Second Movie at Home
The third dead line for the International Cinema term-long project is approaching. By Tuesday, April 24, you need to watch a second film from your country and respond to it in a comment below. This could mean watching another film from that culture or rewatching the first one. In your response, tell us of your name, remind us which country you're focusing on, and tell us the film you watched for this step. Also, answer at least two of the following questions in at least four paragraphs:
- How did the interview you did with someone from your chosen country help you appreciate this film?
- Imagine an American friend of yours were going to watch this film. What would tell this friend to prepare him or her to enjoy it?
- What did you like most about the film? What did you like least? If this was your second time watching it, how was it different for you this time? Why?
I watched "Life Is Beautiful" and I love it. I got my girls watch it too and they really seemed to enjoy it. We had some good conversations about it afterwards.
ReplyDeleteMy mom introduced me to this film a few years ago after she had seen it in Sundance. And for the longest time after my sister, mom and I were saying "Buon giorno, Principessa!". But I think the first time I saw it, it was just a movie to me. But after going though LifeLine I feel more connected and get a feeling from it. And it makes me want to be a better person now. I think everyone could learn something from every movie they watch, whether it is something you should or shouldn't do. Most movies do have a moral to them.
I actually ran a group and showed a few of the clips from the movie in it. My group was about the appreciation of life and how beautiful our lives are even though we're in rehab and half of them don't even have shoes. I really tried to teach that you can love life and make it amazing where ever you are. I know that's what worked for me, I made a choice to be happy and ever since then I've never had a horrible day. I've had hard ones but not bad ones.
I think the biggest learning experience I had was about the Holocaust. I grew up learning about the Japanese interment camps but didn't know much about what happened in Italy. It was really jarring to think about the horrible things they did. It really killed me inside. I wanted to scream "NO! DON'T GO IN THERE! THEY'LL BURN YOU UP!" Roberto Benigni did a wonderful job conveying everything. I think it was a beautifully told story. I love the cinematography and their lines, pretty much just the whole thing! I love the ending too, how the boy as a grown up talked about how that was his fathers gift to him. It really summed it up.
In a lot of American movies it's all very shallow and lets get drunk or high or do something stupid, but this film really had meaning. It almost had two stories that combined in the middle. If you took the first half you would have a film. If you too the second half it would be another film. But put them together and it's a masterpiece.
When people use to ask me what my favorite film was, I would always say I didn't know, but I think I'll start saying "Life Is Beautiful".
Sir Whovian, Out!
Autumn, thanks for sharing how this film connected with you in such a personal way. And think you for sharing your thoughts about being happy no matter what. I needed to read that today. I think it's just awesome that you shared parts of the film in the group you ran.
DeleteInterviewing my friend changed my whole perspective on the whole movie, i realized how deep and powerful it really is. "The Wave" is a super interesting movie, definitely one of my new foreign favorites. Every time i see my friend i have more questions about where she's from and what she thinks of the movie, each time i learn something new and i become a lot closer to her.
ReplyDeleteIf i were to have an American friend watch this with me, i would first try to explain to them, " What ever your thinking is going to happen next probably will" because when i was watching it i predicted everything that was going to happen next and i was right each time, except for the part when one of the characters commits suicide that caught me off guard.
What i liked most about this movie was probably the story, after watching it, it made me realize how easy it is for a small group to cause a big commotion. It shows Everything you do in life causes a chain reaction, i live by that. You never know how big of an impact you will make on other people till it falls to pieces or grows to make a change (good or bad) .
TO AUTUMN: if you need anyone to interview for your culture, I was born in italy, lived there for three years and would love to help! Just putting that out there, if you need me! (:" Life Is Beautiful" is one of my all time favorite movies, i use to watch it all the time with my older sister.
Cool, thanks! I'm thinking about making a short film about Italy for the class.
DeleteYou're welcome,That would be a lot of fun! :D What kind of movie were you thinking?
DeleteWay to collaborate, guys! That's awesome!
DeleteThanks! :)
DeleteRose here, and I re-watched The Nasty Girl, a film from German made in the 1990's. (This is very late, sorry!)
ReplyDeleteI did a little research on the background behind the story of The Nasty Girl (plot: a young teen who begins to investigate her little town's scandalous history.) and the main character in the film Sonja, is actually a fictionalized version of Anna Rosmus, a real woman in history who is a historic researcher - and when Anna was sixteen, (like Sonja) she began developing an interesting in contemporary history; mainly the Third Reich. (Which is Nazi Germany, basically.) I didn't catch on to the fact that The Nasty Girl was a true story about this woman named Anna Rosmus, and how she began to uncover secrets of her little town, like their involvement in the war against the Jewish.
Talking to my friend Sabrina from Germany, she brought up that she feels a lot of what we Americans view of the Germans and their films, possibly, is the aspect of their involvement in the war. She says even in non-war movies, she senses the embarrassment in sadder movies. I'm not sure I understand what she meant by that... but I am just going to assume she means something along the lines of.. the weight of what Germany did will always be apart of their history/culture, and that seems to effect a lot of aspects of their life. It would always be a burden, I guess.
A lot of my friends don't seem to have patience for foreign movies like I do. So I would remind my friend to whom I suggested the film to be patient, and to pay attention -- find something to appreciate about the film, and then focus on it. I think to truly love this film, you have to appreciate the boldness of the true story that is based on it - and you have to be appreciate history, even if it was bad.
The second time around, I paid way more attention watching it then I did the first. I also learned about Anna Rosmus vs Sonja and that was a cool new realization to take into account when I was watching it. I don't really know if there is anything I dislike about the film... I mean it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't perfect, everything in it was overall decent. I also have a hard time judging movies based on a true story, because it brings a million questions to my head like the bias of the writer/director and if it really happened or the obligation to fall in love with it because the events were actually real. (Like Sonja marrying her substitute physics teacher, woohoo.)
But yeah. I'll probably use this film for my third time around. I am sorry if there are weird spelling/grammar errors.
When I worked on a reality TV project about a guy going to Germany to explore his ancestor's involvement in the Third Reich, I experienced first time the weight that still hangs over Germany because of the Holocaust. Most Germans didn't realize how far Hitler's anti-Semetic ideas went back during the war. It was not until after the war that the general population learned the full extent of what happened in the holocaust and it was a big shock to a people who were so proud of their nationality.
DeleteThe guilt and confusion and turmoil that people feel that is manifest in many ways: a capitol building with a glass roof to remind them to always have transparency in government; a deep distrust of flying flags, wearing uniforms, or doing anything that feels like anything close to militant nationalism; an older generation that never talks about the WWII era; a younger generation that talks about it but does not know what to make of it; etc.
Imagine if you personally did something so terrible, as terrible as the holocaust and thought that you were doing the Right thing when you did. Then imagine realizing how big a mistake you made and having to live with it the rest of your life. That is how the German people feel but in a collective way, not a personal way. It shades everything they do as a people, including, of course, their art. It's deep stuff.
I watched the red balloon again last night, I was going to finish that one movie you showed me but I forgot the name. But I am going to watch it for my 3rd film, because I do still really want to finish that movie.
ReplyDeleteWatching this movie again I noticed a few differences but like in there movie style compared to Americans. This time I mostly paid attention to the artsy parts of it, and the deeper meanings, which I didn’t really quite figure out yet. I have recommended this movie to a lot f my friends. What I usually tell them is about the French new wave and what to notice, and a few things about the French culture.
I like a lot of things about this film; I think my favorite is the color and music. They both flow together to create emotions you don’t even relies, which I realized, but MOST people don’t. it’s amazing how they lift him up in the end. OH, and my step dad also told me how a lot of children in France didn’t really have friends, they has pets and maybe a few family friends, but he says that most kids focused on school and to have like a lot of friends kind meant you were not that great of a kid. And I think I kind of saw that in this film also. This time around that is.
The "one movie" is called "The Son".
DeleteThat's so cool that you're talking with your friends about the French New Wave. Does it make you feel smart? :)
That's really interesting about how a lot of kids didn't have friends in France. That helps me appreciate the film more.
Josh, where is the forum for our third interview? We are supposed to do an interview for a third time, right?
ReplyDeleteSorry, Rose. I just added it.
DeleteI watched Yojimbo. It's about a lone samurai who comes to a town that has two rival gangs fighting a turf war. And he tries to manipulate both sides into taking each other out. The lead character of the samurai, was once again played by Toshiro Mifune. His character in this film was much more different than in Seven Samurai and Rashomon. He's a lot more stoic and calm, rather than being the crazy samurai. In fact, there's not once in the movie where he forcibly laughs. Actually, only one character ever laughs, and only does it once for a second or two. So coincidentally, I happen to like Yojimbo a lot.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the things I like most about Yojimbo is the feel of the movie. It's just a straight, normal film. The story's not all dis-jointed like in Rashomon, and it doesn't require a big time and emotional investment like Seven Samurai. It's easy to just pop in and see what unfolds. The movie also feels like a western, mainly because, it's a western that just happens to take place in Japan and feature samurai instead of cowboys. Not only was this film the prototype for "A Fist Full of Dollars", but it was based of the style of John Ford's western movies. You said that Kurosawa loved John Ford films, and boy does he show that influence here.
As I think back on the movie, I can't really think of anything bad about it. The story was interesting, and it was told on a good way. The pacing and flow was good. There was always something happening, whether it was a sword fight, or planning what the next move will be. If there was any little complaint that I had, it was that it takes a couple minutes to get started. There's a whole scene at the beginning where Mifune doesn't even get to the gang controlled town yet, and he's just walking through farm lands. But aside from that, this was a very good movie. Better than Rashomon I think. Maybe just a single notch below Seven Samurai.
I like and agree with your description of this film as just a straight up, entertaining movie. It watches well and is the perfect length for a movie night. I agree. And boy is it a Western.
DeleteOne thing I do like about the beginning of the film is the moment when Mifune uses the blade of grass to decide where to go. I like that moment because one moment of fate decided everything else that happens in the film and because it says so much about the lone-wondering nature of this character.
A couple of thoughts about this film that I think are significant:
If you remember what we learned in class about a samurai's sword being a part of who he is, the moment when Mifune loses his sword takes on more significance. Also, it becomes significant that he gets his new sword from a grave. His character dies and is resurrected with the weapon, and therefore the soul and essence, of a dead man. He is the living dead at the end come to exert retribution on the living.
Also, this film represents an important point in Kurosawa's transition from believing that willpower can save the world to believing that mankind will destroy itself. The old bodyguard who runs away is played by the guy who, previous to this film, played many of Kurosawa's hopeful protagonists. When that guy runs away and is replaced by the darker Mifune character who goes on to play the central role is a mass slaughter, it's like Kurosawa is saying, "I'm not sure I believe in the hope of willpower anymore. Here's my new philosophy of destruction!" Interesting stuff.