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Please include your name, the movie and your ID number in the title! Also, please use the LABELS section for the post.

E.g. for title:
Mia - 4030 - Lost in Translation

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Lost in Translation, loneliness, analysis
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Anything & Everything about Film

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Film Analysis Worksheet - Please Bring this with you whenever you are watching movie


Film Analysis Worksheet


Nikkiproduction Film Analysis Worksheet

This May Help U: Reservoir Dogs Screenplay








If you have problem in understanding the plot or the language in Reservoir Dogs. The screenplay may help you better understand the movie and the non-linear narrative structure. This also can be download from the Resources about Films section on the right of this blogger.

Reservoir Dogs Screenplay

Thursday, April 22, 2010

little opinion...

greatly suggest that...before watching the class, teachers can tell us who is the director, the background of the story happened, and the background of the director, then we can more easy to get information of the movie.
because, sometimes, we will easy to lose concentration just at the beginning especially the movie has a non-linear structure....

yeah...that's my opinion...

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

3063_Lee_Film_Analysis

















Downloading My PDF File: http://www.box.net/shared/hgxerdmsak

Monday, April 19, 2010

2999_Vivian_The virgin suicides Analysis


The Virgin Suicides Analysis
Vivian Zhang





The story takes place in affluent Grosse Pointe, Michigan in 1978, a group of boys, who adored them, come together after 20 years and try to solve the mystery of their neighbors, the five Lisbon sisters. This film begins with the suicides attempt of the youngest sister, Cecilia, and the immediate aftermath of the neighbor. On mid-party in Cecilia honor and finally succeeds in taking her life by jumping out of her bedroom window and impaling herself on an iron fence. In the wake of her act, the Lisbon family isolate themselves even more within their community.The sadness and depression reflected from the contexts and atmosphere form the movie show, through plain narration by a boy, we can foreboding the self-exile of the characters strengthened the characters' tragedy.
And next is the new school year start, we can see the close-up after close-up shots of these girls throughout the film, most especially of their eyes. They are try to masked them suffering with a cheerful smile, and conceals many forget to cut ice-cold and grief with difficulty. Empty、hollow, almost soulless eyes that nevertheless speak volumes.





It’s seems peaceful daily life has been broken when Trip Fontaine appears. In order to show Trip Fontaine is the school girl’s heartthrob use a lot of close and middle shot in this film.



Trip eventually persuades Mr. Lisbon to take a group of girls to the homecoming dance. After being crowned Homecoming King and Queen, Lux has sex with Trip on the football field that night. Trip abandons her immediately afterwards. Film gave the boy grew up later period of reports, he explained his left: He was blazing when he was in pursuit of her, and once he got Lux the feeling was dissipate. Boy’s enjoyed the game in pursuit of excitement, if there is no stimulus, he will choose the next target. Coppola has not given the subjective judgment of his go away, her just faithful presentation for the experience of some boys in the 13-18 age groups.
However Trip’s betrayal is a blizzard of blows for Lux. She begins to lavish, often contacts with different boys on the roof. Having broken curfew, Lux and her sisters are punished by a furious Mrs. Lisbon by being taken out of school and sequestered within their house indefinitely. Mrs. Lisbon burn out girls’ favorite album and unable them leave their home, the Lisbon sisters contact the boys using light signals, and share songs over the phone as a means of communicating their emotions. Mother depredates the music and boys through telephone transmission of music to constitute a strong contrast. In this part use many close and middle shot to show us that adolescence is a stage of generation gap with their parents, and only the peer can know each other.


In the end, boys wander into the basement and discover a body hanging from the ceiling; terrified, they rush back out of the house. In the process, they stumble across the bodies of the remaining Lisbon sisters, who had all killed themselves in an apparent suicide pact moments before: Therese took sleeping pills, Bonnie hanged herself in the basement, Mary stuck her head in the gas oven, and Lux died of carbon monoxide poisoning by leaving the car engine running in the garage.

Director use the Mise-en-scene in the car scene to ingrain the personality traits of the Lisbon sisters. Before the orange ray garage, the girl one by one got off the car. Each shot distinguish their countenance and personality. And the girls come on is like fix a lattice arrive at forever.
The French twosome Air‘s music swells in films. “The Virgin Suicides” is very familiar to me before me watching this movie. Although it is a soundtrack, this is by far Air's best album. I bought it in 2002 and still listening to it over and over again. This album was not featured in the movie the way it should have been. This album is too good for the movie, its strong enough to be featured by itself as a true album release. All of the songs are beautiful and haunting; they fill you with a sense of romance and despair all at once. It’s like a feeling of very comfortable anxiety for the character. If you do not understand this film- listened to Air is that maybe a good method to understand this movie.



The costume effect is also significant in this film. In an earlier scene Lux is forced to put her jumper on when they have a male guest have dinner together, their mother has ensured their dresses cover their legs, cleavage and do not hug their figures. When girls slowly decent down the stairs in their prom dress, the boys looks stunning. However, this scene challenges this expectation, as the girls descend in what could be described as, ‘four matching white potato sacks’. The effect of the dresses shows that the girls have a very sheltered home life, and strongly discouraged from looking appealing to the opposite sex. The white color connotes innocence, virtue and virginity, and portrays all the ethics the sisters have been brought up with, and ensure the audience understands the expectations of the characters.




This film was beautifully done with its easy-on-the-eyes cinematography. At the beginning , the warm、light colors, the girls sweet smile that sinks me into the hallucination. Suddenly, Cecilia succeeds at committing suicide made me realize this film is very special. What a stark contrast to the warm color with the death of the girls.


VS



The use of light in this scene then develops, as it skips to nightfall. As much a the sunlight appeared to show the lovely sisters, the darkness seems to free Lux, as her body language then relaxes, and she even feels free enough to light a cigarette. This underlines the segregation between Lux and her sisters, as her body language and actions seem un-inhibited, her sisters seem to have regressed into disapproving silence. The cold light describe lose all children, Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon’s anguish. They are quietly fleeing the neighbourhood, never to return.


VS



I've never read the novel, so I don't know how different about the movie and the original. This movie while one of the more depressing movies is brilliantly directed by first time director Sofia Coppola (it was also her first screenplay - quite impressive indeed). She has captured her own observation of the teenagers from a sensitive woman’s perspective. The suicides of these five beautiful girls aren't to be taken seriously; it's a metaphor the director uses. She wants express about the strange and often really terrible feelings teenagers have. In my eyes, this is fantastic.


Saturday, April 17, 2010

3136_Jarod_analysis Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation---------Analysis


















Title: Lost in Translation
Director: Sofia Coppola
Writer: Sofia Coppola
Type: drama/comedy/love
Level: R
Film: 105 minutes
Issue: Focus Features
Release date: September 12, 2003 (Los Angeles/New York),
Awarded: Best Actress of countercurrent competition of the 60th Venice Film Festival

Starring:
Scarlett Johansson --- Charlotte
Bill Murray --- Bob Harris

1. Brief Introduction






























Bob (Bill Murray) is doing a commercial, parlaying his fifteen minutes of movie stardom. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) is just graduated from college, recently married, and tagged along with her husband, a photographer on assignment. He's married with children, but he's never home. She's supporting her husband, but has no idea what she wants to do with her own life. Both are searching for the meaning of their lives, looking at the situation from different points of view. A person's lifetime is filled with self examination. Why am I here? What am I doing? Is this as good as it gets? Bob and Charlotte find each other fulfilling certain needs. Charlotte needs Bob's attention and humor, and Bob needs someone he can talk to (Bob "talks" with his wife, but they are not really talking). Bob helps Charlotte by answering her questions regarding life and direction, while Charlotte helps Bob by reminding him how much he loves his children and his wife. We always think something will happen that between over 40 years of marriage man who is lose interesting with his life and just early 20s marriage young lady who is feel confused with her life. However, they did not like we saw in the movie or is expected what we supported that happened. But when people saw this movie, they always support something happen even though that will not appear.

2. Analysis

There are the specific 3 part analyses of the film.

2.1 Start with Culture clashes.













Firstly, when Charlotte appeared on the scene, actually just some parts of the body were already made most of the audience hormones up in a instant, but nothing happened in the story behind. However, it was enough to let audiences to watch this movie.













When the movie stars Bob Harris (Bill Murray) went to Tokyo to shoot commercial and lived in the hotel. He standout average height like a joke with a group of Japanese people in the elevator. When he was watching TV in the hotel room, suddenly he saw early movie which is one of his movie and speak Japanese, reminiscent us some bad dubbing when we saw the old American movie. When he was shooting commercial, because of the Japanese cultural that is hard communication also different language that let people feel helpless and laugh. At the beginning, he hates the unfamiliar city, and disturbed him, but he is a polite, professional ethics, so he still want to finish this work and go back his city as soon as possible. The feeling is not sure, not safe when he was in Tokyo.
















Charlotte (Scarlett, Jonson) is renowned photographer's wife, because there is no work and boring she followed her husband to Tokyo. Her husband was working with extremely enthusiasm. She tried to feel in Tokyo and Japanese culture. She felt sightseeing, but was unable to communicate with her feel this kind of culture also is too far away from her, she felt puzzled and boring, nobody cares about her feelings, nobody listened to her. There is nothing interesting when she was in the hotel and was watching out of the window on streets. She felt suspicious to her marriage and self worth.

2.2 Develop with Communication and understanding.













The film has two very good lines of marriage and family. Bob Harris facing a mid-life crisis, the sign is for the family's worry and fear of family responsibility. Charlotte wandering in marriage and ideal of edge, early marriage, frustrated that her husband was working, fear of bothered her everywhere. These two deputy lines are rich, small details, contains a fax and an eye.

Every day we meet different people, but 99.9 percent we pass. But there always let people feel there will something happen when they meet someone. We always expect to meet someone who can bring unexpected and surprise. So we can meet is a conditioned coincidence.

When they tell the climax of marriage and ideal, the control of the ability was maximum capacity showed by Sofia Coppola. Soothing rhythm, calm clips, subtle changes, the feeling all of lens are precise, director of the true feelings, nature, without touching SOB.

In Tokyo, we must talk about the strong cultural conflict. Bob Harris has antipathetic with Tokyo sense from the first shot and then can feel the conflict in Japanese culture have.












Various traditional cultural and cooperate with the leading roles selection within. The most memorable scene is about after Bob Harris telling, Charlotte sees a traditional Japanese weddings, how wonderful it is.


















When two people meet with the mutual understanding they do not need language, because they have similar loneliness, empty and disappointed in their eyes. There is no way to stop Harris to talk to Charlotte. Because they know each other and eliminate age limits. Two people who could not find the communication vocabulary in the splendid flourishing in the strange. They eat together, Karaoke, together with silence and lost... At that time Harris feel some love in his heart, Charlotte feel some happy in her life. Just a few minutes Tokyo changed, they found there are still some familiar things in Tokyo, it is a real life, they enjoyed this kind of life. They do not want to leave. But in their own real life, they would not become together, both of them know that, so they just control themselves until leave.

2.3 End up with leaving.













Leaving not means ending.
At last, when Harris is leaving he got off the car and found Charlotte in the crowd, they hug and whispers. The psychedelic background music was slow and emptiness. I guess that is about Harris told Charlotte take care of herself, but with this sentimentality hug and kiss, this story of two individuals can perfect end, they can convince their marriage, face the life again, when they feel lonely again, probable they will have a smile on their lips because of this kiss!

3. Conclusion

In this movie the director used a lot of Dolly to show roles feeling and their emotion, especially one night Bob and Charlotte went outside together to meet their new friends in Tokyo and went to bar and went to Karaoke. The director used number of Dolly and the effect was really good. Also at the end, when Charlotte was leaving and Bob wanted to see her last time. The director use dolly to express seeking, hoping and speed, when they found each other, the camera angle changed, the director use close shot to express their face.

The film with the light and color processing were very successful, they are decisive roles to express atmosphere with emotion. For example, at the beginning when male leading role arrived Tokyo, everything seems different and he could not adapt this case. He felt loneliness and boring, the environment color and light are dark and dim sad.

The whole movie’s script structure including character set, the development and the climax are very accord with regularity of this subject. If you are interested viewers this kind of movies you would not depressing. And put two Americans in the prosperous Tokyo, itself likes appeal to American audiences, and they have a good photographer for details of the screen, the highlight of color, make the film in visual sensitivity is not weak. So this is a popular and artistic film, easy to get good feeling from Oscar judges, but the lack of film is too depth and easy to let the audience into dull and boring.

Friday, April 16, 2010

3024_JIMMY_movie analysis_image








3024_JIMMY_movie analysis

There are millions and millions people that go to other city, other country for their own purpose, such as studying, working…. “Lost in translation” is the film that expresses the feeling of this group of people who are lonely, confused and lost in their life. It is hard for this group of people to understand the different culture, customs, lifestyle, language, habit, behavior of the new place. This film was directed and written by Sofia Coppola who is an Academy Award-winning U.S. screen-writer, film director, actress and producer. She is the third female film director to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing.

This movie is a comedy drama which is talking about two stranger who have completely lost in their life, the process of knowing each other, finding something in common of both, becoming good friends, then understanding the feeling of each other, avoiding accepting the truth that they have fallen in love and the love explode at the end. Sofia Coppola shoots the busy outside of Tokyo to highlight the lonely of the lost people. For rendering the atmosphere, key point of shooting, the light, main color, sound, music, the songs they sing in the KTV, the songs others sing and some sound effect play an important role in the drama.

The two main actors, Bob Harris and Charlotte have the similar background. Both of them do not understand Japanese. In the movie, Sofia Coppola used a lot of space to highlight this point, which also is the reason that two main actor could fall in love. The swimming pool, TV program, video games, talk show, entertainment, “dancing class”, the facilities in the gym or in the hotel, Bob use chopsticks to eat food which is very hard for him, Charlotte can not see the difference of the menu, all these in this story is to prove the gap from Japanese. When people go to other country, it is extremely hard for them to overcome these gaps that are social problems in the world.

Bob Harris has a 25-year marriage with Lydia who loves him. But after they have kids, Lydia transfers the love to their kids. With the time goes by, Bob feel lonely because her wife does not care whether he is with her or not as before, she pays all her attention to take care of their kids all the time instead. Bob sometimes goes outside for earning money, which makes the situation worse. Bob is not necessary in the family any more. When the first night in Tokyo, he received a fax from his wife at 4:20 in the morning, which tell audience that her wife can not know the Japanese time. It reflects that his wife do not care him very much, which is contact with her feeling. He is lost and hopeless. He thinks that it will never be changed.

Charlotte just graduated from dale and has gotten marriage for 2 years. Her husband loves her, but he is so busy that he can not take good care of charlotte and spend time being with her. Her husband always goes outside to take photos for earning money. On the other hand, her husband care his job more that her. And she has not a lot of friends and job in Tokyo, she feel lonely. What she can do is just to read magazines, watch TV and go to pub to drink. She is stuck, she do not know what she should be or do, what she married and how her life will be in the future but she still have hope to change this. She tries to do change this situation. She go to temple for hope, weave scarf, try ikebana, make up herself. Her husband do not understand her, she also do not want to hear what her husband was talking about which showed in the 15minutes of the movie. Then she still complete lost in her life.

In the movie, Sofia Coppola uses the speaking from a CD to point out the main idea of the movie which is “Did you ever wonder what your purpose in life is? Find your soul’s purpose and destiny. Every soul has a path, but sometimes that path is not clear. How each soul begin with a imprint, all compacted into a pattern that has been selected by your soul before you have ever gotten here.” This is a kind of summary of this movie to tell audience around what will happen next and work in contact with the main idea and the story. Sofia Coppola wants people to think about these questions to get purpose and destiny for their life, do not just keep being confused for the life.

Both Bob and Charlotte have lost in the beginning, they do not know what the purpose for their lives is, the difference between them is Bob is hopeless, Charlotte still want to change this. The camera shoots charlotte looking outside several times and she asks her husband whether he is awake or not represent that she is still filled with a little hope. Charlotte holds her knees and looks outside appeared in the shot shows her lonely and the demand that she need some one to understand her feeling and situation but her husband do not understand her. She is confused what she is doing. She lost hope for getting understanding from her friend. After she cried in the time of 15 minutes, a series of motion of Charlotte also highlight her psychology that she wants change her life, she begins with an imprint as the CD said. She wants to meet a friend who can understand her. When they notice that they have fallen in love, they try to escape and back to their own life, but as the CD said, they accept the truth at last. After the KTV scene, on their way back to hotel, they have fallen in love with each other. At the end when Bob hold Charlotte into his arm, the environment become blur because they do not loose themselves any more. The environment is just to highlight that people should concentrate to themselves not confused by the outside. In the movie, there are the only two main character, the others are less important and just exist for highlight some point of the movie.

The songs in the story speak out what their feeling and what they really want to say. “As I walk through this wicked world, searching for light in the darkness of insanity. I ask myself is all hope lost, is there only pain and hatred and misery? And each time I feel like this inside, there is one thing I want to know, what is so funny about peace, love and understanding” That is why Bob is so sad and what he is confused. “I am winking at you, gonna make you notice, gonna use my arms, gonna use my legs, gonna use my style, gonna use my sidestep, gonna use my fingers, gonna use my imagination, cause I am gonna make you see nobody else here no one like me….” when Charlotte sing “no one like me”, Bob shakes his head. “I could feel at the time there was no way of knowing fallen leaves in the night who can say where they are blowing as free as the wind hopefully learning why the sea on the tide has no way of turning…” They are talking about the opinion and feeling to the life.

At the beginning of the movie, camera shoots the back of Charlotte who is lonely and sleeping. At the same time, the sound turns louder from quiet. When Bob first appears in the movie, the music shows his mood clearly, which is curiosity to this new city. When shooting charlotte, the camera often pans from outside or to the outside to highlight the busy night in Tokyo where people always keep working or doing. The first time Bob came to the pub, camera first concentrates to some Japanese enjoying their life, they talk, laugh and drink. After that, shot came to Bob who was drinking and eating cigar without any companies.

There is almost no extremely close up shoot in this movie, the director choose close up and medium shoot to shoot them talking because environment is extremely important for the movie. The two main characters are just two single person in a modern city.

The music also is very important. At the beginning, background music in the two minutes of the movie, the music shows the mystery, to show the character’s curiosity to the city. Some music in the middle have some contact with what is going to happen next. The whole movie is filled with Japanese language that the two main character do not understand to show they are islated from outside in Toyko.

The movie chooses black as the main background color, which represents the situation, background and emotion of characters. With the story goes by, the background color becomes warmer and warmer, which reflect the relationship between Bob and Charlotte.

At the end of movie, Bob Harris hold Charlotte into his arm, they accept the truth that they have fallen in love and the love explodes. It is the start of a new story, which means the end of this story. The story ends with shooting their back, they separates temperately. They change their choice to turn right… The amazing end makes audience to think about the could happen next which let audience to keep imagining.