Film Blog - ilianFilm

Grand Illusion

7/13/2013

Even though Grand Illusion is missing Jean Renoir's signature sequence shots, I think this is his best film. Praised by Orson Welles as 'the only film worth saving if there is to save one film', Grand Illusion is a tour de force of the proper and civilized treatment of enemy soldiers during the worst of times - a war.

Widely regarded as the last Great War, the film portrays the humane treatment of enemy soldiers during World War I, while just existing can be an act of futility.
Although the characters are engaged in a pointless race to win battles, the film exudes honor, respect and gentlemen like behavior between the enemies.

Numbers and Language in "A Clockwork Orange"

7/8/2013

I'm not going to talk about the film as an art piece, or discuss its value to film culture. What I want to talk about is the film's use of numbers and the meaning of the language used.

What grabbed my attention is the use and absence of the number 4. Right from the first shot we are introduced to Alex's gang - there are four of them. What we see in the next 41 minutes is the violence and the fun they have at the expense of other people. These are four teenagers-young-adults, that think the same and enjoy the world in the same way. The break-up of the group is over a disagreement of who is going to lead them. They do not disagree on crimes, instead it's the typical juvenile disagreement of who has the longer penis (metaphorically speaking).

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

4/15/2013

"Treasure of Sierra Madre" is one of the best Western films, even though some may not consider it a Western. Humphrey Bogart, famous mostly for his looks and not his talent, is exceptionally good in this film. The fact that money and power changes all, or mostly all, is nicely conveyed by a symbol and metaphor, in this John Huston must-see film.

Touch of Evil

4/1/2013

Touch of Evil was released by Universal in 1958 on the bottom half of a double bill, in a version butchered by the studio over Welles’s passionate protests.

By 1965 Touch of Evil still had virtually no recognition in the United States. Though it earned high praise from Truffaut and Godard in 1958, Americans generally thought it a sleazy crime picture. By late 60s, the film was regarded as international film masterpiece.

Meaning of 2001: A Space Odyssey

3/24/2013

To watch the film is to experience a visual symphony with minimalistic sound.
The film is broken into 4 segments - The Dawn of Man, Mission to the moon, Mission to Jupiter and Re-birth.
All of the segments are open for interpretation so here is my take on it:

Citizen Kane - Overview

3/24/2013

Cinematography

Mise-en-scene

Editing

Sound

Writing

"Vertigo" VS. "A Man Escaped"

3/24/2013

“Hitchcock only finishes a picture 60 percent, I have to finish it for him,” says the composer Bernard Herrmann during an interview with Brown.

Even though I think that Herrmann’s statement might be an exaggeration, to some extent there is a lot of truth in it. Let’s imagine the famous scene from Psycho – the murder of Janet Leigh and the unforgettable violent sound of violins. How would the scene have felt without violins, as Hitchcock wanted initially? It would have lost its momentum, and the entire film would have left a completely different impression on the audience.

Rear Window

2/27/2013

In many of Hitchcock's films, the story unfolds through the point of view of his male lead. He has the strange ability to portray both scopophilic and voyeuristic tendencies and to objectify women in such a seamless way that it can escape the attention of the audience. Moreover, in Rear Window, the gaze is the catalyst for the progression of the film’s narrative and the commentary that the apartment complex represents.

I Am Cuba

2/16/2013

The film,"I am Cuba", is a remarkable piece of cinematography. Thematically the content is Anti-American propaganda which is unappealing to me. But as a film, it's truly overwhelming. According to my understanding of the art of cinematography, I will rank the film as one of my 10 favorites, along with Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, L’Aventura, The Conformist, and Rashomon.
There are numerous shots in the film, which are mind boggling and I still can't figure out how they achieved them. There were no special effects and no computer manipulation. This film is a visual tour-de-force and I recommend it to anyone interested in directing and cinematography.

What irritated me the most was the narration. I felt that the visuals were expressive enough without the additional voice-over.

Nevertheless, It was an extraordinary experience watching the film and I’ll never forget it.
4 / 5

Director: Mikhail Kalatozov
Staring: Enrique Pineda Barnet, Yevgeni Yevtushenko

Tout va b!en

1/21/2013

The cinematic theme that Godard uses in his film, Tout va b!en, is estrangement. None of his characters inspire an emotional investment nor empathy from the audience. On the contrary – we have multiple individuals: the boss, the correspondent for the ABS, her husband, and the factory workers, who speak their mind directly to the audience through the camera. Their commentaries are direct observations on the political system and political situation in France in 1972. Tout va b!en is also about provocation. It provokes us through camera techniques, the long and repetitious tracking shots (like the one in the supermarket), and with direct references to the actual making of the film. The subject matter and the commentary are all aimed to dissatisfy us, to make us think and to possibly change us.

3 /5

Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Staring: Yves Montand, Jane Fonda

Citizen Kane - Declaration of Principles

12/23/2012

Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane is an assembly of beautifully arranged scenes, and one of these days I might write about every single one of them. Here is the second entry in my blog from that film – The Declaration of Principles.
It starts with a medium shot on Kane and Jed Leland standing by the window. They appear locked in the window frame in the office of the “Inquirer”. Kane writes the Declaration of Principles facing the window, indicating how important it is to the readers and the people outside.

Citizen Kane – Firing of Leland

12/11/2012

Citizen Kane

Often labeled as a genius, Orson Wells arrived in Hollywood in the late 1930’s to pursue a film career. Hollywood’s society of filmmakers was expecting him, counting on his talents, and hoping he'd create a production like nothing before. He didn't disappoint.
In 1941, Citizen Kane was released, ushering in a new era of filmmaking.
I will talk about one scene – The release of Jed Lealand – even though the entire film is an assembly of beautifully arranged scenes from start to end.

JFK

11/27/2012

What can I say - when Hollywood makes a good movie they make a film. The film captures you right away with its exposition - the editing, the writing and the meaning behind it. The cinematography adds the final touches completing the filmic experience. Everything matches the main idea - we are living in a prison blinded by the government. We know the plot, or we think that we do. It takes unexpected turns while it reveals more evidence of the coup-de-tat that took place on November 22, 1963. The editing is frantic at times but always engaging. The overhead hot lighting creates the claustrophobic environment of a prison cell, while the weird conspiracy characters take over. If you want to find the real meaning of the word "patriot' watch it and pay attention.

4 /5

Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek, Gary Oldman, Jack Lemmon

People who critique moving pictures fall into 3 general classes:

1. Reviewers - are generally journalists who describe the contents and general tone of a movie, with only incidental emphasis on aesthetic evaluation.

2. Critics - are also journalists for the most part, but their emphasis is more on evaluation than on mere content description.

3. Theorists - are usually professional academics, often the authors of books on how movies can be studied on a more philosophical level.

Author

I'm a film critic and I like to write about films that are exceptional and stand above the rest.

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"The role of the critic is to help people see what is in the work, what is in it that shouldn't be, what is not in it that could be. He is a good critic if he helps people understand more about the work that they could see for themselves; he is a great critic, if by his understandings and feeling for the work, by his passion, he can excite people so that they want to experience more of the art that is there, waiting to be seized. He is not necessarily bad critic if he makes errors in judgement. He is a bad critic if he does not awaken the curiosity, enlarge the interests and understanding of his audience. The art of the critic is to transmit his knowledge of and enthusiasm for art to others." ( Pauline Kael )

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