you got heroin' and other heroin shots - nothing in the shot but them, the main thing in your life. Even in pub when showing people's opinions
Let windows burn out via ISO to show the outside as a fuzz, irrelevant


Renton's bedroom when trying to quit - still at a low level and far removed from him. Almost like establishing shots in the room. No decoration. Tommy's becomes that as well, wide angle and barren with low angles as he's laying down, both from his perspective and not
But when Rentons clean its filmed closer, conventionally as he's talking to Diane and even before she turns up, as is his room in London even if it's still a bad place, and has warmer colours
Renton shifts to align himself with us (during the Begbie betting montage), not us getting on his side like is typical. Specifically the building up of cigarette packs like his stress, and Renton always wearing a suit even when relaxing - represents society even though he says 'if there was a society I wasn't part of it', foreshadows last scene where he says to choose the stuff he didn't before. The resolution is accepting society (maybe he doesn't feel the need to go back to it after seeing the value of society)

Trainspotting music

90s music but set in the 80s, which adds to the 'Cool Britannia' aesthetic and theme. Used a lot of recognizable hits

Amy Notes

Title works as establishing who she is via montage
Foreshadowing - ''I don't think I could handle it [fame]'
Music is used to highlight the point being made - song about dad not being there after talking about it, which shows how close her music was to herself - 'she had one of the most pure relationships to music' (Sam Beste, her piano player)
Interview about being hounded by press, says she's not up for it, foreshadowing
As soon as she turns to drugs, the music stops, voices are focused on to show how serious it is, less in touch with music
Cuts to flashing cameras every now and then to remind us that she never got a break
Only song Kapadia plays all the way through is 'Love is a Losing Game' to highlight Blake's villainy
Puts traditional media onto new media, layering
Snapshots shows that it's similar to crime and espionage - not right
Still shots taken at home the most powerful - drug use, very personal images
End footage shows her being happy and innocent - juveniles her
Doesn't show her cheating or any detail about it, skips her wrong doings

Mock Details

British film - ideology and narrative - 40 marks
Documentary - 20 marks - compare to other documentaries and makers, i.e. 'Michael Moore would say about this film', would've been different if they made it. Broomfield's view is that it should always be negotiated, Moore's view is that documentary is the vehicle for the creator's opinion
Experimental film - 20 marks