Guiseppe Tornatore is an Italian director known for his nostalgic films. In his charming storytelling we are led into his world that is a blend of realism and fantasy. What adds to his films’ charms is his collaboration with the world-renowned composer, Ennio Morricone, who has composed the score for several of his feature films. In this paper I will focus on the setting, characterization, and editing of three of his feature films, which are: Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988), Stanno Tutti Bene (1990), and Malena (2000), to show how these elements help to create his cinematic style.
In order to examine Tornatore’s films, we need to first take a brief look at his life. He was born, May 27, 1956, and raised in Bagheria, which is a coastal city located on Sicily. As a youth he started working as a photographer and was published in several magazines. When he was sixteen years old, he staged two plays by Pirandello and De Filippo. He then started making documentaries. One of them, Il Carretto, gained acclaim at several regional and national festivals (http://www.regalis.com/giuseppe/tornatore.html 1).
In 1979, Tornatore began collaborating with RAI Television (Italy’s national network), for which he directed various programs including: Diario De Guttuso, Ritratto Di Un Rapinatore, Incontro Con Francesco Rosi, Scrittori Siciliani E Cinema—Verga, Pirandello, and Brancati E Sciascia. In 1982 he won the award for best documentary for Le Minoranze Etniche in Sicilia at the Salerno Festival. From the years 1978 to 1985 he was chairman of the CLCT Cooperative. Since then Tornatore has made seven feature films, which include: Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988), Stanno Tutti Bene (1990), Especially on Sunday (1991), A Pure Formality (1994), The Star Maker (1995), The Legend of 1900 (1999), and Malena (2000) (http://www.regalis.com/giuseppe/tornatore.html 1).
Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, Stanno Tutti Bene, and Malena are all set on the island of Sicily, where Tornatore grew up. Tornatore’s feelings of nostalgia for his homeland is evident in these three films. Although Stanno Tutti Bene begins and ends in Sicily, the body of the story takes place on the mainland of Italy in several modern Italian cities such as; Rome, Naples, Florence, Milan, and Venice.
At some point in each of these films we are brought to the coast where the shimmering, blue water meets the clear, blue sky. This creates a feeling of serenity for the viewer. The main characters are brought to the coast for either introspection or recreation. For example in Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, Toto and Alfredo go to the coast to talk after Toto arrives back home after being released from the military. Toto goes to the coast with Elena for a romantic interlude. In Stanno Tutti Bene, Matteo rents five bungalows on the coast of Sicily in hopes that his children will come from the mainland and visit him. Matteo goes to the coast on a senior citizens’ trip while taking a break from visiting his children. He does this to reflect on the events that have just happened with three of his children and to prepare to visit the last two of his children. He ends up discussing his grown children with a woman on the trip, who has the same experiences with her grown children. They help each other understand their lives. In Malena, Renato can be seen sitting on the wall next to the water with his bicycle watching and fantasizing about Malena as she walks by. In each of these films, Tornatore sets some scenes by the water to be a symbolic of the characters’ inner world or introspection.
The season that dominates each of these films is the summer. In Stanno Tutti Bene, we see Matteo on the coast with his wife and young children on a family vacation, which is a scene that repeats three to four times in the film. In Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, we see Toto riding in the summer sunshine with Alfredo on his bicycle. We also see the blueness of a warm, summer night when Alfredo projects the movie on the outside building’s wall. In Malena, we see her walking through the Piazza in her clinging summer dresses. Tornatore seems to be invoking a calm feeling of summer as a way to catch us off guard when the characters experience trials in their lives such as fire, persecution, rejection, and loneliness.
The main characters in these three films are men. In Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, the main characters are Toto (Salvatore) and Alfredo. In Stanno Tutti Bene, the main character is Matteo and in Malena, it is Renato. Even though the film is called Malena, she has not been given a voice. She speaks only a few words. She is the object of Renato’s desire. Women are only objects in all these films. In Sicilian culture women have not achieved the same status as men and Tornatore reflects this in his films. He is keeping up with tradition. The fact that the color blue so dominates his frames, adds to the masculinity as being dominate in this culture (http://www.insteam.com/LauraFunderburk/myColor.htm 3-4).
Toto, Matteo, and Renato watch the people they love go through tragedy. In Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, Toto saves Alfredo from the fire. Alfredo then becomes blind and thus suffers from isolation because he can no longer work. In Stanno Tutti Bene, Matteo watches his children lie to him in their desperate attempt to please him. He is aware of their deception the whole film, but goes along with it. In Malena, Renato watches Malena being persecuted by the village women. Her hair is cut off, she’s beaten, and then is outcast from the village. The main characters are affected by these tragedies, because of their emotional involvement with the characters going through them.
The main characters in these films also all long for the past. The present is not fulfilling them. They each have loved a woman and lost her to either death or ignorance of their whereabouts. They have all placed meaning on these women that goes beyond a companion. These women represent the virility of these men. In these men’s eyes there will never be a woman like the first woman they loved. Their idealism of the past creates their unhappiness in the present. We can only hope that they will get over it, so they can find happiness in the future.
In Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, Toto longs for Elena, the woman he first loved. Countless women spend time in his bed in the present, because none of them evokes the feelings that Elena did in him. Alfredo even saved the film of her that Toto filmed while he was a teenager. We see Toto watching the film near the end of the movie. In Stanno Tutti Bene, Matteo still talks to his dead wife, Angela, and refers to her in the present while talking to his children. It is clear that he hasn’t accepted her death. In Malena, Renato states in his narration that the only woman he will never forget out of all the women he has loved is Malena, the woman who never asked him to remember her. In all these characters pining over their lost loves Tornatore is creating a romance that is epic, because it has been lost and not accepted that it has been lost.
These three films of Tornatore have the common element of flashbacks in their editing. These flashbacks help us to feel the emotional trauma the characters are going through. They evoke our sympathy for them. We cannot help but feel sorry for them, because some events in their lives have been holding them captive. This adds to the nostalgia of the films. The flashbacks involve still photographs, clips of movies, and images of fantasies that they have had.
In Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, almost the whole film is told in flashbacks. There is no narrator, but we view the events as if they were happening in the present. We know they are flashbacks of Toto’s memories, because we see him as a middle-aged man in the beginning of the film. We then see him as a child with his mother and Alfredo. The flashbacks include clips of films he saw while growing up and working at the local theatre in Giancaldo, Sicily. We flip back to Toto in the present day after the more traumatic flashbacks, such as the fire that almost kills Alfredo. Toto lays awake thinking about the events of his life before he boards the plane to go home for Alfredo’s funeral.
In Stanno Tutti Bene, the flashbacks happen in an unrealistic manner. Matteo flashes back to when his children are young, but he imagines them young going through the events of the present day. He asks them why they lied to him as he is imagining them young. He has an image of his wife and children on the coast that is shown to us as if he were having a flashback, but it is a nightmare. It is repetitive, so we aren’t sure whether it was an actual event or his imagination.
In Malena, the whole film is told in flashback images. We know this because the main character is the narrator of the story. By knowing the images are in the past it puts the viewer at ease to watch them. After all we know the main character survived whatever is going to happen to him. The flashbacks include images of his fantasies, which we view in black and white as if they were old Hollywood films. The editing allows us to feel the desire of this young man through his fantasized interludes with the object of his attention, who is Malena.
Tornatore’s style shows through each of these three films using common elements found in his setting, characterization, and editing. When we see a Tornatore film we expect to watch a nostalgic story about the good old days. We expect the main characters to be sentimental and to be men. We know that women are merely the supporting characters in the film or the objects of desire for the men. The color blue dominates the frames even in its softest nuances to create a calm, masculine, and reflective feeling. These are all the marks you will find in a Tornatore film. If you love nostalgia, I would suggest you watch Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, Stanno Tutti Bene, and Malen
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Run Lola Run
Run Lola Run is an independent German film written and directed by Tom Tykwer. The film opens with the camera fixated on an antique clock, which is ticking. The techno music kicks in as swarms of people go about their day. Their speed blurs their images, which is then covered by a new frame. These scenes are cause enough to make Madonna jealous that they were not included in her “Ray of Light” video. There’s a man rattling on about questions and answers. It is all irrelevant in the end.
The concept of the film is that life is a game. Through its twists and turns one makes decisions affecting their destinies. The timing of events plays a significant role.
Lola and Manni are the two main characters. They are lovers. Manni works for some crime boss and botches a robbery by forgetting the 100,000 marks on the subway, which a bum picks up. He has to have the money back by 12:00 noon. Because Lola was negligent in picking him up from the heist, she feels responsible for his predicament. He calls her from a brilliant yellow phone booth, in which he is filmed in most of the movie.
The urgency in the film is depicted through the director’s use of red. Lola’s phone and hair are red. A red ambulance passes through the streets. Even the love scene has a red hue to it.
After a long piercing scream Lola hangs up on Manni and starts running. She runs to the bank. The people she knocks accidentally into on the streets have their destinies flashed before us.
There are three possible outcomes in the film. The first is a tragic ending with Lola being shot. The second ending has Manni hit by the ambulance. The third and final ending has Lola and Manni reunited 100,000 marks ahead of the game.
My favorite scene in the movie is when Lola is in the casino. She places two bets on number twenty. The second bet she places leaves her in euphoric screaming that breaks every glass in the place and stops everyone around her. And when she wins they’re still stunned. Her screams had to be one of the highlights of the film.
Run Lola Run is an enjoyable movie to watch, especially if you are into alternative, artsy films. The subtitles go fast but so does the film. The animation in the film is a perk also.
The concept of the film is that life is a game. Through its twists and turns one makes decisions affecting their destinies. The timing of events plays a significant role.
Lola and Manni are the two main characters. They are lovers. Manni works for some crime boss and botches a robbery by forgetting the 100,000 marks on the subway, which a bum picks up. He has to have the money back by 12:00 noon. Because Lola was negligent in picking him up from the heist, she feels responsible for his predicament. He calls her from a brilliant yellow phone booth, in which he is filmed in most of the movie.
The urgency in the film is depicted through the director’s use of red. Lola’s phone and hair are red. A red ambulance passes through the streets. Even the love scene has a red hue to it.
After a long piercing scream Lola hangs up on Manni and starts running. She runs to the bank. The people she knocks accidentally into on the streets have their destinies flashed before us.
There are three possible outcomes in the film. The first is a tragic ending with Lola being shot. The second ending has Manni hit by the ambulance. The third and final ending has Lola and Manni reunited 100,000 marks ahead of the game.
My favorite scene in the movie is when Lola is in the casino. She places two bets on number twenty. The second bet she places leaves her in euphoric screaming that breaks every glass in the place and stops everyone around her. And when she wins they’re still stunned. Her screams had to be one of the highlights of the film.
Run Lola Run is an enjoyable movie to watch, especially if you are into alternative, artsy films. The subtitles go fast but so does the film. The animation in the film is a perk also.
Fannie and Alexander
Ingmar Bergman’s film Fannie and Alexander is paradoxical. Part one of the movie shows us the dysfunctional Eckdahl family in which Fannie and Alexander are born to. They have loose morals, are artsy, and loving towards their children. Part two of the movie shows us the hypocritical, Vergerus family who is sterile, rigidly disciplined, and aggressively cruel towards the children all in the name of God. It is a contrast between light and dark, which both families seem to embody. Each has their earthly and spiritual sides.
The father of Fannie and Alexander is Oscar Eckdahl. He is pale and out of breath often. It is stated that he works too hard at what he loves, which is the theatre. His mother Helena expresses concern about his health to his wife Emily. He eventually dies playing Hamlet’s ghost and he becomes a ghost to his son Alexander. Oscar’s ghostly appearance is out of concern for his children. His spirit is weighed down by this earthly concern and cannot pass on until his worries are put to rest.
Alexander sees his father’s ghost. At first he is comforted by it then he is annoyed. In his despair over the Bishop’s cruelty towards him and Fannie he asks his father why he can not just go to God and ask that he kill the Bishop. Alexander tells his father to move on that he can not help them right now. He tells Oscar to go to heaven and get help. Alexander deals with his present abusive life through escapism and lies. Or rather are they lies or just premonitions of what the truth is? Can you call it black when it could be white? Is it just in the interpretation of the audience?
Ingmar Bergman further leads us on this questioning journey to another crossroad, which presents itself as Ismael. He is by far the most interesting character in this film. Ismael is the glimmering light in the darkness and he is considered dangerous. This is a paradox. For Ismael is the savior-he is the saving grace. Ingmar Bergman is saying to us if you do not understand what I am trying to convey in this film yet, here is more of a clue. I see it as a flaming sword. Ismael’s danger is that he possesses a secret metaphysical knowledge. He is able to read minds, change signatures, and perhaps alter a chain of life’s events by seeing through another person’s eyes. He appears feminine, but is introduced to us as Isaac’s nephew. Ingmar Bergman might have been stating that women are more in tune with this sort of knowledge.
Alexander is led to Ismael’s room by Aron (Ismael’s brother). Ismael requests a longer visit with Alexander sensing his despair and urgency. He places his hands on the boy’s temples and sees into his mind. Ismael sees his fears and desires. Alexander’s desires center on the Bishop’s death. Is it by Ismael’s powers or did Oscar go to God for help to cause the Bishop’s death? All this would be an end if it were not for the Bishop’s ghost appearing to Alexander in the corridor one night. He knocks Alexander down to discipline him even in death.
The doors of perception are open to the audience. It is the theatre of the mind. Ingmar Bergman sets the stage and gives us clues but we are left to decide for ourselves. Are our decisions based on our own spiritual beliefs or on our fears of a parallel metaphysical universe that merges with ours at times? Can our desires be fulfilled just by wanting them badly enough? Or is it a convergence of the paradox turning into a tornado that brings about the change?
The father of Fannie and Alexander is Oscar Eckdahl. He is pale and out of breath often. It is stated that he works too hard at what he loves, which is the theatre. His mother Helena expresses concern about his health to his wife Emily. He eventually dies playing Hamlet’s ghost and he becomes a ghost to his son Alexander. Oscar’s ghostly appearance is out of concern for his children. His spirit is weighed down by this earthly concern and cannot pass on until his worries are put to rest.
Alexander sees his father’s ghost. At first he is comforted by it then he is annoyed. In his despair over the Bishop’s cruelty towards him and Fannie he asks his father why he can not just go to God and ask that he kill the Bishop. Alexander tells his father to move on that he can not help them right now. He tells Oscar to go to heaven and get help. Alexander deals with his present abusive life through escapism and lies. Or rather are they lies or just premonitions of what the truth is? Can you call it black when it could be white? Is it just in the interpretation of the audience?
Ingmar Bergman further leads us on this questioning journey to another crossroad, which presents itself as Ismael. He is by far the most interesting character in this film. Ismael is the glimmering light in the darkness and he is considered dangerous. This is a paradox. For Ismael is the savior-he is the saving grace. Ingmar Bergman is saying to us if you do not understand what I am trying to convey in this film yet, here is more of a clue. I see it as a flaming sword. Ismael’s danger is that he possesses a secret metaphysical knowledge. He is able to read minds, change signatures, and perhaps alter a chain of life’s events by seeing through another person’s eyes. He appears feminine, but is introduced to us as Isaac’s nephew. Ingmar Bergman might have been stating that women are more in tune with this sort of knowledge.
Alexander is led to Ismael’s room by Aron (Ismael’s brother). Ismael requests a longer visit with Alexander sensing his despair and urgency. He places his hands on the boy’s temples and sees into his mind. Ismael sees his fears and desires. Alexander’s desires center on the Bishop’s death. Is it by Ismael’s powers or did Oscar go to God for help to cause the Bishop’s death? All this would be an end if it were not for the Bishop’s ghost appearing to Alexander in the corridor one night. He knocks Alexander down to discipline him even in death.
The doors of perception are open to the audience. It is the theatre of the mind. Ingmar Bergman sets the stage and gives us clues but we are left to decide for ourselves. Are our decisions based on our own spiritual beliefs or on our fears of a parallel metaphysical universe that merges with ours at times? Can our desires be fulfilled just by wanting them badly enough? Or is it a convergence of the paradox turning into a tornado that brings about the change?
The Serpent's Egg
Ingmar Bergman’s The Serpent’s Egg, made me feel like I had just had a night of smoking two packs of Marlboro Lights, a six pack of Coors Light, and multiple shots of Jack Daniels. The darkness of this film reminded me of another film, Metropolis. I felt immense despair during the entire film. The only pleasant surprise is that Rosenberg survives although he may desire death himself.
The Serpent’s Egg begins with cabaret music. The first frames of the film show a crowd of people. The film is black and white suggesting nostalgia. The crowd has pale, expressionless faces and resembles clowns. With the music blaring in the background I sense that this is a weird film. The title suggests a horror film. For the serpent represents evil and an egg represents birth or life. Therefore is this the birth of evil? I think so.
The characters of this film are disoriented and bland. Abel Rosenberg is an ex-trapeze artist whose brother just died and he believes he murdered him. He spends his days and nights drunk and miserable. He steals money from Manuela after she had allowed him to stay with her.
Manuela Bergman is a nieve prostitute. She appears to have a heart of gold but not the strength to pull Rosenberg out of his drunken stupor. Manuela is too confused herself to do anything but survive.
Hans Vergerus is the character that pulls the film together. He is romantically involved with Manuela. He is the Nazi scientist who performs experiments on humans. He does not have the courage to be killed by others when they discover his experiments so he swallows a sinanide capsule and dies. We find out that Rosenberg’s brother was one of his experiments.
The state of mind these characters are in is evident in the scene where the Nazi police come barging into the cabaret. They seize the owner and beat him to a pulp while the others watch. They do not attempt to help him. There is a sense of fear and depression that encompasses this scene.
The characters accept their fate because it is 1923 in Berlin. The devastation of World War I affects the economy and the Nazi regime has formed. People are murdered and their bodies are found in the alleys. They have lost all hope and the desire for acceptance and love.
I thought this film was too controversial for the general public and that is why it did not do well when it was first released. It addressed issues involving Nazis, which is a taboo. The film was dark and hopeless and people desire to be entertained. I like the thought provoking challenge but it’s like going to a funeral when you want to attend a wedding.
The Serpent’s Egg begins with cabaret music. The first frames of the film show a crowd of people. The film is black and white suggesting nostalgia. The crowd has pale, expressionless faces and resembles clowns. With the music blaring in the background I sense that this is a weird film. The title suggests a horror film. For the serpent represents evil and an egg represents birth or life. Therefore is this the birth of evil? I think so.
The characters of this film are disoriented and bland. Abel Rosenberg is an ex-trapeze artist whose brother just died and he believes he murdered him. He spends his days and nights drunk and miserable. He steals money from Manuela after she had allowed him to stay with her.
Manuela Bergman is a nieve prostitute. She appears to have a heart of gold but not the strength to pull Rosenberg out of his drunken stupor. Manuela is too confused herself to do anything but survive.
Hans Vergerus is the character that pulls the film together. He is romantically involved with Manuela. He is the Nazi scientist who performs experiments on humans. He does not have the courage to be killed by others when they discover his experiments so he swallows a sinanide capsule and dies. We find out that Rosenberg’s brother was one of his experiments.
The state of mind these characters are in is evident in the scene where the Nazi police come barging into the cabaret. They seize the owner and beat him to a pulp while the others watch. They do not attempt to help him. There is a sense of fear and depression that encompasses this scene.
The characters accept their fate because it is 1923 in Berlin. The devastation of World War I affects the economy and the Nazi regime has formed. People are murdered and their bodies are found in the alleys. They have lost all hope and the desire for acceptance and love.
I thought this film was too controversial for the general public and that is why it did not do well when it was first released. It addressed issues involving Nazis, which is a taboo. The film was dark and hopeless and people desire to be entertained. I like the thought provoking challenge but it’s like going to a funeral when you want to attend a wedding.
Enemy at the Gates
Enemy at the Gates is a film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. The main character of the film is Vassili, who is played by Jude Law. Vassili is a shepherd from Urals. He becomes the Russian’s best sniper and is forced to a duel with the German’s best sniper, Major Konig, played by Ed Harris. This occurs during the battle at Stalingrad from September 20, 1942 to February 3, 1943 during World War II.
The film opens with the eyes of a wolf being seen between the boughs of a snowy tree. A boy is taught by his grandfather, how to kill the wolves that prey upon their flock of sheep. He is given one shot to kill the wolf and he freezes. The next scene is a young man in military uniform on a train headed for Stalingrad. It is September 20, 1942. On this train is Tania, played by Rachel Weisz, who later becomes his love interest.
The next scenes are very graphic. They consisted of the Russian soldiers on that train, getting off and having to cross a river, which contained bloody corpses, some of which were dismantled. There were planes overhead dropping bombs. Some of the soldiers attempted to go back and their captains shot and killed them for being cowards. The main character is seen charging forward against the Germans without a gun. The Russians did not have enough rifles for all their soldiers. All the while the Germans are shooting. The Germans even shot at the heap of dead soldiers to make sure they were dead.
Vassili meets Danilov, played by Joseph Fiennes, in the heap of dead bodies, where they both are hiding. Danilov gives Vassili a rifle and asks him if he knows how to shoot. Vassili says he knows a little. Through his peephole we see a couple German captains and some soldiers, which he shoots in the head one by one. Not bad for someone who can shoot a little. Then Danilov uses Vassili for the Russian propaganda to help other soldiers see that there is hope. The Germans want to end the Russian propaganda so they send Major Konig to Stalingrad to kill Vassili. This is ironic, because the Germans used so much propaganda themselves.
Vassili learns of Major Konig hunting him and loses confidence. We see through Vassili’s flashback what happened to the wolf in the opening scene. He missed the wolf, which then attacked his grandfather’s horse. His grandfather took the rifle from him and shot both the wolf and the wounded horse. We then see Vassili as a boy apologizing with tears to his grandfather. This is an important scene, because it gives the audience insight into his desire to be a good marksman, which is to get his grandfather’s approval.
Tania decides to fight, rather than stay as an interpreter in the shelter, when she hears of her parents’ deaths. Her parents were lined up against a railing on a bridge and shot at once, by the Germans, to save bullets. They both fell into the river. The weight of the body of the one who died pulled the other one underwater to drown. Tania is the object of the love triangle between Danilov and Vassili. Tania loves Vassili and at one point risks her life trying to find him. Their lovemaking takes places between the other sleeping soldiers.
Vassili and Major Konig hunt each other through the ruins of Stalingrad. It seems like they are fighting their own personal war at times, but we are reminded of World War II through the bombs, the fires, and the tanks in the background. Sacha, played by Gabriel Marshall-Thomson, aids both of them. His loyalty lies in chocolate bars and his own country, which is Russia. The most shocking scene in this film is when Sacha is found hanging mid-air after being hung by Major Konig.
The movie ends with Danilov sacrificing himself as a target for Major Konig. So that Vassili knows where he is to shoot him. Vassili waits for him to come out of his sniper spot, waits for him to take off his hat, and kills him. Vassili and Tania are reunited. And, of course the allies win World War II.
Annaud uses Vassili and Major Konig to demonstrate the strategy of war for us. There are no rules as we can see from all the corpses covering the ground. We see a glimpse of hope as the two lovers are reunited and the war ends. This vivid portrayal of the insanity of war is a film all should see to remind us of how lucky we are.
The film opens with the eyes of a wolf being seen between the boughs of a snowy tree. A boy is taught by his grandfather, how to kill the wolves that prey upon their flock of sheep. He is given one shot to kill the wolf and he freezes. The next scene is a young man in military uniform on a train headed for Stalingrad. It is September 20, 1942. On this train is Tania, played by Rachel Weisz, who later becomes his love interest.
The next scenes are very graphic. They consisted of the Russian soldiers on that train, getting off and having to cross a river, which contained bloody corpses, some of which were dismantled. There were planes overhead dropping bombs. Some of the soldiers attempted to go back and their captains shot and killed them for being cowards. The main character is seen charging forward against the Germans without a gun. The Russians did not have enough rifles for all their soldiers. All the while the Germans are shooting. The Germans even shot at the heap of dead soldiers to make sure they were dead.
Vassili meets Danilov, played by Joseph Fiennes, in the heap of dead bodies, where they both are hiding. Danilov gives Vassili a rifle and asks him if he knows how to shoot. Vassili says he knows a little. Through his peephole we see a couple German captains and some soldiers, which he shoots in the head one by one. Not bad for someone who can shoot a little. Then Danilov uses Vassili for the Russian propaganda to help other soldiers see that there is hope. The Germans want to end the Russian propaganda so they send Major Konig to Stalingrad to kill Vassili. This is ironic, because the Germans used so much propaganda themselves.
Vassili learns of Major Konig hunting him and loses confidence. We see through Vassili’s flashback what happened to the wolf in the opening scene. He missed the wolf, which then attacked his grandfather’s horse. His grandfather took the rifle from him and shot both the wolf and the wounded horse. We then see Vassili as a boy apologizing with tears to his grandfather. This is an important scene, because it gives the audience insight into his desire to be a good marksman, which is to get his grandfather’s approval.
Tania decides to fight, rather than stay as an interpreter in the shelter, when she hears of her parents’ deaths. Her parents were lined up against a railing on a bridge and shot at once, by the Germans, to save bullets. They both fell into the river. The weight of the body of the one who died pulled the other one underwater to drown. Tania is the object of the love triangle between Danilov and Vassili. Tania loves Vassili and at one point risks her life trying to find him. Their lovemaking takes places between the other sleeping soldiers.
Vassili and Major Konig hunt each other through the ruins of Stalingrad. It seems like they are fighting their own personal war at times, but we are reminded of World War II through the bombs, the fires, and the tanks in the background. Sacha, played by Gabriel Marshall-Thomson, aids both of them. His loyalty lies in chocolate bars and his own country, which is Russia. The most shocking scene in this film is when Sacha is found hanging mid-air after being hung by Major Konig.
The movie ends with Danilov sacrificing himself as a target for Major Konig. So that Vassili knows where he is to shoot him. Vassili waits for him to come out of his sniper spot, waits for him to take off his hat, and kills him. Vassili and Tania are reunited. And, of course the allies win World War II.
Annaud uses Vassili and Major Konig to demonstrate the strategy of war for us. There are no rules as we can see from all the corpses covering the ground. We see a glimpse of hope as the two lovers are reunited and the war ends. This vivid portrayal of the insanity of war is a film all should see to remind us of how lucky we are.
La Bete Humaine
La Bete Humaine (The Human Beast) is a film directed by Jean Renoir based on one of Emile Zola’s novels. This film was first released in 1938. The film stars Jean Gabin as Jacques Lantier, the train engineer who struggles on the edge of madness. Simone Simon stars as Severine Roubaud who is his lover. She is also married. The film brings Emile Zola’s novel to life through its dispassionate speed. We sense the urgency in the film by the speeding train which is captured in several frames, yet we also sense that the fate of the characters is beyond their control. It is in their nature to act as they have.
The film begins with a close up shot on the train’s engine. It is a scene of a blazing fire. For this to be the first shot in the film we can only guess that the main characters will experience this fire in terms of violence or disruption in their lives. We then are introduced to Jacques Lantier and his assistant, Pecqueux who are running the train. Rapidly in a succession of edits we are brought outside the speeding train focused on the wheels, then to the tracks ahead, and back into the train. This is repeated so we get the feeling of the immense speed they are traveling and the danger.
The film is shot in natural daylight with extra lights to illuminate the faces of the characters. In the scene where Jacques goes to visit his godmother, her face looks very bright. This may be to symbolize the intimate knowledge she has of his illness.
Jacques Lantier teeters on the edge of madness. We witness his madness when he visits his godmother’s daughter, Flora. While Flora and he are embraced he suffers a blackout and starts to strangle her. Only does he loosen his grip when a loud train passes by. It appears that trains offer some comfort to his madness. This may be because the danger and speed they exhibit is parallel to the disturbances in his brain.
We first meet Severine Roubaud in the film while she is in front of a bright window holding a fluffy white cat. The look on her face is that of a soft femme fatale. She has full knowledge of her beauty but uses it over men in a cute, helpless manipulating manner. Cats symbolize mystique so we can assume that the cat is symbolic of her personality and there will be surprises concerning her in the film.
Jacques and Severine meet and he is so smitten by her he covers for her and her husband after witnessing the murder they commit. Throughout Jacques and Severine’s affair they are encased in darkness. The darkness represents how forbidden, dangerous and hopeless the affair is. Only when the husband, Roubaud, acknowledges the affair to his wife do we next see the lovers bathed in light. We sense the absence of secrecy and acceptance through the lighting. Murder is proposed by Jacques to Severine to end the nuisance of her husband forever. She agrees on that solution. We next see the lovers in darkness again. The sinister plot has thrown them back into hell and its darkness.
Renoir places his characters carefully in each of the frames. An example of this is while the lovers are in bed together they confess personal details of their lives to one another. When Jacques is confessing he is on top in the frame and while she is confessing she is on top. This is symbolic of dominance.
The film begins with a close up shot on the train’s engine. It is a scene of a blazing fire. For this to be the first shot in the film we can only guess that the main characters will experience this fire in terms of violence or disruption in their lives. We then are introduced to Jacques Lantier and his assistant, Pecqueux who are running the train. Rapidly in a succession of edits we are brought outside the speeding train focused on the wheels, then to the tracks ahead, and back into the train. This is repeated so we get the feeling of the immense speed they are traveling and the danger.
The film is shot in natural daylight with extra lights to illuminate the faces of the characters. In the scene where Jacques goes to visit his godmother, her face looks very bright. This may be to symbolize the intimate knowledge she has of his illness.
Jacques Lantier teeters on the edge of madness. We witness his madness when he visits his godmother’s daughter, Flora. While Flora and he are embraced he suffers a blackout and starts to strangle her. Only does he loosen his grip when a loud train passes by. It appears that trains offer some comfort to his madness. This may be because the danger and speed they exhibit is parallel to the disturbances in his brain.
We first meet Severine Roubaud in the film while she is in front of a bright window holding a fluffy white cat. The look on her face is that of a soft femme fatale. She has full knowledge of her beauty but uses it over men in a cute, helpless manipulating manner. Cats symbolize mystique so we can assume that the cat is symbolic of her personality and there will be surprises concerning her in the film.
Jacques and Severine meet and he is so smitten by her he covers for her and her husband after witnessing the murder they commit. Throughout Jacques and Severine’s affair they are encased in darkness. The darkness represents how forbidden, dangerous and hopeless the affair is. Only when the husband, Roubaud, acknowledges the affair to his wife do we next see the lovers bathed in light. We sense the absence of secrecy and acceptance through the lighting. Murder is proposed by Jacques to Severine to end the nuisance of her husband forever. She agrees on that solution. We next see the lovers in darkness again. The sinister plot has thrown them back into hell and its darkness.
Renoir places his characters carefully in each of the frames. An example of this is while the lovers are in bed together they confess personal details of their lives to one another. When Jacques is confessing he is on top in the frame and while she is confessing she is on top. This is symbolic of dominance.
Stanno Tutti Bene
Stanno Tutti Bene, (Everybody’s Fine), is a film directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. The film was released in 1990, which was two years after his award-winning film, Nuovo Cinema Paradiso. Stanno Tutti Bene’s main character is Matteo Scuro, who is played by Marcello Mastroianni. He is a seventy-four year old widower, who talks aloud to his dead wife, Angela. He sets out from his home in Sicily, Italy to visit his five children who are scattered throughout the mainland Italy. His children have failed to come to Sicily this year where he has rented five bungalows for them by the coast. He would like to have all his children around his dinner table again for just one night. He named his children all after opera characters. Their names are: Guglielmo, Alvara, Norma, Tosca, and Canio. The theme of this film is loneliness in modern Italy. Tornatore uses a blue-filter, mise-en-scene, and dialogue to convey the theme of loneliness. I will show how each of these contributes to the theme of this film.
Tornatore uses a blue filter to represent the theme of loneliness. The first set of frames that he uses a blue filter on is the ballroom scene. Matteo goes on a day trip with other senior citizens, which begins on the coast and ends in a ballroom. We sense loneliness as they waltz around the blue-lit ballroom. Even the dialogue fills us in on their isolation. Matteo gets winded and his dancing partner helps him to a seat at a table. There she tells him about her children and how they have placed her in a nursing home. She states that they have grown apart from her. Close-ups of their faces allow us to see their sadness. The blue filter and music heightens our sympathy for these two characters.
The second time the blue filter is used is after Matteo leaves his daughter’s Norma’s house and wanders through the blue night with his suitcase in hand. He has just overheard Norma’s husband say that he wished Matteo would leave. He looks forlorn in the darkness as he waits for a train to come along. A homeless man, who is trying to sleep in a cardboard box, calls to him. He tells Matteo that the train will not come till the morning and points to a cardboard box where he can sleep. The homeless man represents loneliness. There in the blue-lit darkness of a cardboard box we see Matteo’s face and glasses close-up. He looks vulnerable as he whistles. He hallucinates that his children are standing before him.
Matteo first sees his daughter Norma as a little girl as she comes out of a blue mist. She approaches Matteo and reveals her secret, which is that she does not live with her husband anymore. Then he hears several whistles as each of his other four children appear in the mist and approach him. They all reveal their secrets to him except for Alvara, who appears only in flashbacks because he died before the time in which the story takes place. All during these blue-filtered frames Matteo is peering out at them from his cardboard box.
Mise-en-scene and dialogue are both used to convey loneliness in the dinner scene. Matteo manages to get Guglielmo and Canio together to have dinner with him at a restaurant. He has a table set for all his children, but they are the only ones to come. We view them from the end of the table, which appears ten feet away causing us to feel Matteo’s desperation. Guglielmo and Canio tell Matteo that Alvara committed suicide by rowing out to sea, where he died. We see the back of Matteo’s head and his sons’ profiles, but are not brought forward to see Matteo’s expression until they finish. In defiance, Matteo scolds them for believing such nonsense. He says that he does not believe that anyone can die of loneliness in modern Italy. It is inconceivable to him because there are telephones, computers, and mass transit. The audience is left in amazement, because it is so apparent that Matteo is lonely. How can it be inconceivable to him that a person could die of loneliness?
In the final scene, we see Matteo at Angela’s grave. We are shown a close-up of her tomb, which contains a photograph of her. Matteo tells Angela that the kids “are just fine”. He kisses his hand and places the kisses on her photograph as if she were fragile. This scene shows us how lonely Matteo is without his wife. He has chosen not to move on.
Tornatore’s film, Stanno Tutti Bene, takes us on a journey with a lonely, yet proud older man. We feel his loneliness through the blue filters. These are his blue moods. The mise-en-scene allows us to see his sadness through the camera lens and the dialogue haunts us. In this modern world, with all of its technology, are we just increasing our distance to each other? Let us hope not.
Tornatore uses a blue filter to represent the theme of loneliness. The first set of frames that he uses a blue filter on is the ballroom scene. Matteo goes on a day trip with other senior citizens, which begins on the coast and ends in a ballroom. We sense loneliness as they waltz around the blue-lit ballroom. Even the dialogue fills us in on their isolation. Matteo gets winded and his dancing partner helps him to a seat at a table. There she tells him about her children and how they have placed her in a nursing home. She states that they have grown apart from her. Close-ups of their faces allow us to see their sadness. The blue filter and music heightens our sympathy for these two characters.
The second time the blue filter is used is after Matteo leaves his daughter’s Norma’s house and wanders through the blue night with his suitcase in hand. He has just overheard Norma’s husband say that he wished Matteo would leave. He looks forlorn in the darkness as he waits for a train to come along. A homeless man, who is trying to sleep in a cardboard box, calls to him. He tells Matteo that the train will not come till the morning and points to a cardboard box where he can sleep. The homeless man represents loneliness. There in the blue-lit darkness of a cardboard box we see Matteo’s face and glasses close-up. He looks vulnerable as he whistles. He hallucinates that his children are standing before him.
Matteo first sees his daughter Norma as a little girl as she comes out of a blue mist. She approaches Matteo and reveals her secret, which is that she does not live with her husband anymore. Then he hears several whistles as each of his other four children appear in the mist and approach him. They all reveal their secrets to him except for Alvara, who appears only in flashbacks because he died before the time in which the story takes place. All during these blue-filtered frames Matteo is peering out at them from his cardboard box.
Mise-en-scene and dialogue are both used to convey loneliness in the dinner scene. Matteo manages to get Guglielmo and Canio together to have dinner with him at a restaurant. He has a table set for all his children, but they are the only ones to come. We view them from the end of the table, which appears ten feet away causing us to feel Matteo’s desperation. Guglielmo and Canio tell Matteo that Alvara committed suicide by rowing out to sea, where he died. We see the back of Matteo’s head and his sons’ profiles, but are not brought forward to see Matteo’s expression until they finish. In defiance, Matteo scolds them for believing such nonsense. He says that he does not believe that anyone can die of loneliness in modern Italy. It is inconceivable to him because there are telephones, computers, and mass transit. The audience is left in amazement, because it is so apparent that Matteo is lonely. How can it be inconceivable to him that a person could die of loneliness?
In the final scene, we see Matteo at Angela’s grave. We are shown a close-up of her tomb, which contains a photograph of her. Matteo tells Angela that the kids “are just fine”. He kisses his hand and places the kisses on her photograph as if she were fragile. This scene shows us how lonely Matteo is without his wife. He has chosen not to move on.
Tornatore’s film, Stanno Tutti Bene, takes us on a journey with a lonely, yet proud older man. We feel his loneliness through the blue filters. These are his blue moods. The mise-en-scene allows us to see his sadness through the camera lens and the dialogue haunts us. In this modern world, with all of its technology, are we just increasing our distance to each other? Let us hope not.
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