I was excited to show this film in order to give you a taste of what can be done with live action Steampunk without much CGI. But that only works if this really is Steampunk? Is it? Why or why not?
Was this film helpful in getting you thinking about ways to shoot the cool Steampunk special effects you would need for your story ideas? If so, how? If not, why not?
What do you think of the story? Is it just about the Steampunk elements or does it have deep characters and themes?
Since Steampunk is a sub-genre and is almost always mixed with another genre, it is good to ask the question: what other genre is this? What do you think? Back up your opinion with examples from the film.
And as always, be sure to post twice in the comment thread. Be sure to write deep, well-thought opinions that will really matter to the other people who read these. And be sure that at least one of your posts is at least 4-5 lines long.
Oh my gosh so this movie is EXTREMELY creepy, but it's sooo good!
ReplyDeleteYou really feel the story and get lost in it. The world is so steampunk. The Octopus is terrifying and I hate that character, but I love how they pieced her together. How each one would finish the other's sentence and casually scratch the others arm like they were the same person, inhaling a cigarette from one mouth and blowing out the smoke from the other.
The clan of people. How they all start out blind, but then the contraption allows them to see, it's really brilliant in my opinion how they made it work, and how the other guys was able to switch the cords so the other would watch himself die.. disturbing, scary and twisted but brilliant.
I absolutely love this movie, it just really gives me the creeps haha
i liked this movie. it actually felt a little too slow for me and hard to get into. but i really loved the steam punk elements in it and i felt it was great example to learn from. i loved the kids in it and the way the acted and how horrible and serious love was to them. it had a good story and i enjoyed how much the character types differ from the film noir genre characters.
ReplyDeleteI also feel like this movie was a bit slow.
DeleteI didn't enjoy this movie very much. It was a little too creepy for me to be able to get into the story. The characters were interesting enough though. It definitely was a good example of live action steam punk, however I don't think I would recommend this movie to anyone.
ReplyDeleteI really like the movie but it took me a lot of time to realize that the charector One was slow. I thought he just was quiet. I really like how at all times something was going on. The creepy parts made it a lot funner for me like the creepy mutated twins and the brain washing fleas made it more enjoy able for me.
ReplyDeleteGreat response, Dallas. Thank you for being detailed.
DeleteThis movie scared the SHIfT out of me. It creeped me out but the little girl had AMAZING acting, i loved it (: i liked the steam punk in it and i liked it and the big guy was ugly.
ReplyDeleteI find it intriguing that you liked that the big guy was ugly. Why did you like that?
DeleteIt was a little slow an the upstart and kinda confusing at first but after it was really good. I didn't understand some parts but that's natural with any movie, however I really like Tento... HE WAS SO FREAKING CUTE!
ReplyDeleteoops, wrong area.
DeleteThis is movie really does classifies as European Cinema. Besides the french language. (Lame Joke). Just with it being so abstract it's hard to describe it. I thing I wonder is if Ron Perlman was fluent in French or if he had to just learn his lines?
ReplyDeleteHe totally doesn't speak French, he was actually the only American on set. Which sounds scary.
DeleteWe should totally make a foreign film even though none of us speak that certain language.
DeleteThat is frightening to imagine being the only American on set!
DeleteI absolutely love this movie.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of people thought it was kind of slow, but that wasn't my experience at all. For me there was no dull moment, I got absolutely entranced with the sheer magic of the film. The tone, the contraptions, the quiet yet bold characters...
It felt very surreal and strange, but in a good way. Irvin the brain told the story of the inventor, how he was trying to create perfection, it felt mythical.
The thing that really tied me to the story was One. Like Miette said, "he might be big, but he's not grown up."
The film had a lot of childlike wonder to it, and One really helped with that.
I love the fact that they hired an American to play a hindered Frenchman, because he spoke poor French.
Ron Perlman is the man.
I love the moment when he acknowledges Miette as his 'petite sous' or little sister; their relationship was incredibly touching, and as a much older sibling, it felt real.
The real accomplishment this film made was the fact that I forgot that it was steampunk. It wasn't about the contraptions, it wasn't an excuse to look at brass pipes and coils, it was about the story. It had strong themes and characters. I was intrigued by it all, and the aesthetic was important, but it never once overpowered the themes of family, dreaming, and wonder.
I understand why it's not for everyone, but I personally love this movie to death.
Thank you once again, Sydnie for taking the time and thought to writing a very detailed and long response.
DeleteSyndie, your responses are always so incredibly thoughtful. Just sayin'.
DeleteThis movie scare me a lot and at times I couldn't follow the plot of make haeds or tails of what exactly was going on. It held the general idea of steampunk but other than that it felt more like horror.
ReplyDeleteI found the movie to be a bit creepy. I do have to it was to French for me I cant really get into movies I have to read. I hate to say that but its true :/ This movie is a great example of steam punk. It has a lot of elements that are steam punk, like the dream machine, the guards, that it was set back in older times maybe not so far back but when that kind of technology wouldn't have been around.
ReplyDeleteIt did give me great idea for props I would want to do. the guards eye pieces were a great example of easy but cool props. I liked the lab you saw a lot but it move or work so it could just be in the background and not work.
the movie has deep characters and a great story so its balanced.
The other genre is horror and tragedy. The horror part is the nightmares. tragedy is when he thought he lost his little sister and also his little brother, the story about the old man, the story about the twins. also that the original killed himself on accidently.
Great response, Dea. Thank you for considering the questions in the post above.
Deletethis movie was great i think the reason that i found this film so entertaining was because it was french and very weird. it was very steam punk i feel and had great depth to its characters. the only thing about the movie that seamed a tad bit not steampunky was is that it is really gritty.
ReplyDeleteFilms from other countries are sweet. It is so much fun to see other styles. I'm glad you dug the frenchness of this one.
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