I have only walked out of a movie, before the end, once before in my life. I walked out of Weekend after an hour. In many cases, even if I am not enjoying a film, I can at least see how it done well, and what can be taken away from it. I honestly do not know at all what to say about Weekend. It was so terrible that I literally I have no idea even where to begin with the problems I had.
Every time that I thought I would understand what is happening the film would go off in some random direction and not explain anything. In addition, there are large parts of the movie that it is almost like the director put in, and cut the rest of the scene. So you have clips in the midst of what is going on, and no explanation as to what is happening.
By far, Weekend was the worst movie I have ever seen.
This film was one of the most beautiful and enthralling I’ve ever seen. It was the most impressive in its performances; Romeo and Juliet were haunting and enchanting, a couple torn apart, yet brought together by tragic circumstances. When I found out that it was based on the director and writer’s true story, and they were the stars, I was mesmerized. It took a lot of strength to put themselves that position. They were making a film about something that could have ended badly. They wanted that happy ending, and the beach scene at the end of the film was justified. The only scene that I felt didn’t truly fit was the scene where Romeo and Juliet find out that Adam has a brain tumor, and they have a musical sequence in the taxi/train. It seemed out of place in an otherwise incredible movie. I laughed a bit at that scene because it was pretty ridiculous. The colors were completely bleak within the hospital, and Romeo and Juliet lost themselves in that color scheme. They blended and bleached out. That was the domino effect in their break-up. However, when they weren’t in the hospital, the colors were grand and in your face. The carnival scene stood out the most. The color scheme represented their emotions, with the hospital being symbolic for weakness, and the outdoors being symbolic with the liveliness that brought them together. The chemistry between Romeo and Juliet is undeniable; it exists long after they say they’ve split up. Because of what has occurred, they will remain close to each other for the rest of their lives, tied to the moments they nearly lost their son. The film is realistic in its depictions of a couple that fell in love and married too young, had a child when they were still growing up themselves, and the race to grow even more through loss. Overall, the French have done it once again, by giving us one of the most beautiful, well crafted films of the year. Truly unforgettable.
I attended the Oscar Nominated Short Films on Saturday February 19, 2012. I found the shorts to be extremely well made, despite being no longer than 15 minutes. It was incredible to me that the director could have put so much action, emotion, and drama into such a small space of time. I suppose it must be fun for these directors to work on these films, using the mantra of less is more. I especially enjoyed watching the second short film that was shown, depicting a couple that had made a trip over to India to work on a charity project. Once in India they were given a small child to take care of and were told that he was an orphan starving on the streets. Due to the fact that parts of India are very impoverished, I would suppose that this is not that uncommon. The male protagonist in the film is walking through a street market with the child when he somehow loses him in the crowds. Despite looking for him through the mass of people the male protagonist is unable to discover where he went. He eventually discovers that the child was taken by his biological parents to their house. This poses an extremely difficult situation for the couple, as his girlfriend/wife already has become emotionally attached to the child. What ensues is a struggle between the heart and the mind. Both man and woman know in their minds that the right thing to do is to give the child back to his biological parents, but in their hearts they know that they will never see the child again and want desperately to hold on to him for as long as they can. Furthermore, they know that if they return the child he may have a difficult time surviving and being happy in that part of India, while they know that they could take really great care of them. The female protagonist tries to convince her boyfriend/husband to keep the child and he pretends to comply. The last scene of the film, however, shows him riding in the car with the child rest against his lap. In this case the mind, and one can say reason, won the battle against the heart, or emotion.
《Week End》 is a typical French New Wave film, which only has desultorily, no direction joining together and a hideous mess, no associated "plot", but it's the most controversial movie made by Jean Luc Gadard. It is hard to imagine a movie made in this style. It is also shortlisted in Berlin International Film Festival of Best Film. The chairman of the jury film festival even does not want to give his award. But this represents the Gadard unique personal style and the glamour of the movie. However, I do not know how to say anything about the plot, but many audiences think that it's a garbage. Through the movie, I could find the 60s France, which did not have any highways, and the people do not follow the transportation rules. It only had endless disputes, auto accidents, and ridiculous things. Every frame of Week End gives me helplessly for that particular society situation. My favorite part is the seven minutes traffic jam, which is a nonstop long take. The audience vision is from the start to the end. I like that style because it seems to like no end for the traffic. I really want to see what the end looks like, which gives me a lot of exceptions. However, put the pieces together and then into a unique Jean Luc Gadard style.
Declaration of War is a very different and intriguing film. Although their son ended up living, it still must have been painful for the parents to film and relive those excruciating years that ended up splitting them up all over again. The film also makes the viewer realize that love isn’t all that’s needed for a successful relationship. It’s very possible that a couple will break up if such a heavy burden of stress is put on their relationship, even if they were previously so madly in love. It takes a lot to be able to stay together after such painful things have been experienced. It causes serious issues to fight over, such as when Romeo wanted the initial surgery to be done by the best surgeon possible, even if they had to wait, while Juliette wanted the surgery done by an average doctor as soon as possible. It makes it very difficult if a couple can’t agree on what is best for their child, since that is their most important job as parents. I found the different extremities in the behavior of Romeo and Juliette to be very interesting. They would go from pure grief and fear while in the hospital dealing with their young son’s brain tumor, and then they would be out with friends drinking and having a good time. I found it interesting because no one really knows how they would cope with something like that until it actually happens to them. Only parents that have actually gone through it would know how to film it realistically, and it’s not exactly what I would have expected it to be like.
The Oscar-nominated animated shorts had huge variations in quality - some great, some okay, some awful. "Dimanche - Sunday", the first one, was terrible. The animation was bland, and the plot was uneventful. I can't understand what any Academy voters could've seen in this film. "Wild Life" was similarly boring, though it did have lovely painted animation. Fortunately, the other three films were much more entertaining. "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore", the eventual Oscar winner, was wonderful. The anthropomorphization of the book-birds was really clever, and the films double message about the power of reading and the ability of art to pull people out of tragedy was very moving. "A Morning Stroll" was like a short film made up of three smaller shorts. I thought the concept of the morning stroll, repeated across 1959, 2009, and 2059, was genius, and the inclusion of the chicken and the final zombie scenario was perfectly absurd. My favorite film though, was Pixar's "La Luna". As you'd expect from Pixar, it was beautifully animated, and the story was very heartwarming. I found myself drawn in to the film, and I didn't want it to end. Overall, I really liked the shorts, and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to see them on the big screen. Having only a few minutes to develop characters and carry out an entire plot arc must be incredibly difficult, and seeing these filmmakers succeed was really exciting.
This movie was really extremely moving to me. I like how subtle the director made the oddities in the baby, but at the same time once they are pointed out to you through the parents they do become apparent. The use of the running was one of my favorite parts of the film. I feel that it was a way for the director to symbolize their inner feelings. On the outside they remained relatively strong through all of the adversity, but on the inside they were crumbling and wanting to run away and go back to when they were the young, care free, fun loving, and in love couple. The running was at first just for fun and with a sense of joy, much like their lives, but once their child was diagnosed with cancer it became more of an escape and something only depicted when they were in distress. The ending of the movie was beautiful to me, and I really liked that they didn't force the fact with making everything just work out and be perfect in the end. Because that's not usually how life works out, so I though it was a very interesting and different way to have the story end on a very joyous note, with the boy cured, but at the same time a reminder of the turmoil they endured, with the parents being separated.
When I went into this movie, I had absolutely no expectations for the film. It turned out to be a fantastic movie with an interesting story line. The interesting thing about this film is that it was directed, written by, and starred the same two people, Valérie Donzelli and Jeremie Elkaim. The movie is about this couple, Romeo and Juliette, who struggle to overcome their sons brain cancer. It is filled with many ups and downs, and does not follow any storyline for a specific genre. The film is balanced between good and bad. The movie begins with a high paced colorful feeling, however this feeling quickly diminishes and becomes bleak as the story unfolds. Although the entire situation puts strain on their relationship, they depend on each other to get through this stressful time in their lives. They are able to make some light out of the situation, for example when they are trying to sleep in the hospital during the surgery, they make jokes about what could be the worse possible scenario for their son. In the end, their son survives but the two of them get separated. It demonstrates how love isn’t enough to keep two people together. There long struggle led to the demise of their relationship, however the end of the movie leads the viewer to believe they were in a good place. Declaration of War is a must-see movie and I would recommend it to other people.
The Oscar Nominated Short Films are five charming shorts. I really liked these short films since they contained a mixture of themes such as comedy, tragedy, drama, and others. All the stories were extremely different, from telling what was happening in Ireland during mass to telling the story of how kids in India are kidnapped from their family so they can be sold to foreigners who can provide them with a better life to telling a funny story between three friends who have not seen each other in a long time as well as many other stories. These stories captivated my attention and they had so enjoyable plots. They were relaxing. These stories illustrated that it is not necessary for a film to be 80 or more minutes to communicate an idea or to get an audience interested in the plot. I believe that producing a short film is harder than producing a movie since the filmmaker has to express their idea in little time and effectively obtain the desired reaction from the audience. My favorite short film was the one about Peter McDonald's "Pentecost" since it made me laugh a lot. It is about an Irish boy who had already embarrassed the local priest in mass and was given a second chance nevertheless he decides to do something more embarrassing. It had a refreshing plot that made me think about one’s passions and crazy ideas, and about the big imagination that a child has and that should still remain within an adult. This short film is just a clear example of how an idea can be conveyed in a small period of time. I also think that short films are an excellent way for a new upcoming director to test how good their work is and observe if they are ready to undergo a more extensive project.
Made in 1967, Godard's Weekend follows a couple as they seek to gain the fortune of the wife's father by arranging his death. While seemingly starting as a light-hearted film, the movie becomes more and more bizarre as time progresses; we watch as a middle-class city girl and a country farmer get in an argument about society while her boyfriend lies dead after a horrific car crash, we see Charlotte Brontë being burned alive and listen to monologues regarding the state of the Congo and the lack of foreign aid.
While the movie has some amazing shots, including a seven and a half minute tracking shot, and parts of it are completely hilarious, it becomes increasingly strange and unpleasant to watch. The audience is shown several horrific scenes, a skinned rabbit as well as a pig and a duck being butchered, for no apparent reason. Godard is known for being over-the-top, and this movie certainly displays that well. Several people walked out of the theater throughout the showing, either due to boredom or disgust. That being said, parts of Weekend are amazing, and can be watched for fun without much context, but the rest of the movie is more bizarre than anything else...
This was a wonderful opportunity to watch the series of nominated shorts that I have never had the chance to see before. They are never widely distributed and so far are not posted on the Internet, though I feel that they should be in the near future. I have always wanted the chance to see these movies whenever I have seen the category on Oscar night, so I went into these series of shorts hopeful to see some great animated films. That hope was almost squashed with the first short. The animation was terribly hand-drawn. It was a quaint story, but that was it. It wasn’t stimulating and it was very uninteresting. With that short out of the way, the next ones picked up and were very enjoyable. The one with the flying books was mesmerizing, and it had such a great message about the power and value of art and literature in times of tragedy. The idea of passing on these books to a whole new generation of readers and keepers of literature was heart-warming to say the least. The Morning Stroll was a well-made piece with a clever depiction of a zombie apocalypse in the future. The Pixar short lived up to all the expectations of a Pixar film. It had all the originality, warmth, heart, and imagination that make Pixar films fantastic. I would say that in all the series of shorts were well made with a few great standouts and a few shorts that I found deplorable. I come to wonder how some of those were even nominated. That also makes me wonder how the short nominating process occurs considering all the cynicism waged against the Oscar nominating process in general.
This was an incredibly moving film. It was so personal and deeply moving. I found out later that the film was based on the true life story of the main actors, so that made it even more touching. The film follows the life of two apparently fated lovers named Romeo and Juliette. The irony of this encounter is not lost on the pair. They fall in love and gat married fast, and before you know it they have child together. It all happens in a sudden manner, and my cynicism predicted that this would drive a wedge in the relationship. In a way it did, but in another respect it brought them together in ways no one could understand, not unless anyone was going through the same sort of ordeal. Juliette’s pregnancy is celebrated and they both are anxious and excited to become new parents. They go through the same struggles of caring for a newborn, the stress and the lack of sleep. They begin to worry, and then out of nowhere they get the devastating news: their son has cancer. The rest of the film follows their struggle to see their son being treated. All those hospital visits and the monumental moments of surgery were wrought intensity and uncertainty. It was so moving that I even began to feel those moments. It was so palpable. This film follows a realistic struggle filled with all the emotions and sincerity that exists when a couple faces an unforeseen hardship. Ultimately the two characters do not stay together, but remain bonded forever with 1) the life they made together and 2) their connected experience. I was very impressed with the quality and depth of this movie. The only criticism I may have is the constant cigarette smoking. It may be a French culture thing that I don’t understand, but for me, in the whole scheme of what’s happening in their lives I found it to be tactless and inappropriate. Maybe it was just my thinking about how I would play out a situation like theirs, and I am just placing my judgment upon it. In any case, that was the only aspect that I found unsettling.
After Drive, this movie experience was my favorite one that we had see in Cosford. I just want to get this off my chest: I absolutely hated Dimanche. This short film about a young boy who relocates to his grandparents' home and frequently sneaks out to flatten coins on train tracks because he is too bored with his own life. Ugh, this film had dry animation and was overly boring. My hopes for the rest of the films fall very flat on the ground, but... On the other hand, I enjoyed all of the other films, especially La Luna and A Morning Stroll. The former was a visually aesthetic tale of the clash between different age generations. It was funny, emotional, riveting, and dramatic. Props to Pixar. I also loved A Morning Stroll, which as basically a film clip re-made twice more. It was about a walking chicken and was quite morbid and funny. The music certainly added to the overall quality of the film. Overall, I enjoyed the short films. Having the opportunity to see all of the Oscar-nominated animated short films was quite my pleasure. The only short films that I had ever really seen before were the shorts attached before each Pixar film (how ironic). This was the first time that I really realized that short films can have just as powerful an effect on the audience as a full-length feature film. IN certain ways, the message of short films must be more on-point, and the content usually seems more streamlined and minimalist. Only the essentials are there. In a way, we can cut out the bullshit that we find in some films and actually tunnel to the essence. Overall, the short films are far more focused.
Released in 2011, Declaration of War follows the lives of a young couple whose son develops a potentially deadly brain tumor. The filming and editing are brilliant, and, combined with the acting, draw the viewers into the lives of the characters, making their story become meaningful, important to us. The film makes us interested in the young couple, in their newborn son, and in the trials that the three face as the son begins his long struggle against a potentially lethal cancer. The family’s story is an emotional one, and the filmmakers do an excellent job of portraying it as such through the length of shots as well as dialogue and the emotions portrayed by the actors. The interactions between the characters are real, human, their emotions raw and palpable. The detached manner in which some scenes are portrayed, such as the eventual breakup of Roméo and Juliette, actually adds to the emotional nature of the film, as the moviemakers do not try to force the audience to feel a certain way, they simply present the information coldly and leave the emotional response to the viewer. The movie does an amazing job of involving the viewer, and that makes it a very powerful film to watch.
That first comment about WEEK END cracks me up for so many reasons. I resisted the urge to leave the theatre and, though I didn't totally hate the film, I definitely didn't enjoy it. I hoped my first bit of exposure to Godard's work would intrigue me and make me love him from the very beginning. I don't particularly have a hard time watching bizarre or unordinary films, but Week End just didn't do anything for me. The traffic shot was fun for a solid three minutes or so, and then it just felt loud -- endless and unnecessary. It finally ended with that unfortunately graphic accident, which wouldn't have bothered me so much if I hadn't sat through almost eight minutes of incessant honking sounds. Every time I thought I was beginning to understand it, something would shift and I'd find myself just as stuck as I'd been at the beginning. I really loved the music in the forest though. Those drums excited me and kind of made me feel like all the other travesties were worth it. I absolutely hated the pig scene, but I love how the film ended with her eating her partner's remains and, essentially, being very okay with it. I wouldn't recommend Week End to anybody, but I'm glad I saw it for myself.
The Oscar Nominated Short Films are five special shorts stories. They all vary a lot in terms of genre, theme and content, and the only thing that they have in common is that they all are short stories. One story goes on in Ireland, where an old couple meets again after the man moved to USA decades earlier. The man comes back to visit his roots, and finds out that his ex fiancé married his best friend. The story is very special and brings up themes as love, ethics and guilt. I liked the story because it was very straight forward. The other movie was very different from the other, as a couple is going to India to adopt a child. After receiving the child, the father finds out that the kid is kidnapped by an orphanage and sold to western people. The couple then faces the ethical dilemma of doing the right thing – finding the child’s true parents, or fulfilling their dream of brining the child back to Europe. Even though the story differs from the one from Ireland, they both include ethics. Another story was about a young kid, very interested in soccer but his parents forced him to be an altar boy in a catholic church. It all ended with the boy being taken out of church, after several attempts to do his duties right, although he failed every each time. The story portrays how strict parents raise their kid, and how they force him to do everything he doesn’t want to. After summarizing three of the short stories, I will say I liked the first two stories the most. They really got you wondering what would happen next, and I believe the story with the kid from the church lacks tension.
While I enjoyed all of the Oscar-nominated animated short films, especially “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” and “A Morning Stroll,” one stood out to me far more than the rest. Pixar’s “La Luna” was truly excellent; this is not surprising, since Pixar’s record of making great films that also have mass appeal is virtually unblemished. However, “La Luna” was probably my favorite Pixar short yet. Visually, the setting and atmosphere were fantastic. The relatively generic but beautiful ocean setting, with just the moon lighting it, really made the entire film feel magical but still relatable. Furthermore, the stars on the moon were stunning; and the entire concept of climbing the ladder to the moon, with the change in gravity, was a very unusual but appealing conceit.
More than anything, however, I liked the plot, characters, and theme, which are all inseparable from one another. The distinctions between the grandfather, the father, and the son, both in terms of visual design and actions, were obvious without beating the audience over the head with them. And the resolution of the conflict, with the son coming up with both a new look and a new way to sweep up the stars, really connected with me. I think the idea of constructive generational changeover is incredibly important to people and society, and “La Luna” illustrated this point beautifully. All in all, it was a great film with a great message.
I really enjoyed the Oscar-nominated live-action short films. As someone who grew up Catholic and who loves sports movies, “Pentecost” really connected with me. “Time Freak” was just plain funny, and I really liked the well-thought-out rules of its time travel. The way it was handled, with the nearly infinite number of timeline permutations, was intelligent and also funny, a really potent combination. “Tuba Atlantic” was fun, but I felt that it was too long for its absurd premise. “The Shore” and “Raju” were probably the two best shorts, however. I loved the setting and culture of “The Shore.” Ireland was simply beautiful and the people really felt genuine. Furthermore, the characters were great and their relationships, in light of the complicated history between them, really seemed genuine.
“Raju” was probably my favorite of the five films. I love it when a film challenges its audience with a morally ambiguous situation, and “Raju” did exactly that. The relationship, albeit brief, between the couple and then between the two of them and Raju really made the panic feel genuine when Raju went missing. The reveal that Raju was kidnapped was also very well done, but the most important aspect of the movie, to me, was the cinematography and framing that showed how poor the slums Raju came from were. Knowing where Raju had been taken from really made the end of the movie a difficult moral situation: Raju was kidnapped from his family, but he still came back to the German couple when he escaped. Should he be returned? Is there an answer? If he had wanted to go back to his family the answer would be clear, but the fact that he seems to want out of the slums makes the situation far muddier. If returning him to his family is the right thing to do, why does only one character want it to happen? Raju wants out, the wife wants to take him, the adoption agent says she is saving him, and, if Raju returned to his family (he escaped of his own volition and was gone for more than a day), his return means his real family also wants a better future for him. Overall, the movie posed an excellent, thought-provoking question that could be interpreted as a bigger idea about Westerners telling less-fortunate people how to live; and I love that there is no right answer.
Jean-Luc Godard's “Weekend” is 1967 drama about a married couple that is planning each other’s death. The two main characters go by the name of Roland (Husband) and Corinne (Wife) in which both have secrets lovers and attempting to start a new life with them. The purpose of the movie is that Roland and Corinne are taking a trip to the wife’s (Corinne) parents home to secure her inheritance from her dying father and if needs be to murder him. The Film takes a twist and the trip through the French countryside becomes very strange with bizarre characters and violent vehicle accidents After their own car is destroyed Roland and Corinne go through a series of events including class struggle and figures of history, forming a overall impression of a funny, pleasing to the eye, but also senseless and frightening world. Corinne and Roland eventually arrive at her parents' place, only to find that her father has died and her mother is refusing them a share of the spoils. They kill her and set off on the road again, only to fall into the hands of a group of hippie revolutionaries supporting themselves through theft and cannibalism. Overall there is nothing predictable about “Weekend”. I feel that Godard uses the camera as satirical tool. The film displays a certain type of scandal that isn't usually present in films today; its rawness really made it unique. I would recommend this film because of its humor, ambition and scenes of amazing beauty.
In “Oscar Nominated Shorts”, there are a lot of different kinds of genre of short movie. Each movie was short and impressive. There are two movies I got interest. The first movie was “PENTECOST” directed by Peter McDonald. It was about a boy in chirch choir who is crazy fan of Liverpool, one of best English soccer team in the world. His parents want him to concentrate to practice singing for church not watching soccer. One day, his dad forces him not watching soccer game. They boy became sad since Liverpool has champion league game during that time. At the end, during ceremony in his church, he unconsciously kicked a church’s stuff like soccer player in front of people and eases his stress. Because of this hilarious conclusion, I was laughing so badly and relive my stress. Second was “RAJU directed by Zhellea. This movie was taken in India. One couple adopts an Indian boy. They had good time together. However, one day, husband found that his adopted son is not an orphan and his original parents are still alive. At the conclusion, he just brought him back to his original family. This movie’s soundtrack was pretty interesting. When music came out, it made me get nervous. Also, this movie is more like documentary.
I attended the Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts anticipating to see great shorts and I was not disappointed. When I heard that they were playing at the Cosford I knew I had to go. I enjoyed almost all of them. The first one shown was Pentecost. This one was by far my favorite. Being a huge soccer fan, I knew all about Liverpool and little kid's love for the game. I loved how the film used Ireland's extreme importance for the Catholic Church. I was laughing throughout this one and really thought it was the best one. The second one that was shown was Raju. I also thought this one was good. Even though it was longer than Pentecost, I thought it did a fantastic of describing how life can truly be in India. The kidnapping of kids is a huge issue and this short shows it well. I also realized how evil people can be. The orphanage was a huge scam and the kids would just run away and go back to the orphanage. I really like how determined the man is to find out what is going on in this corrupt country as he goes to every extent to solve this. The next short, the shore, was extremely boring in my eyes. I may have even dozed off for a little bit during this one. The last one that I enjoyed was Time Freak. I was laughing throughout this one and it was a nice change of pace from the last two slower ones.
We all hope that their child is beautiful, handsome, dragon dragon and phoenix in Phoenix, but when the child's physical deficiencies or get sick, the so-called handsome, dragon and phoenix have been important, the most important is the health Health and Sport Hello!
I often see children seriously ill or severely disabled, and the story there is a missing or divorced parents. But this episode is in the body of Romeo and Juliet?
"I am afraid of the after Adam surgery, also throat and dumb and blind ............
"I'm afraid Adam surgery will be in a vegetative state after .........
"I was scared before surgery, the doctor out of the accident, can not help Adam surgery ..."
Before surgery, a lot of fear, The Road to make a Romeo and Juliet fears that hundreds of thousands of love of the parents.
Sometimes really think that only the rich can serious illness. When Romeo and Juliet, both quit their jobs and When ROMEO credit card to be cut off when they sell the house, ㄚ today I was thinking: how they long to pay this huge overhead? How they maintain a long time only the feelings of living in the hospital? Even though they have full of love, but how mutual understanding?
You angry? You angry because I stay in bed and come too late ... "
This is a small thing, but it is the tiredness. But they can make big tired overthrow? After all, Adam was their beloved baby!
In fact ㄚ this Xinyousuogan, Romeo and Juliet pushing Adam into the operating room the moment. You sick to say anything? Especially small children. To cheer you? Alas! Fight the air; love him? Alas! Love is the thing; We are waiting for him? He really care? The most time, are silent, and only use the vision to send him to the operating room.
Romeo and Juliet loudly announced "The operation was greatly successful, and when the doctor said," This is a very malignant tumor, "Romeo and Juliet collapse tears, sterile room when the doctor announced," to live long-term cancer "Romeo and Juliet do about it? The fate of Adam going?
"Honey Do not Cry" good and true a movie, we see family, friends, faith, hope, love, and we see a couple romantic Shall between husband and wife, real life real and difficult, and parents of the child that love selfless regrets. Prefer to interpret their mood ups and downs of love and muttered screen the film in a variety of musical forms.
Finally, just want to say that the sick is not terrible, the most important thing is for love, commitment and confidence, because only love can overcome the disease.
I don’t quite understand what Godard’s Weekend was trying to accomplish. The movie start’s off with something resembling a plot, in which a husband and wife both have secret lovers and are planning on murdering each other after securing an inheritance from on of their parent’s. At least I think that’s what was happening at the beginning, I’m still deciding whether or not that’s true. After the two set out on a road trip to the house, almost the entire movies decides to abandon this premise and go off on random tangents. I appreciate that the film tries to experiment and not follow a standard narrative structure, but it just didn’t work. Much of the film ends up being extremely boring. For no reason, the movie goes on political rants that seem completely out of place, are REALLY drawn out, and don’t lead to anything. In the scene when the men were eating sandwiches and talking over each other I wanted to tear my hair out. On the inside I kept screaming to myself “move on already!” They might as well have thrown in a scene where the camera zooms in on two pieces of cake, one vanilla and one chocolate, have the camera hold that shot for 15 minutes… and then randomly cut to somebody trying to murder the chocolate cake. I mean, why not? It’s drawn out, random, and a political statement all at the same time. I also felt that it was trying to hard to be controversial. There are a couple of interesting shots, such as the ten-minute continuous take of the traffic jam, but it just doesn't make up for what the film subjugates its audience to. I was stunned when I looked at the ratings on rotten tomatoes and saw that it got a 95%. Is there some sort of context I’m unaware of? Is there something I’m not getting? Would I understand this movie better if I saw Godard’s other films? Am I insane or is the rest of the world insane? I truly want to get what other people see in this movie. Somebody please help me.
Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts The Oscar nominated live action shorts were 5 short films: Pentecost, Raju, the shore, time freak, Tuba Atlantic. It was no surprise to me that these films were nominated for an Oscar because they were all interesting in one way or another.
Tuba Atlantic had an interesting plot and really made me think about my life and how thankful I am for having so long to live. The story is about a man who finds out he has 6 days to live. He and his brother had a very bad dispute and when he finds out he has only 6 days to live making amends with his brother is his number one priority. Although the story is very farfetched and to think that the sound of something will travel across the ocean is absurd but nonetheless it was a good short.
Pentecost was one of my favorite shorts that I viewed here. It was particularly intriguing to me because I am a sports fan and can empathize with the child when it comes to his desire to compete and put sports before other things. It also interested me because I have always wanted to go to Ireland. The fact that it was based on Catholic church proceedings also caught my interest because I am catholic and understood/ have experienced many of the happenings that went on in the church.
The shore was probably my least favorite of the shorts. Like previously stated I enjoyed the fact that it was in Ireland because it is one of my top places I want to visit but the plot and story in general bored me.
Raju really touched me because it also made me feel thankful like Tuba Atlantic, but in a different way. It made me realize how good of a life I have and how thankful I am to live in America. It brought to life the many dangers associated with other countries. The curious boy always sneaking out reminded me of my childhood as well.
Time freak- I found this short very entertaining because of how interested I am in the idea of time travel and complexions associated with it. I like how each story about time travel encompasses different rules and opportunities. Erik Rueckle-c10166645
Paul Goodman changed my life Paul Goodman Changed my life is a documentary about how much of an impact Paul Goodman had on the generation growing up in the 1960s. His book Growing up Absurd is the main reason for this impact and the center of the documentary but other books such as The community of Scholars, and Compulsory Mis-education are books written by Goodman that impacted the generation as well. I have never read the book Growing up Absurd but it is a critique on how Americans raise children, in particular boys. The documentary focuses on Paul Goodman’s life as an intellectual and how his ideas written in the 1960s still kind of pertain to our modern society. I found the documentary very interesting because I did not know who Paul Goodman was before the film. I found it amazing that such an intellectual could come from a life so distraught. I am very interested in the 1960s lifestyle and the new left, radical ideals and drugs that were part of it. The fact that from this lifestyle came incredible works of arts is truly marvelous. Watching the film encouraged me to look further into the 1960s and actually write a paper about it in English class. Paul Goodman changed my life was very fascinating and I am glad I picked it as one of the films to watch at the Cosford cinema. Erik Rueckle-c10166645
Overall, I really enjoyed the Oscar-nominated live action short films. It was very interesting to get to watch short 15-minute films with various genres and styles of cinematography. I’ve always noticed this category in the Oscars and I always think to myself if there is anyone that actually watches these films. For myself, it was definitely a great opportunity to finally get a chance to see these short films and what they were all about. Almost of these stories seemed very entertaining with appealing plots, unique characters, and different filming/animation techniques. The first film was Dimanche, which is about a young boy who encountered the harsh realties of adult decisions including his dad killing a dog on the road. On the animation, I thought it was a bland background with very simple drawings of the characters without too much detail or shading. The second film that I really enjoyed was La Luna, a Pixar movie that follows a boat trip with a boy, his father, and his grandfather. Overall, the animation was truly high quality, which doesn’t really surprise me due to many previous masterpieces by Pixar such as Ratatouille. Throughout the film, it seemed very uncluttered with a focus away from the dialogue and more towards the overall depiction of the film. Another animated short film I remember was Wild Liffe, which had some creative animation but it lacked much of anything unique. The last film was called the Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which literally was about books flying around like birds intertwined with a main character that got taken by a storm eventually ending up being surround by books. I thought it was a picturesque portrayal about this director’s love for books, and I thought it had a very important message that knowledge is power, which is obtained through reading. In my opinion, tt was definitely in my opinion a close second to the pixar film La luna, however I guess the Oscar’s saw it as a clear winner since it won the academy award. I really loved seeing these animated films because I don’t typically see these type of movies very often, but I was pleasantly surprised with most of these short films.
Oscar Nominated Shorts – Live Action These short films were quite interesting for me to see since they are so different than the normal films we see in the theaters. They are so short, however, they still included so many actions, emotions, and was able to tell a story out of it. It usually has some meanings, though I didn't understand them all. I didn't enjoy all of them, but 2 of them were ok. 24 minutes compressed into a feature story, writer and director, emotional and moral influence of the largest in Zahle worth it. German couple months, and Sarah Fischer to the Calcutta 4-year-old Raju. However, as the first day of the family, the boy disappeared, as they seek to help, police, orphanages, and find missing children's NGO, the city seems to have him swallow. Worst case, January an investigation into the whereabouts of their new son, Worse scene. To avoid the exposition, in Zahle's right of action, strategy, appealed to the audience from the heart, rather than narratively sympathy. Not have enough time to handle all the complex emotions of the case is suitable for the inevitable suspicion of their parents of the couple is given a cool reception, but in Zahle smart structures has made a powerful resonance.
Declaration of War C04997305 La Guerre est Déclarée (Declaration of War) tells the story of parents Romeo and Juliette and the battle they face when their son Adam is diagnosed with a brain tumor. Romeo and Juliette is one truly based in love. With the confrontation of the tragic news regarding their son’s condition they decide to strengthen their bond and fight the odds together. They call upon their friends and family for support in their battle against Adam’s brain cancer. Romeo and Juliette are not only fighting for their son’s life but also for their marriage in the surrounding chaos they’ve been thrown into. Valerie Donzelli tells a beautifully moving tale in Declaration of War and shows how with love and determination two people can face any hurdle. This film is a nice little piece of French cinema and I’m glad I had the chance to see it. Donzelli masterfully utilizes the cinematography and the soundtrack to give you an emotional connection to Romeo and Juliette. I felt myself getting lost in the film and truly caring for the couple and the health of their son cheering them on all the while. It truly takes a special film and filmmaker to evoke such strong emotions in its audience, and in this Declaration of War and Donzelli succeeded.
Initially, when walking into the film, I knew I wasn't going to enjoy the film. I am not a fan of foreign films because it takes away from the cinematography and the visuals due to the subtitles. The film is not predictable whatsoever due to all the freak accidents that occur and the random moments. The motive in the film is for Roland and Corinne, who both live a secret life with secret lovers, to go visit Corinne's parents home to receive an inheritance of money from Corinne's dying father. Preceding this visit, a bunch of strange accidents occur including one to their vehicle. When I felt I would understand a piece of the movie, another bizarre thing would happen and throw me off. Overall, I would not recommend this movie to anyone. Very hard to follow &. understand.
Weekend
ReplyDeleteI have only walked out of a movie, before the end, once before in my life. I walked out of Weekend after an hour. In many cases, even if I am not enjoying a film, I can at least see how it done well, and what can be taken away from it. I honestly do not know at all what to say about Weekend. It was so terrible that I literally I have no idea even where to begin with the problems I had.
Every time that I thought I would understand what is happening the film would go off in some random direction and not explain anything. In addition, there are large parts of the movie that it is almost like the director put in, and cut the rest of the scene. So you have clips in the midst of what is going on, and no explanation as to what is happening.
By far, Weekend was the worst movie I have ever seen.
Declaration of War
ReplyDeleteThis film was one of the most beautiful and enthralling I’ve ever seen. It was the most impressive in its performances; Romeo and Juliet were haunting and enchanting, a couple torn apart, yet brought together by tragic circumstances. When I found out that it was based on the director and writer’s true story, and they were the stars, I was mesmerized. It took a lot of strength to put themselves that position. They were making a film about something that could have ended badly. They wanted that happy ending, and the beach scene at the end of the film was justified.
The only scene that I felt didn’t truly fit was the scene where Romeo and Juliet find out that Adam has a brain tumor, and they have a musical sequence in the taxi/train. It seemed out of place in an otherwise incredible movie. I laughed a bit at that scene because it was pretty ridiculous.
The colors were completely bleak within the hospital, and Romeo and Juliet lost themselves in that color scheme. They blended and bleached out. That was the domino effect in their break-up. However, when they weren’t in the hospital, the colors were grand and in your face. The carnival scene stood out the most. The color scheme represented their emotions, with the hospital being symbolic for weakness, and the outdoors being symbolic with the liveliness that brought them together.
The chemistry between Romeo and Juliet is undeniable; it exists long after they say they’ve split up. Because of what has occurred, they will remain close to each other for the rest of their lives, tied to the moments they nearly lost their son. The film is realistic in its depictions of a couple that fell in love and married too young, had a child when they were still growing up themselves, and the race to grow even more through loss.
Overall, the French have done it once again, by giving us one of the most beautiful, well crafted films of the year. Truly unforgettable.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI attended the Oscar Nominated Short Films on Saturday February 19, 2012. I found the shorts to be extremely well made, despite being no longer than 15 minutes. It was incredible to me that the director could have put so much action, emotion, and drama into such a small space of time. I suppose it must be fun for these directors to work on these films, using the mantra of less is more. I especially enjoyed watching the second short film that was shown, depicting a couple that had made a trip over to India to work on a charity project. Once in India they were given a small child to take care of and were told that he was an orphan starving on the streets. Due to the fact that parts of India are very impoverished, I would suppose that this is not that uncommon. The male protagonist in the film is walking through a street market with the child when he somehow loses him in the crowds. Despite looking for him through the mass of people the male protagonist is unable to discover where he went. He eventually discovers that the child was taken by his biological parents to their house. This poses an extremely difficult situation for the couple, as his girlfriend/wife already has become emotionally attached to the child. What ensues is a struggle between the heart and the mind. Both man and woman know in their minds that the right thing to do is to give the child back to his biological parents, but in their hearts they know that they will never see the child again and want desperately to hold on to him for as long as they can. Furthermore, they know that if they return the child he may have a difficult time surviving and being happy in that part of India, while they know that they could take really great care of them. The female protagonist tries to convince her boyfriend/husband to keep the child and he pretends to comply. The last scene of the film, however, shows him riding in the car with the child rest against his lap. In this case the mind, and one can say reason, won the battle against the heart, or emotion.
ReplyDelete《Week End》 is a typical French New Wave film, which only has desultorily, no direction joining together and a hideous mess, no associated "plot", but it's the most controversial movie made by Jean Luc Gadard. It is hard to imagine a movie made in this style. It is also shortlisted in Berlin International Film Festival of Best Film. The chairman of the jury film festival even does not want to give his award. But this represents the Gadard unique personal style and the glamour of the movie. However, I do not know how to say anything about the plot, but many audiences think that it's a garbage. Through the movie, I could find the 60s France, which did not have any highways, and the people do not follow the transportation rules. It only had endless disputes, auto accidents, and ridiculous things. Every frame of Week End gives me helplessly for that particular society situation. My favorite part is the seven minutes traffic jam, which is a nonstop long take. The audience vision is from the start to the end. I like that style because it seems to like no end for the traffic. I really want to see what the end looks like, which gives me a lot of exceptions. However, put the pieces together and then into a unique Jean Luc Gadard style.
ReplyDeleteDeclaration of War is a very different and intriguing film. Although their son ended up living, it still must have been painful for the parents to film and relive those excruciating years that ended up splitting them up all over again. The film also makes the viewer realize that love isn’t all that’s needed for a successful relationship. It’s very possible that a couple will break up if such a heavy burden of stress is put on their relationship, even if they were previously so madly in love. It takes a lot to be able to stay together after such painful things have been experienced. It causes serious issues to fight over, such as when Romeo wanted the initial surgery to be done by the best surgeon possible, even if they had to wait, while Juliette wanted the surgery done by an average doctor as soon as possible. It makes it very difficult if a couple can’t agree on what is best for their child, since that is their most important job as parents. I found the different extremities in the behavior of Romeo and Juliette to be very interesting. They would go from pure grief and fear while in the hospital dealing with their young son’s brain tumor, and then they would be out with friends drinking and having a good time. I found it interesting because no one really knows how they would cope with something like that until it actually happens to them. Only parents that have actually gone through it would know how to film it realistically, and it’s not exactly what I would have expected it to be like.
ReplyDeleteThe Oscar-nominated animated shorts had huge variations in quality - some great, some okay, some awful. "Dimanche - Sunday", the first one, was terrible. The animation was bland, and the plot was uneventful. I can't understand what any Academy voters could've seen in this film. "Wild Life" was similarly boring, though it did have lovely painted animation. Fortunately, the other three films were much more entertaining. "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore", the eventual Oscar winner, was wonderful. The anthropomorphization of the book-birds was really clever, and the films double message about the power of reading and the ability of art to pull people out of tragedy was very moving. "A Morning Stroll" was like a short film made up of three smaller shorts. I thought the concept of the morning stroll, repeated across 1959, 2009, and 2059, was genius, and the inclusion of the chicken and the final zombie scenario was perfectly absurd. My favorite film though, was Pixar's "La Luna". As you'd expect from Pixar, it was beautifully animated, and the story was very heartwarming. I found myself drawn in to the film, and I didn't want it to end.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I really liked the shorts, and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to see them on the big screen. Having only a few minutes to develop characters and carry out an entire plot arc must be incredibly difficult, and seeing these filmmakers succeed was really exciting.
Declaration of War
ReplyDeleteThis movie was really extremely moving to me. I like how subtle the director made the oddities in the baby, but at the same time once they are pointed out to you through the parents they do become apparent. The use of the running was one of my favorite parts of the film. I feel that it was a way for the director to symbolize their inner feelings. On the outside they remained relatively strong through all of the adversity, but on the inside they were crumbling and wanting to run away and go back to when they were the young, care free, fun loving, and in love couple. The running was at first just for fun and with a sense of joy, much like their lives, but once their child was diagnosed with cancer it became more of an escape and something only depicted when they were in distress. The ending of the movie was beautiful to me, and I really liked that they didn't force the fact with making everything just work out and be perfect in the end. Because that's not usually how life works out, so I though it was a very interesting and different way to have the story end on a very joyous note, with the boy cured, but at the same time a reminder of the turmoil they endured, with the parents being separated.
Declaration of War
ReplyDeleteWhen I went into this movie, I had absolutely no expectations for the film. It turned out to be a fantastic movie with an interesting story line. The interesting thing about this film is that it was directed, written by, and starred the same two people, Valérie Donzelli and Jeremie Elkaim. The movie is about this couple, Romeo and Juliette, who struggle to overcome their sons brain cancer. It is filled with many ups and downs, and does not follow any storyline for a specific genre. The film is balanced between good and bad.
The movie begins with a high paced colorful feeling, however this feeling quickly diminishes and becomes bleak as the story unfolds. Although the entire situation puts strain on their relationship, they depend on each other to get through this stressful time in their lives. They are able to make some light out of the situation, for example when they are trying to sleep in the hospital during the surgery, they make jokes about what could be the worse possible scenario for their son. In the end, their son survives but the two of them get separated. It demonstrates how love isn’t enough to keep two people together. There long struggle led to the demise of their relationship, however the end of the movie leads the viewer to believe they were in a good place. Declaration of War is a must-see movie and I would recommend it to other people.
The Oscar Nominated Short Films are five charming shorts. I really liked these short films since they contained a mixture of themes such as comedy, tragedy, drama, and others. All the stories were extremely different, from telling what was happening in Ireland during mass to telling the story of how kids in India are kidnapped from their family so they can be sold to foreigners who can provide them with a better life to telling a funny story between three friends who have not seen each other in a long time as well as many other stories. These stories captivated my attention and they had so enjoyable plots. They were relaxing. These stories illustrated that it is not necessary for a film to be 80 or more minutes to communicate an idea or to get an audience interested in the plot. I believe that producing a short film is harder than producing a movie since the filmmaker has to express their idea in little time and effectively obtain the desired reaction from the audience. My favorite short film was the one about Peter McDonald's "Pentecost" since it made me laugh a lot. It is about an Irish boy who had already embarrassed the local priest in mass and was given a second chance nevertheless he decides to do something more embarrassing. It had a refreshing plot that made me think about one’s passions and crazy ideas, and about the big imagination that a child has and that should still remain within an adult. This short film is just a clear example of how an idea can be conveyed in a small period of time. I also think that short films are an excellent way for a new upcoming director to test how good their work is and observe if they are ready to undergo a more extensive project.
ReplyDeleteWeekend
ReplyDeleteMade in 1967, Godard's Weekend follows a couple as they seek to gain the fortune of the wife's father by arranging his death. While seemingly starting as a light-hearted film, the movie becomes more and more bizarre as time progresses; we watch as a middle-class city girl and a country farmer get in an argument about society while her boyfriend lies dead after a horrific car crash, we see Charlotte Brontë being burned alive and listen to monologues regarding the state of the Congo and the lack of foreign aid.
While the movie has some amazing shots, including a seven and a half minute tracking shot, and parts of it are completely hilarious, it becomes increasingly strange and unpleasant to watch. The audience is shown several horrific scenes, a skinned rabbit as well as a pig and a duck being butchered, for no apparent reason. Godard is known for being over-the-top, and this movie certainly displays that well. Several people walked out of the theater throughout the showing, either due to boredom or disgust. That being said, parts of Weekend are amazing, and can be watched for fun without much context, but the rest of the movie is more bizarre than anything else...
Oscar Shorts – Animated
ReplyDeleteThis was a wonderful opportunity to watch the series of nominated shorts that I have never had the chance to see before. They are never widely distributed and so far are not posted on the Internet, though I feel that they should be in the near future. I have always wanted the chance to see these movies whenever I have seen the category on Oscar night, so I went into these series of shorts hopeful to see some great animated films. That hope was almost squashed with the first short. The animation was terribly hand-drawn. It was a quaint story, but that was it. It wasn’t stimulating and it was very uninteresting. With that short out of the way, the next ones picked up and were very enjoyable. The one with the flying books was mesmerizing, and it had such a great message about the power and value of art and literature in times of tragedy. The idea of passing on these books to a whole new generation of readers and keepers of literature was heart-warming to say the least. The Morning Stroll was a well-made piece with a clever depiction of a zombie apocalypse in the future. The Pixar short lived up to all the expectations of a Pixar film. It had all the originality, warmth, heart, and imagination that make Pixar films fantastic. I would say that in all the series of shorts were well made with a few great standouts and a few shorts that I found deplorable. I come to wonder how some of those were even nominated. That also makes me wonder how the short nominating process occurs considering all the cynicism waged against the Oscar nominating process in general.
Declaration of War
ReplyDeleteThis was an incredibly moving film. It was so personal and deeply moving. I found out later that the film was based on the true life story of the main actors, so that made it even more touching. The film follows the life of two apparently fated lovers named Romeo and Juliette. The irony of this encounter is not lost on the pair. They fall in love and gat married fast, and before you know it they have child together. It all happens in a sudden manner, and my cynicism predicted that this would drive a wedge in the relationship. In a way it did, but in another respect it brought them together in ways no one could understand, not unless anyone was going through the same sort of ordeal. Juliette’s pregnancy is celebrated and they both are anxious and excited to become new parents. They go through the same struggles of caring for a newborn, the stress and the lack of sleep. They begin to worry, and then out of nowhere they get the devastating news: their son has cancer. The rest of the film follows their struggle to see their son being treated. All those hospital visits and the monumental moments of surgery were wrought intensity and uncertainty. It was so moving that I even began to feel those moments. It was so palpable. This film follows a realistic struggle filled with all the emotions and sincerity that exists when a couple faces an unforeseen hardship. Ultimately the two characters do not stay together, but remain bonded forever with 1) the life they made together and 2) their connected experience. I was very impressed with the quality and depth of this movie. The only criticism I may have is the constant cigarette smoking. It may be a French culture thing that I don’t understand, but for me, in the whole scheme of what’s happening in their lives I found it to be tactless and inappropriate. Maybe it was just my thinking about how I would play out a situation like theirs, and I am just placing my judgment upon it. In any case, that was the only aspect that I found unsettling.
Animated Shorts
ReplyDeleteAfter Drive, this movie experience was my favorite one that we had see in Cosford. I just want to get this off my chest: I absolutely hated Dimanche. This short film about a young boy who relocates to his grandparents' home and frequently sneaks out to flatten coins on train tracks because he is too bored with his own life. Ugh, this film had dry animation and was overly boring. My hopes for the rest of the films fall very flat on the ground, but...
On the other hand, I enjoyed all of the other films, especially La Luna and A Morning Stroll. The former was a visually aesthetic tale of the clash between different age generations. It was funny, emotional, riveting, and dramatic. Props to Pixar. I also loved A Morning Stroll, which as basically a film clip re-made twice more. It was about a walking chicken and was quite morbid and funny. The music certainly added to the overall quality of the film.
Overall, I enjoyed the short films. Having the opportunity to see all of the Oscar-nominated animated short films was quite my pleasure. The only short films that I had ever really seen before were the shorts attached before each Pixar film (how ironic). This was the first time that I really realized that short films can have just as powerful an effect on the audience as a full-length feature film. IN certain ways, the message of short films must be more on-point, and the content usually seems more streamlined and minimalist. Only the essentials are there. In a way, we can cut out the bullshit that we find in some films and actually tunnel to the essence. Overall, the short films are far more focused.
Declaration of War
ReplyDeleteReleased in 2011, Declaration of War follows the lives of a young couple whose son develops a potentially deadly brain tumor. The filming and editing are brilliant, and, combined with the acting, draw the viewers into the lives of the characters, making their story become meaningful, important to us. The film makes us interested in the young couple, in their newborn son, and in the trials that the three face as the son begins his long struggle against a potentially lethal cancer. The family’s story is an emotional one, and the filmmakers do an excellent job of portraying it as such through the length of shots as well as dialogue and the emotions portrayed by the actors. The interactions between the characters are real, human, their emotions raw and palpable. The detached manner in which some scenes are portrayed, such as the eventual breakup of Roméo and Juliette, actually adds to the emotional nature of the film, as the moviemakers do not try to force the audience to feel a certain way, they simply present the information coldly and leave the emotional response to the viewer. The movie does an amazing job of involving the viewer, and that makes it a very powerful film to watch.
That first comment about WEEK END cracks me up for so many reasons. I resisted the urge to leave the theatre and, though I didn't totally hate the film, I definitely didn't enjoy it. I hoped my first bit of exposure to Godard's work would intrigue me and make me love him from the very beginning. I don't particularly have a hard time watching bizarre or unordinary films, but Week End just didn't do anything for me. The traffic shot was fun for a solid three minutes or so, and then it just felt loud -- endless and unnecessary. It finally ended with that unfortunately graphic accident, which wouldn't have bothered me so much if I hadn't sat through almost eight minutes of incessant honking sounds. Every time I thought I was beginning to understand it, something would shift and I'd find myself just as stuck as I'd been at the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI really loved the music in the forest though. Those drums excited me and kind of made me feel like all the other travesties were worth it. I absolutely hated the pig scene, but I love how the film ended with her eating her partner's remains and, essentially, being very okay with it.
I wouldn't recommend Week End to anybody, but I'm glad I saw it for myself.
Oscar short films
ReplyDeleteThe Oscar Nominated Short Films are five special shorts stories. They all vary a lot in terms of genre, theme and content, and the only thing that they have in common is that they all are short stories. One story goes on in Ireland, where an old couple meets again after the man moved to USA decades earlier. The man comes back to visit his roots, and finds out that his ex fiancé married his best friend. The story is very special and brings up themes as love, ethics and guilt. I liked the story because it was very straight forward. The other movie was very different from the other, as a couple is going to India to adopt a child. After receiving the child, the father finds out that the kid is kidnapped by an orphanage and sold to western people. The couple then faces the ethical dilemma of doing the right thing – finding the child’s true parents, or fulfilling their dream of brining the child back to Europe. Even though the story differs from the one from Ireland, they both include ethics. Another story was about a young kid, very interested in soccer but his parents forced him to be an altar boy in a catholic church. It all ended with the boy being taken out of church, after several attempts to do his duties right, although he failed every each time. The story portrays how strict parents raise their kid, and how they force him to do everything he doesn’t want to. After summarizing three of the short stories, I will say I liked the first two stories the most. They really got you wondering what would happen next, and I believe the story with the kid from the church lacks tension.
Oscar Animated Short Films
ReplyDeleteWhile I enjoyed all of the Oscar-nominated animated short films, especially “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” and “A Morning Stroll,” one stood out to me far more than the rest. Pixar’s “La Luna” was truly excellent; this is not surprising, since Pixar’s record of making great films that also have mass appeal is virtually unblemished. However, “La Luna” was probably my favorite Pixar short yet. Visually, the setting and atmosphere were fantastic. The relatively generic but beautiful ocean setting, with just the moon lighting it, really made the entire film feel magical but still relatable. Furthermore, the stars on the moon were stunning; and the entire concept of climbing the ladder to the moon, with the change in gravity, was a very unusual but appealing conceit.
More than anything, however, I liked the plot, characters, and theme, which are all inseparable from one another. The distinctions between the grandfather, the father, and the son, both in terms of visual design and actions, were obvious without beating the audience over the head with them. And the resolution of the conflict, with the son coming up with both a new look and a new way to sweep up the stars, really connected with me. I think the idea of constructive generational changeover is incredibly important to people and society, and “La Luna” illustrated this point beautifully. All in all, it was a great film with a great message.
John David Agliano
C05580571
Oscar Live-Action Short Films
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the Oscar-nominated live-action short films. As someone who grew up Catholic and who loves sports movies, “Pentecost” really connected with me. “Time Freak” was just plain funny, and I really liked the well-thought-out rules of its time travel. The way it was handled, with the nearly infinite number of timeline permutations, was intelligent and also funny, a really potent combination. “Tuba Atlantic” was fun, but I felt that it was too long for its absurd premise. “The Shore” and “Raju” were probably the two best shorts, however. I loved the setting and culture of “The Shore.” Ireland was simply beautiful and the people really felt genuine. Furthermore, the characters were great and their relationships, in light of the complicated history between them, really seemed genuine.
“Raju” was probably my favorite of the five films. I love it when a film challenges its audience with a morally ambiguous situation, and “Raju” did exactly that. The relationship, albeit brief, between the couple and then between the two of them and Raju really made the panic feel genuine when Raju went missing. The reveal that Raju was kidnapped was also very well done, but the most important aspect of the movie, to me, was the cinematography and framing that showed how poor the slums Raju came from were. Knowing where Raju had been taken from really made the end of the movie a difficult moral situation: Raju was kidnapped from his family, but he still came back to the German couple when he escaped. Should he be returned? Is there an answer? If he had wanted to go back to his family the answer would be clear, but the fact that he seems to want out of the slums makes the situation far muddier. If returning him to his family is the right thing to do, why does only one character want it to happen? Raju wants out, the wife wants to take him, the adoption agent says she is saving him, and, if Raju returned to his family (he escaped of his own volition and was gone for more than a day), his return means his real family also wants a better future for him. Overall, the movie posed an excellent, thought-provoking question that could be interpreted as a bigger idea about Westerners telling less-fortunate people how to live; and I love that there is no right answer.
John David Agliano
C05580571
Jean-Luc Godard's “Weekend” is 1967 drama about a married couple that is planning each other’s death. The two main characters go by the name of Roland (Husband) and Corinne (Wife) in which both have secrets lovers and attempting to start a new life with them. The purpose of the movie is that Roland and Corinne are taking a trip to the wife’s (Corinne) parents home to secure her inheritance from her dying father and if needs be to murder him. The Film takes a twist and the trip through the French countryside becomes very strange with bizarre characters and violent vehicle accidents After their own car is destroyed Roland and Corinne go through a series of events including class struggle and figures of history, forming a overall impression of a funny, pleasing to the eye, but also senseless and frightening world. Corinne and Roland eventually arrive at her parents' place, only to find that her father has died and her mother is refusing them a share of the spoils. They kill her and set off on the road again, only to fall into the hands of a group of hippie revolutionaries supporting themselves through theft and cannibalism. Overall there is nothing predictable about “Weekend”. I feel that Godard uses the camera as satirical tool. The film displays a certain type of scandal that isn't usually present in films today; its rawness really made it unique. I would recommend this film because of its humor, ambition and scenes of amazing beauty.
ReplyDeleteOscar Nominated Shorts – Live action category
ReplyDeleteIn “Oscar Nominated Shorts”, there are a lot of different kinds of genre of short movie. Each movie was short and impressive. There are two movies I got interest. The first movie was “PENTECOST” directed by Peter McDonald. It was about a boy in chirch choir who is crazy fan of Liverpool, one of best English soccer team in the world. His parents want him to concentrate to practice singing for church not watching soccer. One day, his dad forces him not watching soccer game. They boy became sad since Liverpool has champion league game during that time. At the end, during ceremony in his church, he unconsciously kicked a church’s stuff like soccer player in front of people and eases his stress. Because of this hilarious conclusion, I was laughing so badly and relive my stress. Second was “RAJU directed by Zhellea. This movie was taken in India. One couple adopts an Indian boy. They had good time together. However, one day, husband found that his adopted son is not an orphan and his original parents are still alive. At the conclusion, he just brought him back to his original family. This movie’s soundtrack was pretty interesting. When music came out, it made me get nervous. Also, this movie is more like documentary.
I attended the Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts anticipating to see great shorts and I was not disappointed. When I heard that they were playing at the Cosford I knew I had to go. I enjoyed almost all of them. The first one shown was Pentecost. This one was by far my favorite. Being a huge soccer fan, I knew all about Liverpool and little kid's love for the game. I loved how the film used Ireland's extreme importance for the Catholic Church. I was laughing throughout this one and really thought it was the best one. The second one that was shown was Raju. I also thought this one was good. Even though it was longer than Pentecost, I thought it did a fantastic of describing how life can truly be in India. The kidnapping of kids is a huge issue and this short shows it well. I also realized how evil people can be. The orphanage was a huge scam and the kids would just run away and go back to the orphanage. I really like how determined the man is to find out what is going on in this corrupt country as he goes to every extent to solve this. The next short, the shore, was extremely boring in my eyes. I may have even dozed off for a little bit during this one. The last one that I enjoyed was Time Freak. I was laughing throughout this one and it was a nice change of pace from the last two slower ones.
ReplyDeleteWe all hope that their child is beautiful, handsome, dragon dragon and phoenix in Phoenix, but when the child's physical deficiencies or get sick, the so-called handsome, dragon and phoenix have been important, the most important is the health Health and Sport Hello!
ReplyDeleteI often see children seriously ill or severely disabled, and the story there is a missing or divorced parents. But this episode is in the body of Romeo and Juliet?
"I am afraid of the after Adam surgery, also throat and dumb and blind ............
"I'm afraid Adam surgery will be in a vegetative state after .........
"I was scared before surgery, the doctor out of the accident, can not help Adam surgery ..."
Before surgery, a lot of fear, The Road to make a Romeo and Juliet fears that hundreds of thousands of love of the parents.
Sometimes really think that only the rich can serious illness. When Romeo and Juliet, both quit their jobs and When ROMEO credit card to be cut off when they sell the house, ㄚ today I was thinking: how they long to pay this huge overhead? How they maintain a long time only the feelings of living in the hospital? Even though they have full of love, but how mutual understanding?
You angry? You angry because I stay in bed and come too late ... "
This is a small thing, but it is the tiredness. But they can make big tired overthrow? After all, Adam was their beloved baby!
In fact ㄚ this Xinyousuogan, Romeo and Juliet pushing Adam into the operating room the moment. You sick to say anything? Especially small children. To cheer you? Alas! Fight the air; love him? Alas! Love is the thing; We are waiting for him? He really care? The most time, are silent, and only use the vision to send him to the operating room.
Romeo and Juliet loudly announced "The operation was greatly successful, and when the doctor said," This is a very malignant tumor, "Romeo and Juliet collapse tears, sterile room when the doctor announced," to live long-term cancer "Romeo and Juliet do about it? The fate of Adam going?
"Honey Do not Cry" good and true a movie, we see family, friends, faith, hope, love, and we see a couple romantic Shall between husband and wife, real life real and difficult, and parents of the child that love selfless regrets. Prefer to interpret their mood ups and downs of love and muttered screen the film in a variety of musical forms.
Finally, just want to say that the sick is not terrible, the most important thing is for love, commitment and confidence, because only love can overcome the disease.
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ReplyDeleteI don’t quite understand what Godard’s Weekend was trying to accomplish. The movie start’s off with something resembling a plot, in which a husband and wife both have secret lovers and are planning on murdering each other after securing an inheritance from on of their parent’s. At least I think that’s what was happening at the beginning, I’m still deciding whether or not that’s true. After the two set out on a road trip to the house, almost the entire movies decides to abandon this premise and go off on random tangents.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that the film tries to experiment and not follow a standard narrative structure, but it just didn’t work. Much of the film ends up being extremely boring. For no reason, the movie goes on political rants that seem completely out of place, are REALLY drawn out, and don’t lead to anything. In the scene when the men were eating sandwiches and talking over each other I wanted to tear my hair out. On the inside I kept screaming to myself “move on already!” They might as well have thrown in a scene where the camera zooms in on two pieces of cake, one vanilla and one chocolate, have the camera hold that shot for 15 minutes… and then randomly cut to somebody trying to murder the chocolate cake. I mean, why not? It’s drawn out, random, and a political statement all at the same time. I also felt that it was trying to hard to be controversial. There are a couple of interesting shots, such as the ten-minute continuous take of the traffic jam, but it just doesn't make up for what the film subjugates its audience to.
I was stunned when I looked at the ratings on rotten tomatoes and saw that it got a 95%. Is there some sort of context I’m unaware of? Is there something I’m not getting? Would I understand this movie better if I saw Godard’s other films? Am I insane or is the rest of the world insane? I truly want to get what other people see in this movie. Somebody please help me.
Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts
ReplyDeleteThe Oscar nominated live action shorts were 5 short films: Pentecost, Raju, the shore, time freak, Tuba Atlantic. It was no surprise to me that these films were nominated for an Oscar because they were all interesting in one way or another.
Tuba Atlantic had an interesting plot and really made me think about my life and how thankful I am for having so long to live. The story is about a man who finds out he has 6 days to live. He and his brother had a very bad dispute and when he finds out he has only 6 days to live making amends with his brother is his number one priority. Although the story is very farfetched and to think that the sound of something will travel across the ocean is absurd but nonetheless it was a good short.
Pentecost was one of my favorite shorts that I viewed here. It was particularly intriguing to me because I am a sports fan and can empathize with the child when it comes to his desire to compete and put sports before other things. It also interested me because I have always wanted to go to Ireland. The fact that it was based on Catholic church proceedings also caught my interest because I am catholic and understood/ have experienced many of the happenings that went on in the church.
The shore was probably my least favorite of the shorts. Like previously stated I enjoyed the fact that it was in Ireland because it is one of my top places I want to visit but the plot and story in general bored me.
Raju really touched me because it also made me feel thankful like Tuba Atlantic, but in a different way. It made me realize how good of a life I have and how thankful I am to live in America. It brought to life the many dangers associated with other countries. The curious boy always sneaking out reminded me of my childhood as well.
Time freak- I found this short very entertaining because of how interested I am in the idea of time travel and complexions associated with it. I like how each story about time travel encompasses different rules and opportunities.
Erik Rueckle-c10166645
Paul Goodman changed my life
ReplyDeletePaul Goodman Changed my life is a documentary about how much of an impact Paul Goodman had on the generation growing up in the 1960s. His book Growing up Absurd is the main reason for this impact and the center of the documentary but other books such as The community of Scholars, and Compulsory Mis-education are books written by Goodman that impacted the generation as well. I have never read the book Growing up Absurd but it is a critique on how Americans raise children, in particular boys. The documentary focuses on Paul Goodman’s life as an intellectual and how his ideas written in the 1960s still kind of pertain to our modern society. I found the documentary very interesting because I did not know who Paul Goodman was before the film. I found it amazing that such an intellectual could come from a life so distraught. I am very interested in the 1960s lifestyle and the new left, radical ideals and drugs that were part of it. The fact that from this lifestyle came incredible works of arts is truly marvelous. Watching the film encouraged me to look further into the 1960s and actually write a paper about it in English class. Paul Goodman changed my life was very fascinating and I am glad I picked it as one of the films to watch at the Cosford cinema.
Erik Rueckle-c10166645
Oscar Animated Short Films
ReplyDeleteNate Jennings
Overall, I really enjoyed the Oscar-nominated live action short films. It was very interesting to get to watch short 15-minute films with various genres and styles of cinematography. I’ve always noticed this category in the Oscars and I always think to myself if there is anyone that actually watches these films. For myself, it was definitely a great opportunity to finally get a chance to see these short films and what they were all about. Almost of these stories seemed very entertaining with appealing plots, unique characters, and different filming/animation techniques. The first film was Dimanche, which is about a young boy who encountered the harsh realties of adult decisions including his dad killing a dog on the road. On the animation, I thought it was a bland background with very simple drawings of the characters without too much detail or shading. The second film that I really enjoyed was La Luna, a Pixar movie that follows a boat trip with a boy, his father, and his grandfather. Overall, the animation was truly high quality, which doesn’t really surprise me due to many previous masterpieces by Pixar such as Ratatouille. Throughout the film, it seemed very uncluttered with a focus away from the dialogue and more towards the overall depiction of the film. Another animated short film I remember was Wild Liffe, which had some creative animation but it lacked much of anything unique. The last film was called the Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which literally was about books flying around like birds intertwined with a main character that got taken by a storm eventually ending up being surround by books. I thought it was a picturesque portrayal about this director’s love for books, and I thought it had a very important message that knowledge is power, which is obtained through reading. In my opinion, tt was definitely in my opinion a close second to the pixar film La luna, however I guess the Oscar’s saw it as a clear winner since it won the academy award. I really loved seeing these animated films because I don’t typically see these type of movies very often, but I was pleasantly surprised with most of these short films.
Oscar Nominated Shorts – Live Action
ReplyDeleteThese short films were quite interesting for me to see since they are so different than the normal films we see in the theaters. They are so short, however, they still included so many actions, emotions, and was able to tell a story out of it. It usually has some meanings, though I didn't understand them all. I didn't enjoy all of them, but 2 of them were ok. 24 minutes compressed into a feature story, writer and director, emotional and moral influence of the largest in Zahle worth it. German couple months, and Sarah Fischer to the Calcutta 4-year-old Raju. However, as the first day of the family, the boy disappeared, as they seek to help, police, orphanages, and find missing children's NGO, the city seems to have him swallow. Worst case, January an investigation into the whereabouts of their new son, Worse scene. To avoid the exposition, in Zahle's right of action, strategy, appealed to the audience from the heart, rather than narratively sympathy. Not have enough time to handle all the complex emotions of the case is suitable for the inevitable suspicion of their parents of the couple is given a cool reception, but in Zahle smart structures has made a powerful resonance.
Declaration of War
ReplyDeleteC04997305
La Guerre est Déclarée (Declaration of War) tells the story of parents Romeo and Juliette and the battle they face when their son Adam is diagnosed with a brain tumor. Romeo and Juliette is one truly based in love. With the confrontation of the tragic news regarding their son’s condition they decide to strengthen their bond and fight the odds together. They call upon their friends and family for support in their battle against Adam’s brain cancer. Romeo and Juliette are not only fighting for their son’s life but also for their marriage in the surrounding chaos they’ve been thrown into.
Valerie Donzelli tells a beautifully moving tale in Declaration of War and shows how with love and determination two people can face any hurdle. This film is a nice little piece of French cinema and I’m glad I had the chance to see it. Donzelli masterfully utilizes the cinematography and the soundtrack to give you an emotional connection to Romeo and Juliette. I felt myself getting lost in the film and truly caring for the couple and the health of their son cheering them on all the while. It truly takes a special film and filmmaker to evoke such strong emotions in its audience, and in this Declaration of War and Donzelli succeeded.
Weekend
ReplyDeleteInitially, when walking into the film, I knew I wasn't going to enjoy the film. I am not a fan of foreign films because it takes away from the cinematography and the visuals due to the subtitles. The film is not predictable whatsoever due to all the freak accidents that occur and the random moments. The motive in the film is for Roland and Corinne, who both live a secret life with secret lovers, to go visit Corinne's parents home to receive an inheritance of money from Corinne's dying father. Preceding this visit, a bunch of strange accidents occur including one to their vehicle. When I felt I would understand a piece of the movie, another bizarre thing would happen and throw me off. Overall, I would not recommend this movie to anyone. Very hard to follow &. understand.