Post 4 - Ideologies

In film an ideology is an applied theme that is apparent and interpreted throughout the film. A dominant idea that has been proposed by a dominant class, for example the Christian Church, that is expected to be adhered to by all members of society. The purpose of the ideology is to either offer a change in society or conform to the ideals that are already in place.

Inglourious Basterds, (2010) by Quentin Tarantino, set in 1944 Nazi-occupied France, tells of what it could have been like if Hitler was killed by the Jews. This particular imaginative film by Tarantino has the strong running theme of kill the Nazis, and take no prisoners. It is a fairy-tale and a ‘what if’ film that gives the audience a taste of what it could have been like if the reverse happened.

There are both explicit and implicit ideologies running throughout the film that can be easily interpreted. The suggested implicit messages from the story of the Nazi are embarrassment, humiliation and the repercussions of breaking trust. Brad Pitt and his team of ruthless Jewish soldiers brought across these emotions when they branded the Nazi’s that they captured. A knife was used to carve the Nazi sign into the forehead of the soldiers so they would be scarred forever with their wrongdoings. The explicit ideology comes from the Nazi and Jewish point of view in the film, which is clearly interpreted as go to war. The film has many different chapters but we see the brutality of the treatment of the Jewish race by Hitler’s army through many of them. Hitler’s reign was a dictatorship, a very explicit theme shown throughout the film. The history of the film has been reversed, showing the Jewish race being the race that came out on top; however both races had very explicit ideologies which ultimately lead to killing, death and war which are clear throughout Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, (2010). 

The Da Vinci Code, (2003) written by Dan Brown and directed by Ron Howard, is another film that has explicit and implicit ideologies throughout the film. There has been a lot of debate and disapproval towards the film as many people who have seen the film have been influenced and now believe that there have been many clues and truths that have been covered up by the church for centuries that there is actually a bloodline from Jesus and Mary Magdalene’s children that still exist today. 

The implicit ideology within the film is how the modern world has become rebellious and corrupted from religion. This is resonated through the explicit ideology when the dedicated monk interferes with the facts that could lead to the Roman Catholic Church and religion being challenged. This could be looked at as ironic as the monk who commits the murders feels that the Harvard University symbologist, Robert Langdon, and the cryptographer, Sophie Neveu, are interfering with his belief and religion instead of the other way around, which would be the church hiding hidden secrets from the public.

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References

•   http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=10392
•   http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?DVDID=117421
•   http://www.thetruthaboutdavinci.com/why-jews-should-worry-about-the-da-vinci-code.html
•   http://www.xenos.org/essays/deconstruct_davinci.htm

Post 5 - Film Review

The wicked reality of the perfect dream

Inception is a science fiction action heist film which takes the audience into a subconscious world where your inner most-deepest thoughts can be stolen. Not even in sleep are you safe from theft. Throughout Inception we meet many different characters; the main character we follow is Dom Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Cobb is the best at what he does, which is extraction: stealing valuable secrets from the subconscious mind in its most fragile state which is a dream state. Although Cobb and his team are the best it has ultimately cost Cobb everything and now this one job of inception: planting an idea instead of stealing one, could be his one chance to turn his life around. The job is highly dangerous as the team inevitably find out, but if his team succeed, it will be the perfect crime and could also be Cobb’s second chance at happiness.

Christopher Nolan, director of the film, starts off with a key flashback which we later find out is the conclusion to the film. It is a trademark of Nolan to start off the beginning of a film with the ending, putting his auteur quality in the film. To start with there is a lot of guess work to figure out what is happening, are we or are we not in a dream, however the plot unfolds quickly and we are catapulted into the world of the extraction of information from the subconscious mind. The understanding of dying in a dream is that you just wake up where as if you are injured it is an emotional pain and you therefore feel the pain you are in, for example if you are shot in the leg, you feel the pain in the dream. So early on the audience know that one way to wake up from a dream is to die. As the story evolves we are shown into the world of inception, the planting of an idea in the subconscious mind, and the deeper into the dream state you go the more dangers there are, if you die when you are deep in a dream you go into limbo.

The actors and actresses that have been cast in the film feel like they have been made for these roles. Each personality makes the characters come to life and allows the audience to be wooed by the great acting. The characters names, if looked at in great detail, are highly relevant to the film and its purpose. The main name which is relevant is Ariadne, who comes in as the new architect. The name Ariadne was the name of a Greek myth who guides a hero from a maze, and throughout this film is exactly what Ariadne, played by Ellen Page, does for Cobb.

The soundtrack throughout the film is incredible. For action scenes the music is fast and encapsulating. The audience can get lost in the intensity of the action just by listening to the soundtrack, not to mention the amazing effects that have been created. Some of the action scenes have little help from the special effects team, with the actors and actresses creating the scenes in sets that have been specially made to rotate and create the desired affects.

The film itself is a masterpiece; however it takes a few watches to fully appreciate the effort and creative genius that has been used to create the film. The only down side is that if you blink you miss some key information that is crucial, nod off and you don’t have a chance of catching up with the plot. The ending is also another point that you have to ponder, however if you think too long you get frustrated by the question hanging over the final scene, is Cobb still dreaming. You have to enjoy your first reaction and go with a gut feeling of whether or not he is in limbo or in reality.

Overall the film was a thrilling masterpiece. The special effects and acting made the film come to life and took the audience on a fact finding journey. The only real downside is the amount of concentration the whole 145 minutes requires. The level of concentration required is heavy going and it takes a while to really get to grips with what is actually happening, but when that light bulb eventually clicks on you are thrown into a science fiction wonderland of great special effects, soundtrack and brilliant acting.

References

• http://www.essortment.com/write-good-film-review-34563.html

• http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?DVDID=118547

 

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Post 3. Conform or Subvert

  

The Blair Witch Project and Bridget Jones’s Diary are two films which conform or subvert Hollywood filmmaking standards and techniques. Both films have very different storylines and the making of both are at the other ends of the scale in comparison.

Bridget Jones’s Diary is a film which conforms to Hollywood filmmaking standards. The light-heartedness allows males and females of any age to enjoy this film. Following a clear storyline, the film allows the viewers to keep an understanding of the events that are unfolding throughout. The character of ‘Bridget Jones’, played by actress Renée Zellweger, is easy to relate to. The situations that she is put in and the series of events that happen to her through the film could by all means happen in everyday life and this link between character and audience allows a bond and fondness to be created towards the character. We can sympathise with her and imagine ourselves in her position. The ‘Bridget Jones’ character captivates the audience and allows the viewers to escape into her world for the ninety seven minutes that the film is on for. The film techniques that are used allow the viewer to follow the film like real life and don’t give the impression that the whole thing is a construction just for our viewing pleasure. The film has a seamless plot which ultimately ends in a positive result, not a cliff hanger that leaves the audience having to create their own ending. Bridget Jones’s Diary is a great example of a film which conforms to Hollywood filmmaking standards. It is an enjoyable, light-hearted, romantic comedy which allows the audience to escape whilst it is on and create a knowing bond with the characters throughout the film.

The Blair Witch Project is on the other scale and subverts Hollywood filmmaking standards and techniques. The main aspect of the film is to create fear, and make the audience feel like these events are actually happening and that they could happen again to them, however, the camerawork and general making of the film is difficult to follow and keep up with. The film is obviously portrayed as a home video and the actors are made to look like it is their handiwork, the method is in a way effective but the audience miss out on a lot of images and scenes which would help with the story. The flow of images broadcast is not seamless; they are edgy and create a sensation of being on some sort of ride. The illusion of the film being a homemade movie is meant to be the beauty of spurring fear in the viewers but the whole film being shot in the woods is confusing and hard to follow. The actors and actress that are shown in the film are trying to show a series of events that happened to them at the time they happened. We see the fear and helplessness of their situation but we don’t and aren’t really given the opportunity to relate to the characters and there is no link with the audience. The Blair Witch Project is a good example of a film which subverts Hollywood filmmaking standards and techniques. Although the effect of the film is to scare, the audience are primarily left confused and annoyed as there is no real ending to the film, just a strange shot leaving the audience to guess what happened next.

Both films were hugely successful whether or not they did conform or subvert Hollywood filmmaking standards and techniques. Each captivated the audience in a different way and although Bridget Jones’s Diary had the ending that was more accepted and enjoyable, The Blair Witch Project gave the viewer a new way of watching films and introduced a way of filming which has inspired some other great movies to adapt and take this method of filming and make it conform more to Hollywood standards.

References

• www.blairwitch.com

• www.blairwitch.com/home.html

•   http://www.britfilms.com/britishfilms/catalogue/browse/?id=d5fd9b420eeaf2e8f3tumvceea7d

• http://www.spring.net/karenr/mdbro/bjd.html