In your response, start by stating what film you watched and what country it is from. Do not write any plot summary but do answer all of the following questions:
- What is the theme of the film? Back up your response with at least three examples from the film.
- How did the film help you better understand the culture of the country in which the film was made?
- After seeing the film, what questions do you plan on asking the person from the country you will interview?
Tayia Groesbeck-
ReplyDeleteI think the theme of my film is if you try to separate two people that love each other, it will end up being bad. My first reason is because when they tried to separate Pauline and Juliet because they thought they were lesbians Pauline started to get really depressed because she missed and loved Juliet. The second reason is Pauline started to want to kill her mother because Juliet's parents were getting a divorce and Juliet was going to be sent to Africa to stay with her aunt and Pauline wanted to go with Juliet but her mom wouldn't let her. The third reason is Pauline and Juliet ended up killing Pauline's mother because Pauline and Juliet wanted ro be together.
The film helped me understand New zealand better because it showed me how they live and how there schooling is kinda different and people there seem to have lots more money.
well I am planing on asking if people there drink lots of tea because they seemed to like tea a lot and if there is a lot of kids that murder there.
What was the name of the film? It doesn't sound like one I've seen. I need to check it out. You might ask your interviewee if all people there have lots of money or if just some people do. Many the people represented in the film are the exception, not the norm.
DeleteIt was called heavenly creatures
DeleteI watched "9th Company"!
ReplyDeleteФильм: Федор Бондарчук (A Film by Fedor Bondarchuk)
The theme of this movie would have to be coming of age, and understanding comradeship. A great example would be a comparison. In the beginning of the movie, the men, freshly recruited, are all very youthful and childish. By the end of the movie, they're very dark, mature, and wise, without having aged by much. The men, many of whom have very little life experience, come to understand their friends hardships and come to terms with their own demons through war. There's a scene in the movie where, before they ship off to Afghanistan, they all take turns sleeping with the local whore, except that one of them is a virgin and refuses to sleep with her, because he has a girlfriend back home. At the moment, the others ridicule him, but later in the film, when it comes back up again, they sympathize and understand his decision.
Watching this film, I feel like I learned a lot about Russia. Many of their films, from what I've observed, are a lot about coping with loneliness and isolation. Overcoming yourself. Developing a sense of loyalty. Their films usually border on what we Americans would consider "Experimental". They usually involve many shots of nature, and many long (Duration) shots. The story structure isn't our typical 3 act structure. It's usually a beautiful mess, which I think sums up Russia in a nutshell.
I have questions about what the culture of Russia is now, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Also, how much do they value film in their society? What's its role in their culture? What current events shape what kinds of movies are produced in Russia?
From Russia With Love,
Justus A. Page
I'm excited to hear how it goes when you talk with Alla. You might tell you what you've observed about Russian film and see if your experience reflects the reality of Russian film as perceived by a Russian person. One thing you will learn is that Russia does have a deep-rooted filmic tradition that rivals that of Hollywood and France.
DeleteI watched a Bosnian film called "In The Land of Blood And Honey". in this film i thought the theme was to show how horrible the Bosnian war was but always room for a love story no matter how bad the situation is. i thought this because, in the beginning on of the movie, two different cultured people really fell in love. then the war hit against the two cultures but he brings her to this horrible camp but tries his hardest to protect her from the other men. another reason i thought this theme fit well because he loved her so much he got her a safe room in an empty apartment building so they could be together. my last reason is he trusted her and took her on a date to an abandoned art museum(she was an artist before the war) and he had some duties to attend to but let her walk back to her apartment by herself.
ReplyDeletethis film really helped me understand how hard and brutal the war was. it was filled with horror and no mercy. It also helped me understand how the camps were like during the war. I look up to the people that lived through the war and it helped me understand really how hard that was at the time.
in my interview i plan on asking how Bosnia is today, and what are some cultural thinks she shares with her family. id like to know more about there language and food. If the history of this war in the movie i watched is being taught in schools in Bosnia like we have our history classes.
eve though this movie didn't have a very happy ending it was still very educational in my opinion. It helped me understand allot about how the war was in Bosnia. i cant wait to do my interview and see how things are now compared to those horrible war times.
Great insights about Bosnian life and history. I'm glad you're gleaning these sorts of things from the films we watch. I also think you have a good plan for what to ask your Bosnian interviewee. I'm interested to hear how Bosnians tell the history of their own war and how that might differ from what you saw in the movie and how both might differ from what really happened.
DeleteWhen you write your theme statements, keep in mind that themes usually take the form of universal language. So, you wrote, "I thought the theme was to show how horrible the Bosnian war was but there is always room for a love story no matter how bad the situation is". You wouldn't usually mention a specific war or place in a theme statement because that is not universal. So, instead you might write something like, "The theme of the film is that no matter how terrible things are, love can still blossom."
Ashton Bowers:
ReplyDeleteThem
This is a french movie about a couple that move into a house kind of in the middle of nowhere, and during the night start hearing wierd noises and see people with hoods on messing with them around their house and end up breaking in. so i guess the theme would be not to move in the middle of nowhere? This movie wasnt too scary but was violent in some parts, and had an unhappy and twisted ending.
This movie didnt have anything tward french culture from what i saw, exept mabey how the house looked. Thats something ill ask when i have the interveiw.
Sweet. I'm excited to hear what your interviewee says about this!
DeleteMy movie was called "In the Land of Blood and Honey" Its Bosnian.
ReplyDeleteI believe the theme of this movie is, no matter how rough it gets theres always enough room for true love. I believe this because the movies setting is during the Bosnian war and it depicts how horrible it was but yet two people fell in love. And they did some pretty crazy things to prove their love for each other.
The most interesting part of this movie i think though, wasnt the love story. I really just liked learning about the war. I learned just how disgusting and brutal it was and it made me wonder how the culture is today. If people are still bouncing back from all the horrible things that happened or if they just moved on like normal. I wanna know how many people have been mentally harmed from the acts of the war and how they plan to teach the younger generations about it. Oh yeah, i plan on asking that in my interview.
That's pretty cool that learning about the history was more interesting to you than the love story that the filmmakers seemed to have been using to try to hook you.
DeleteC.J. Barrett:
ReplyDeleteYay for 2 month late blogposts!
The first film I watched was The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, a movie whose theme isn't very apparent. The movie was a bit awkward to watch, and somewhat hard to follow later on without any voices. The movie in known for being German Expressionism, so its understandable that everything would be skewed and odd. I think I learned that Germany produced everyone who could be labeled as "goth" in high school, and that (in 1920 at least) many things were expressed in cinema via indirect methods, or obscure symbolism. For example, at the beginning of this film, all the scenery and buildings look average. But later on, as the mystery progresses, the doors, windows, everything gets more and more skewed, that I interpret as being confusion as to what's going on in the story's mystery.
Cool thoughts about how the scenery becomes more abstract as the confusion increases. Very cool observation and characteristic of German Expression (using scenery to reflect mood and emotion).
DeleteWhat do you plan on asking your interviewee after watching this (remember to answer all the questions)?
I agree with your theme and most of your thoughts about what French folk like. I don't necessarily think that ALL French people like remaking silent movies but I would say that many French filmmakers love old Hollywood movies and like to make references to them. Be careful about over generalizing based on one person or one movie.
ReplyDeleteRemember to answer all the questions in the post. For example, you still need to answer what you plan on asking the person you interview after seeing this film.
Well for starters the country I decided to do the movies at home for is Germany... I thought that it would give me a better understanding on the culture how film. I am half German so It seemed like itd be the obvious pick.
ReplyDeleteThe Movie I picked was Goodbye Lenin. I thought it was a great movie. I think the theme of this movie is that Even though lying is bad. In some cases you do it to protect the one you love. I thought it was really sweet how he did so much to keep his mom from knowing how much the world around her has changed. If she was told about all the things that happened. She probably would have died because of the shock.... But since he lied to her she was happy until the day she died... I think that the movie help me understand better what happened to East Germany when they wall fell. I Really had no idea what an affect the Berlin wall had on the East and West. I want to ask her more about the history of Germany to get a better understanding on the Film and what was going on at the time. I'm really Excited to learn what she knows about Germany.
Cool. I think it's so cool that you are using this to connect with your culture.
Delete-Randi Michelle :)
ReplyDeleteI watched one of my most favourite movies of all time, Spirited Away and it is a Japanese film. I think the theme of this movie is to not take your friends and family for granted. In the beginning of this movie, the main character Chihiro is spoiled and overprotected, and kind of takes her parents for granted. But when she goes into the Spirit World, she starts to realize how much her parents meant to her as she tries to save them. Also throughout the movie, she starts to gain maturity and wisdom. For instance, she automatically obeys rules that she knows are important, even when authorities tell her to break them. I also think that each character kind of has their own theme to theme, like No Face. He's so innocent and adorable, but at the same time he kind of has a darkish evil side, like when he went all crazy when Chihiro wouldn't accept his gold. I just really like how he represents how people have a good and a bad side.
This movie helped me learn a lot about how the Japanese values characters with both good and evil inside them, because that's how it is in reality. I've also noticed that in a lot of Japanese animes, the little girls will yell a lot for some reason...and that they are very specific about gasps and nods and tend to make the character do that a lot. I think I will ask my cousin about these subjects, and also about why nature, spirits, and festivals are such big deals in this film as well.
Coolio.
DeleteI watched a Bosnian film called "In The Land of Blood And Honey". in this film i thought the theme was to show how horrible the Bosnian war but love can always find its way. The most interesting part in my opinion of this movie thought, wasnt the love story. I really just liked learning about the war. I've never really been into the war and what it represents, but this movie really showed me that life can be really difficult sometimes. I felt the love story fit really well in this movie though, I thought this because, in the beginning on of the movie, two different cultured people really fell in love. Then the war started against the two cultures they were in but he brings her to this horrible camp but tries his hardest to protect her from the other men, and I think that's really suckish, but still some-what sweet at the same time, shows he really does care still. I thought it was really sweet when well he loved her so much that he got her a safe room in an empty apartment building so they could be together. All in all, it was a great movie!!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how the theme of some films is just to show how bad certain things are (e.g. Hotel Rwanda) and I am glad that you were able to see that the story also has an additional theme about love.
Delete