Breathless

Terry Crew’s character in Brooklyn Nine-Nine once quoted that Breathless is one the best cop movies of all time.  Although he got the director’s name wrong, what he said has some essence of truth in it. Released in 1960, this movie kick started the proliferation of the French New Wave movement in film. Directed by Jean Luc Goddard and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg, this film was critically acclaimed by both local and international audiences alike.

Before this movement, movies in France were more centered around adapting, literary works onto screen. They were studio backed and were usually these huge, big budget productions. A few young cinephiles, after watching archived movies at the Cinematheque Francaise in Paris decided to make movies of their own. However they couldn’t penetrate into the commercial film industry, so they decided to make them independently.  These enthusiastic film makers abided by certain set of principles in their endeavors. The rejected the use of montages and the like and opted to tell the stories through their elaborate mise-en-scene. They believed that films should not only be something to think about, we should also have some strong feelings about it and should have some psychological impact on the viewers. Secondly, they also had the firm belief that, a film like a blank canvas, should have the personal artistic signature or imprint of the film maker. This approach is called the Auteur  theory and it expects the craft of the auteur to grow and mature with each successive film.  French New Wave films generally reject the film traditions and norms. Before this, films relied heavily on plot and dialogue. However, now the sidelined those aspect in favour of visual aesthetics and mise-en-scene. These  movies were typically, low budget and independently made.  Shot on locations instead of studios and employing direct lighting and sound instead of manipulating was one of the ways these auteurs decided to approach their movies.

 Camera work was sometimes done by handheld cameras and long takes were also a staple.  These directors also preferred to use jump and elliptical cuts and preferred to improvise the plot and dialogue.  A theme of meta-cinema was also used frequently, that is the constant reminder to the audience that they are watching a movie. This is achieved through the jump cuts, artificially created nature of the film world, the handheld cinematography, and also the jump cuts.  The characters featured in this movies were typically featured young rebellious types with no familial attachments and who often are the anti-heroes in this stories. They often are morally grey and very anti-establishment. Women contrary to the Hollywood films, were given strong characters to portray. Political themes were also heavily referenced especially in regard to France’s foreign policy.

Breathless entails the story of Michel, a rebel who steals cars and lives his life exactly the way he wants. One day he kills a policeman and goes into hiding as the whole of France is looking for him, rekindles his romance with Patricia, a girl he had relations with previously.  While trying to secure funds to move to Italy, he tries to convince Patricia to follow him but she seems hesitant. After finding out the truth about him, she initially tries to help him stay hidden but eventually calls the police and rats him out. As he is resigned to a life of imprisonment, the police shoot him and he dies, cursing Patricia.

 Breathless utilises many jump cuts in this movie. This is part of its meta cinema goal. The scene that this technique is apparent is the scene where Michel is talking to Patricia while driving. There camera cut between Michel and Patricia to illustrate the conversation banter between them. Besides,  the film was shot in places like the countryside, coffee shops and hotels which are not in traditional studio environments. Handheld camera motions were particularly used in the scene where Michel was shot and they tracked him walking with the injury in the last moments of the film. Besides, thematically this movie featured  the gritty anti-hero/villain in Michel who was willing to do anything to get his way. This can be shown that he even killed a cop to cover his tracks. He also stole money and multiple cars to get by. He has no familial attachments and is seen as a very rugged person. The female character, Patricia was portrayed as a strong independent women who had clear goals and dreams in life. She didn’t want to sideline those for Michel.  Improvised lines can be seen in the scene where Michel and Patricia were lounging in their room with long extended and seemingly unnecessary dialogue ensued. This was done by the actors themselves as they just randomly improvised a conversation. The political themes can be seen where the radio in the room brought news of the current situation in Algeria.

All in all French New Wave moment brought in a fantastic new perspective into modern filmmaking; the idea of autership. Each  movie is the art of the director and will bear signature elements that is unique to them. Directors like M Night Shyamalan and Steven Spielberg have all adopted this theory and all their movies have a recurrent theme.

Bicycle Thieves

Ladri di biciclette or Bicycle Thieves is an Italian drama film released in 1948.  Directed by Vittorio De Sica, a leading figure in Italian neorealist cinema, this movie starts Lamberto Maggiorani and Enzo Staiola. It is regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. In 1952, Sight & Sound magazine ranked it as the best film of all time. This critically acclaimed film became a solid reference point whenever Italian neorealism cinema is discussed.

Italian neorealism is a film movement that is started after World War 2. Prior to this Italian cinema under the iron fist of dictator Benito Mussolini, was used mainly as a propaganda tool. He used newsreels and documentaries to “educated” Italians on what he wanted them to know. He set up studios and doubled productions to meet his demands. Due to the aftermath of the war, economic stability of the nation was highly precarious. Film makers decided different approaches which challenged conventional film making styles. Cesare Zavattini, said to be the father of Italian neorealism, started to reject planned stories and plots and wanted to focus on more real aspects of human life. He even rejected the use of actors and instead opted to use everyday people to tell the story because according to him, the actors perpetuated the false narratives and plotlines of a story.  Zavattini was very keen on reflecting the world of today in film. These ideologies soon grew popular and thus began the film movement that is Italian neorealism with its first movie Rome, Open City.  

There are many common tropes or aspects that are used or emphasized on in Italian neorealism. It is usually shot on location and in the post war façade of the ruined buildings. The technical aspects of the film are the fact they use grainy stock film and record the available sound in the environment to be used in the film. Thematically,  Italian neorealistic film, features the current contemporary national experience that was being faced by the Italians at that time. It tends to have a very human view on everyday problems. Poverty and unemployment which was the common plight shared by many Italians due to the spoils of war which left the local economy very hurt and crippled. Melodrama was a heavily recurrent tone and this was used to accentuate the need to rebuild the national reputation because Italy sided with the Nazis during World War. These pessimistic views in films grew unpopular as peoples’ fortunes picked up and movies didn’t reflect society as well as it used to.

The Bicycle Thieves, tells the story of  Antonio Ricci, a poor labourer who just got a job that can be the salvation for his family. Unfortunately he needs his pawned bicycle to qualify for the job and his wife helps him get back the bicycle from the pawnbroker. Equipped with the bicycle and a renewed sense of  hope he begins his first day on the job. But much to his dismay, his bicycle is stolen and he then begins on a quest with his young son to recover his family’s only hope. In this journey his morals become increasing blur as he resorts to violence and harshness way. The movie concludes as his attempt to steal another person’s bicycle is thwarted and he is left to ponder his actions.

Bicycle thieves, is a movie that features the struggle of the working class people. Unemployment is a prevalent theme in this movie. This was shown in the start scene where there were hordes of unemployed people who were waiting for jobs impatiently. Post war devastation was felt heavily by Italy. Economically struggling, and ridden with poverty was something every Italian was going through at that time. This movie, reflected heavily this social identity and national experience that was faced by Italians. Besides that, it was also evident that the film was filmed around the post war ruins what were left. The buildings in this movie can be seen as damaged or new signifying that they were damaged and being rebuilt. The sound used in this movie is recorded ambient sound that was available. For example you could hear the sound of cheering football fans, car horns, and busy traffic which were not planned and not produced by foley artists or the like. Above all the film was filmed with realism in mind, hence that’s why unprofessional actors was employed. None of the actors in the movie were professional full-time actors. In fact the main actor Lamberto Maggiorani, for example, was a factory worker in real life. The overall tone of the movie was melodramatic as expected from moives belonging to this movement. The melodrama was best highlighted by the film in the way it portrayed the loss of a bicycle. To most people it can be seen as a normal misfortune that will not be the end of the world but in this movie it’s otherwise. The bicycle was central to the plot and the loss was treated as a calamity. Without the bicycle, Antonio Ricci’s family would succumb to their poverty. The distraught experienced by the family has heavy elements of melodrama in it.

All in all, Bicycle Thieves is a great example of the movies produced during the Italian Neorealism movement. It is a testament to the film makers’ voice that has stood the tests of time that allow us to enjoy and get a glimpse into the lives of people who came before. Films like Bicycle Thieves paved the way for more real stories of people to be told in film.

The Maltese Falcon

John Huston’s debut screenplay and direction saw the birth of the Maltese Falcon, a quintessential film in the film noir genre. Released in 1941, starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor, this movie was a phenomenal success and managed  to rake in $1,772,000 ($30,470,685.17 in 2019) in box office revenues causing it to be a major success for the distributors, Warner Bros at that time. This movie is considered one of the best movies of all time, garnering 2 Academy Award nominations, earning a spot on Roger Ebert’s Great Movies series and even being proclaimed by  Panorama du Film Noir Américain as the first major film noir.

Film noir is a type of film style that was coined by the French, which was predominant after World War 2. The men who had returned from war grew unrest over the fact that women have become more independent and have moved past the domestic setting. In the 1940s, film noir revolved around the male panic of women’s economic and sexual independence whereas in the 1950s it began reinforcing family values and had to have the male protagonist thwart the femme fatale. Thematic elements that are usually featured in film noir are the pessimistic and grim outlook on the world around it. Heavy emphasis on cynicism, fatalistic themes, and criminal motives are presentt in this type of film. All characters are depicted as morally grey, blurred, and having ulterior motives even when they’re supposed to be the “good guy”. The usual standoff between the gritty anti-hero and the femme fatale is a must and is usually what the story will be centered around. Visually, low key lighting is used and there will be a lot of shadows. Besides that, it has influence for German expressionistic traits such as oblique and horizontal lines and the scenes are usually lit for night. Locations that are frequently used range from cramped alleyways, corridors, and city bound areas such as roads, dimly lit interiors and etc.

The Maltese Falcon is the story of Detective Sam Spade, whose partner is killed after a mystery client, gives them a case. Things began to heat up when the person Spade was supposed to be investigating is also murdered and the blame for the murders is being thrown upon Spade by the police and his partner’s widow. Upon further investigation, he discovers that, there is a plot by Ms Shaughnessy and Gutman to retrieve the Maltese falcon and this pursuit is what caused these deaths. Sam Spade then manages to skillfully incriminate Gutman by tipping of the police to his whereabouts and then personally hands the tearful Mrs Shaughnessy over to the police.

The thematic element of film noir in The Maltese Falcon is evident in the lead character Sam Spade, who is the classic archetype of an anti-hero. He is slated to be the good character, but even he has his moments where he is shown to morally grey. He frequently lies and deals with deceit to reach his goals. He lied numerous times to the police and refused cooperation on the case. Spade also was having an affair with his partner’s wife.  This film also features a femme fatale, in the character of Ms Shaughnessy. She is portrayed as a strong, independent, and goal-oriented woman who will do anything to achieve her goals. She lies, deceives, and even resorted to murder of an innocent man to see her plan through. She uses her sexuality and exhibits a dainty persona to win the trust of men she approaches. Film noir also usually boils down to a confrontation with our anti-hero and the femme fatale. This can be seen in the last scene where spade confronts Ms Shaughnessy on her crimes and she tries to beg him to not turn her in. Overall tone of the film can be said is pretty dark, as there are elements of blurred morals and corrupted characters from all the characters, namely Sam Spade, Ms Shaughnessy, Gutman, Cairo, and Wilmer. Criminal motives was also an ever present aspect if this film.

Visually this movie features low-key lighting, which produces a lot of shadows.  The scene where Spade’s and Archer’s detective agency is shown on the floor through shadows is one of the examples of the use of shadows.This is due to the fact that most scene is lit for night time and also the interiors are dimly lit. The Maltese Falcon has the usual location settings that are present in a film noir movie, alleyways, cramped corridors, and city façade. Almost the entirety of the movie was shot within city locations such as office buildings, hotels, police station, and etc. An example of alleyways is where Archer got shot by Ms Shaughnessy. Corridors on the other hand can be seen when Spade was travelling to the hotel to meet Gutman.

All in all its evident that the Maltese has all the common tropes expected for a quintessential film noir. It’s a thematic and visual match in most aspects of the type of film noir. Although the origin of film noir might have been due to the irrationality and fragility of masculinity, but the foundation led by this movement gave birth to the archetype of a femme fatale character and also led to the creation of the subgenre of neo noir. Neo noir is a modern take film noir in a modern setting where the characters, setting, and visuals are very similar to the characters that we saw in the 40s and 50s. It’s very interesting to see how some types of art can stand the test of time and evolve into something even more beautiful.

Corpse Bride

 Corpse Bride is a stop motion animated film released in 2005. Directed by Tim Burton and starring the usual suspects, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, this movie was critically acclaimed, being nominated for an academy award for best animated feature at the 78^th Academy Awards. This movie, like most of Tim Burton’s ventures, is heavily inspired by the elements of German Expressionism film making. In this write-up, we are going to discuss this film and how it exhibits the classic German Expressionism tropes.

German Expressionism in film is a unique style that emerged at 1919-1926. It’s a movement that influenced all forms of art in Germany in that time period. Due the spoils of World War 1 , Germany became a largely isolated country and banned all foreign imports. This included arts and film. The local artists began experimenting with ways to convey newer stories with raw human emotions. The most taboo of topics were touched. German expressionistic art often portrayed themes of revolt, self-awareness/analysis, madness, primitive sexual savagery unnatural events and all sorts of things that weren’t in the common discourse of society. Not only did German Expressionism influence the narrative of the films, the also influenced film techniques and produced methods such as oblique camera angles, high-contrast lighting, distortion of bodies and shapes, shadow play, and gothic motifs are prevalent in German expressionism.

Corpse Bride, set in Victorian England, revolves around Victor van Dort, son of fish merchants who is set to be married to Victoria Everglot in an arranged marriage brokered by the Everglots to save them from financial ruin. Initially, awkward and reserved, the pair manage to find things in common and fall for each other. Things become haywire when , Victor, due to his nervousness, messes up the wedding ceremony rehearsal. As Victor, practices his wedding vows in a forest he accidentally marries a Corpse named Emily who was murdered many years ago while eloping with her lover.  The story then follows Victor’s escapades to undo his unearthly marriage and return to his beloved Victoria which he eventually succeeds in.

One of the many thematic elements of German Expressionism present in Corpse Bride is the theme of self-analysis.  This is evident where the movie examines the theme of arranged marriage or marrying someone you barely know and also following societal norms. Arranged marriages were an extremely common practice back in the olden days. Parents would look for spouses for their children and it was the socially acceptable thing to do. Children rarely could refuse lest be shunned by the family and society. In fact some cultures still practice this tradition till this day.  This movie shows us how marrying someone you barely know can have dire consequences as Victoria nearly lost her life at the hands of Mr Barkis. Adding to this, a theme of revolt can also be seen when Victoria refuses to marry Mr Barkis.  She even goes to the extent of climbing through the bedroom window to escape.  The unnatural events in this movie stems for the titular character Emily, who is a corpse bride who gets married to Victor a living, breathing human being.  Madness is also a prevalent theme in this movie. It is best portrayed Victoria’s parents and Mr Barkis, who in the madness for wealth, were willing to do anything to attain it. Victoria’s parents were willing to get her married to a complete stranger for money and Mr Barkis was willing to murder a person.

The technical aspect of German expressionism in this movie are numerous. Namely, the use of high contrast lighting or low key lighting. This technique was used to create a very dimly lit scene with lots of shadows. Examples of such scenes were when Victor was brooding in the forest after messing up the wedding ceremony and also the scene where Mr Barkis walks in the hall of portraits, revealing his true colour. Another interesting use of low key lighting was the clear distinction that was produced between the land of the living and the land of the dead. By comparison, the land of the living seemed more murky, gloomy, and “dead” than the underworld which was in a state of constant party. This was produced because the underworld was subjected to high key lighting and the land of the living, low key lighting   Distortion was also recurrent motif in this movie. The bodies of the characters were heavily distorted and misshaped.  Gothic themes were observed on the buildings present in the movie.  Oblique camera angles such as high and low angles were used to create surreal feel,

German expressionistic art has had a heavy influence in films and Corpse Bride is no different.  It clearly resonates with the themes, narrative, and techniques present in the movie.  It has the self-analysis, revolt, unnatural events, and madness thematic elements. The techniques used in the film, such as oblique camera angles, low key lighting, gothic motifs, and distortion are also common German expressionism tropes.  The German Expressionistic elements clearly enhances the storytelling of this film.  It has become almost second nature for directors to adopt this method when they wish to make films with supernatural themes. Directors like Tim Burton and Guillermo del Toro have made this into their style.  

In the Mood For Love

Written, directed, and produced by the famous, Wong Kar-wai and starring Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, In  the Mood for Love  became a well-received movie rather quickly. Released in the year 2000, In the Mood for Love premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 20^th May.  It garnered numerous awards both locally and internationally. This movie even appeared on many top movies list and according to 2016 BBC poll, it was ranked the second best film of the 21^st century by 177 film critics around the world. (BBC, 2016). This film utilizes many techniques that were employed in French Impressionism. In this blog the movie will be dissected and the moments inspired by French Impressionism will be delved into.

French Impressionism was birthed during World War 1, when the French film industry was in a massive decline.  At this point there was an influx of American films. Even after the war the local scene did not recover.  A few younger directors, astonished by American movies and their energy.  These young directors such as Abel Gance, Louis Delluc, Germaine Dullac, and many more felt that, films should be like all other art. They should be a vehicle for feelings. This developed in to the avant-garde cinema that is French Impressionism. The core idea of French Impressionism is the aim to give the narrative more subjective depth.  Intimate psychological stories became the main focus of these filmmakers. Emphasis on the mood and feeling were prioritised.  A deep exploration of the characters is also a common trait. These films often show us memories of the characters, their dreams, fantasies, and their mental states.  French Impressionism also uses rhythmic editing to illustrate characters feeling.  (Bordwell  & Thompson,  2013).

In the Mood for Love , is a love story revolving around neighbours Su Li-zhen (Mrs. Chan),  and Chow Mo-wan(Mr Chow ). Both have are married and have spouses who are away for long periods of time. A friendship develops between them as they suspect and eventually confirm that their spouses are having an affair with each other. They soon develop feelings but are unable to act on them due to a conservative society in the sixties. They eventually are separated as Mr Chow leaves for work in Singapore and Mrs. Chan stays in shanghai both longing for a love they can’t have.

The elements of French impressionism in this movie comes from its characters. The characters feelings are often portrayed by the mise en scène in the movie. There are many scenes where this can be observed.  For example, the scenes where Mrs. Chan and Mr Chow are talking to their partners, their partners faces were never shown. Only their voice was heard. One could conclude that, the director chose to do this, to illustrate the fact that it doesn’t matter who your partner is, you might just fall out of love and develop feeling for another person. This is what happened to their marriages as their spouses were having an affair with each other. Another interesting scene was when Mrs Chan observed Mr Chow from the bottom of the steps at the wanton noodle shop. She was secretly observing him as he lit his cigarette and started smoking. That scene gave an impression like she was spying on him almost like a forbidden fruit that she can’t have. Speaking of cigarettes, Mr Chow would always smoke when he is confusion and the camera would pan to the cloud of smoke formed to highlight his present feelings.

The characters are shown to live an idyllic and routine based live style. This is often illustrated with the signature music that is played when the characters are in routine. This was meant to show us the audience the feeling of being stuck in a routine whilst being married and how it could drive one to be unfaithful as they believe that would add a different element to their lives.  

The secrecy maintained by Mr Chow and Mrs Chan while they were together also is an interesting element of French Impressionism. The characters were always anxious that  people would find out about their friendship and will start to gossip. Mr Chow got a hotel room so that they could meet and write together without being spotted. Mr Chow also got out of the taxi they were sharing at an earlier to ensure they wouldn’t be spotted together. Mr Chow even went to the extent of moving to Singapore because they realised their feelings for each other and couldn’t bear the thought of their neighbours talking about them.

Rhythmic editing is used in scene where Mrs Chan climbs the stairs  to catch Mr Chow before he departs for Singapore. This is a classic French Impressionist trope. Besides, that in this scene when she reaches the empty hotel, room the curtains are waving about in the air, signifying the ship has sailed and she will never be with him.

I personally loved this movie and its portrayal of the two lovers who could never be. In the Mood for Love was movie with a lot of nuance. It was the subtle details that elevated the movie to the heights that it reached. The film’s efficient method of imparting the story was. From the discussion above is pretty evident that French impressionism was a heavy influence in this film’s style as the themes and tropes were heavily present in this film.

References

1)      David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson (10^th ed.) Film Art: An Introduction, U.S.A Mcgraw-Hill

2)      BBC, (2016) 21^st century’s 100 greatest films. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160819-the-21st-centurys-100-greatest-films