How Godard's stylistic decisions
have been changed since the beginning of the French New Wave movement? The
intellectual quotes, the cinematic references, Einsteinian montage influences,
Godard intertitles, and the disoriented /confusing cuts are still important
parts of his style. While he tries to be innovative in using 3D film such as
using the concept of superimposition not on the screen but on the lenses of the
glasses, the desire to switch to video images become key element in creating
his last cinematic text. In comparison with his fascinations in the
earliest films, his obsessions are not about Marxist ideology anymore.
His concerns are mostly focused on the reliability and authenticity of images
and sounds. The characterization, the cause-and-effect narrative, and the
resolution at the end of the film are not the terms that Godard refers to while
he makes his oeuvre. Review: Morad Sadeghi
Wednesday, 29 October 2014
Adieu au Langage
Wednesday, 15 October 2014
Prometheus
Ridley Scott's film, Prometheus,
represents the maturity of the director's style in its narrative and formal
structures. The thematic construction of the film remains allegiant to the
conventional forms of storytelling recurred in the former Alien movies while
the film is a prequel to the Alien series. Many of these similar patterns are
the references that help the audience to explore the undercurrent layers of the
narrative. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) is a scientist whose motivation to
find out about the origin and "Engineers" persuades her to control
the narrative at the end of the film. In terms of having survival instinct, her
character is very similar to Ripley's in Alien (1979). Shaw has a strong
character that reminds the audience of Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) in
Alien movies. Not surprisingly, she can leave the planet while David
(Micheal Fassbinder), the robot, helps her to pilot the spaceship. (Another
reference to the end of Aliens (1986, James Cameron)). Review By: Morad Sadeghi
Gone Girl
Fincher's film is well structured
and established around the voice-over narrative of the female protagonist
and her inner thoughts and memories. The film is an adaptation of
Gillian Flynn's novel which is devoted to the literary text.
The narrative of the film is enriched of flash backs of the
couple's lifestyle and relationship. The audience mostly self-identifies with
the female protagonist's subjective world. The shift of the female subjectivity
to the male protagonist happens to be completed close to the final sequences of
the film when Amy finally murders and kills her ex-boyfriend in a sex
scene. The ending of the film is ambiguous. Although the couple accepts to live
together, the potentialities of betraying, murdering, and cheating are
still there. We do not know if Nick knows about his wife, but the shadow
of a doubt raises the question that who will be controlling the narrative and
how. Nick or Amy? Review by Morad Sadeghi
The Congress
Stylistically, The Congress demonstrates
a significant departure from Waltz with Bashir (2008, Ari
Folman). The film is a combination of the animated sections and the real
setting. The setting is dynamically harmonious with the animated section. This
is Folman's fourth film. The narrative of the film revolves around the
progressive technology for future Hollywood. Though the film hints at the
corruption of corporate capitalism, the world of cinema in future is
subtly represented by choosing the animation art. Folman's film is very much a
fantasy/ science fiction film (influenced by Stanislaw Lem's novel, The
Futurological Congress). The choice of animation for the world of the
future allows the audience to maneuver in the realm of the
imagination. Not only does the director depict the
protagonist's adventure but he emphasizes her responsibility towards her
family and her concern for the future of the world of art and artist.