If you visit my (Josh Wagner's) classroom, you will see a poster for this film on the wall. Why? Because I freakin' love it!
When I first saw this movie in film school, it was in a class where we'd watch movies and then talk about them in a small group that was lead by the professor (a man named Dean Duncan who writes the smartsy-pants thoughts in the covers of lots of artsy movie DVDs). When we met for our small group, the first thing the Dean Duncan said was, "Well, Sunrise has already been made. You might as well all go home."
You may haven noticed that Sunrise is actually a pretty simple story. One fellow film student in film school who I knew didn't understand why this film gets so much praise. "It's just a big long date," he said.
But consider this as you think about this movie's plot. Most movie plots follow what is called 3-act structure. 3-act structure says that movies should look something like this:
- Act I: the first quarter to third of the movie (about 20-30 minutes) in which we set up all the characters. This act ends when the inciting incident happens (this is the moment when the main problem the characters face is introduced).
- Act II: the middle third to three-quarters of the movie (about 30-45 minutes) in which the characters try to solve the central problem they're facing. They are unable to successfully solve the problem during this time, often because of some sort of internal weakness.
- Act III: the last quarter to third of the film (about 20-30 minutes) in which the characters "fight" some sort of "final battle" to overcome the big problem they've been facing.
This act structure applies to Sunrise ... but only to the first half of the film! We go through all three acts at about 45 minutes in! That's crazy! Once the characters overcome their relationship problems and "remarry" at the church, Act III is over. The film should be done. But yet it goes on for another 45 minutes! How in the world does that work as a story?! But yet it does for most audiences. That's pretty cool.
Now I want to hear what all of you think about Sunrise. Remember, three full paragraphs that follow these instructions:
1) Answer both of the of the following questions:
- What aspects of high silent cinema did you see in this movie? Please provide three concrete examples from the film to back up your point.
- Did you or did you not enjoy this film? Why?
2) Answer two of the following questions:- Did any shots stand out to you as particularly amazing? If so, describe them and tell us why you thought they were amazing.
- Earlier in this post, I wrote about the strange story structure of this film. Why do you think the story structure works in spite of the fact that the film has gone through all three acts at the mid-point.
- What did you make of the acting style of this film? Did you like it or not like it? Why?
- If you were going to show this film to one of your friends, what you tell them ahead of time to prepare them for it?
It was a good movie I did enjoy it. The qualities that characterized high silent film were the exaggerated acting and facial expressions, as was seen in just about every film in that style.
ReplyDeleteNot shots stood out to me as "particularly amazing" but the scene that I was impressed with was the one with overlapping imaged when he was with the the woman plotting his wife's removal.
If I were alive in the time period this was released to theaters and I had a friend who was going to see the movie. I would not prepare them verbally in any way for the shock that was intended by the makers. For that very reason.
Graded.
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