I did not know that until i signed in and saw all these posts titled, "Unforgiven".
Anyways, I like this film. It was exhileratinng and action packed. Though I don't usually watch western films, this has been a good experience.
On day one of viewing Unforgiven, Mr. Bennett told us all to take careful watch of the characters' usage of exaggeration (immediatly, everyone took out paper with pen ready in hand) This, i found all throughout the movie.
The beginning of the film starts with one of the prostitutes getting her face cut up by a man. The news spread through town. And when the Schofield kid shows up at Will Munny's house, he repeats the story, but with many stretched truths in it. Next, when Munny goes to his ex-partner's place, he repeats the Schofield kid's story, with even more stretched truths. Many a times throughout the film, we do not see the actual occurance happening, but the characters tell us what they think might have happened, or what they hear from some one else. Even at the end of the movie, we read that legends say that Munny disappears with his kids, settles in San Fransisco, and profits from a small business. It does not tell us that this is definately what happens. And so we can see that the whole film, from the beginning to end, is an exagerration.
About the Schofield kid: his personality is well portrayed/well rounded in this film. We see that he acts all tough. Meanwhile, Will Munny and Ned know that his whole story is a lie. He is young, unexperienced, and in reality, never killed anyone until the man who hurt the prostitute. This can be seen as he attempts and fails to shoot at everything and everyone in that field. I think that having the experience of killing someone, one would not be extremely proud and defensive, as is the case of the Schofield kid. Munny and Ned on the other hand, are both reluctant in talking about their past experiences in killing. This is reality, i believe, when the truth of having killed an innocent man washes over you in waves of guilt. The Schofield kid certainly experiences this at the end of the movie, after shooting that unarmed man. The scene where he sits by the tree and cries over what he has done is very emotional, and one can be sure that he will not be shooting anyone ever again. He says, "I'm not like you Will."
Certainly, Will does not enjoy killing either, and he is also guilty in what he has done in his past, but as he mentions more than once throughout the film, it was his wife who healed him of his drinking and killing. The power of love is what changes Will completely, unlike the Schofield kid (what's his real name?) who is more greatly and immediatly affected by guilt.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
The Seventh Seal Ending
The film neither proves nor disproves the existence of God. It certainly questions it through three different viewpoints.
Jof, the most innocent character of all characters in the film, lives a simple life. He takes life as it is, appreciates nature, loves his family most of all, and seems to appreciate the life that God has given him. Of course, he is not perfect, as is seen when he steals something off the table and runs for it, but this portrayal of Jof only exemplifies the point that people are simply not perfect.
Squire Jons is the existentialist of the movie. This is seen several times through the film as he makes little remarks about life and God. He seems to take a more matter-of-fact view of life. He probably always thinks to himself, "What you see is how it is. Just accept it as the truth." For example, at the end of the movie, when Death visits Antonius Bloch's home, Antonius Bloch is on his knees praying and Jons says something like, praying is pointless since no one can escape death. I really like Jon's character in the movie though, because not only does he have the best lines, but i think of him as the hero of the movie. He really is portrayed as a great guy who happens to be there when someone is in trouble.
Antonius Bloch, the protagonist of the movie, can be seen playing a metaphorically symbolic game of chess with Death throughout the film. His character questions God's existance because he is trying to figure out whether God exists or not. He tries to find answers, as can be seen when he questions the witch girl and when he confesses to Death in disguise of a priest.
This film makes a point that death is unavoidable. Antonious Bloch plays chess with Death, but as the film goes on, it becomes apparant that Antonious is losing. Death cuts the tree and tells the actor that his time is up. Death visits the castle and the servant girl whispers, "it is finished". In the end, Jof sees Antonius Bloch and his friends dancing with Death, meaning that Death has gotten to them.
Meanwhile, i believe that of all the characters, Jof and his family were the onely ones to avoid death because they were the most innocent ones, living a life full of love for each other and what not.
Jof, the most innocent character of all characters in the film, lives a simple life. He takes life as it is, appreciates nature, loves his family most of all, and seems to appreciate the life that God has given him. Of course, he is not perfect, as is seen when he steals something off the table and runs for it, but this portrayal of Jof only exemplifies the point that people are simply not perfect.
Squire Jons is the existentialist of the movie. This is seen several times through the film as he makes little remarks about life and God. He seems to take a more matter-of-fact view of life. He probably always thinks to himself, "What you see is how it is. Just accept it as the truth." For example, at the end of the movie, when Death visits Antonius Bloch's home, Antonius Bloch is on his knees praying and Jons says something like, praying is pointless since no one can escape death. I really like Jon's character in the movie though, because not only does he have the best lines, but i think of him as the hero of the movie. He really is portrayed as a great guy who happens to be there when someone is in trouble.
Antonius Bloch, the protagonist of the movie, can be seen playing a metaphorically symbolic game of chess with Death throughout the film. His character questions God's existance because he is trying to figure out whether God exists or not. He tries to find answers, as can be seen when he questions the witch girl and when he confesses to Death in disguise of a priest.
This film makes a point that death is unavoidable. Antonious Bloch plays chess with Death, but as the film goes on, it becomes apparant that Antonious is losing. Death cuts the tree and tells the actor that his time is up. Death visits the castle and the servant girl whispers, "it is finished". In the end, Jof sees Antonius Bloch and his friends dancing with Death, meaning that Death has gotten to them.
Meanwhile, i believe that of all the characters, Jof and his family were the onely ones to avoid death because they were the most innocent ones, living a life full of love for each other and what not.
Friday, November 12, 2010
The Seventh Seal
So far, the Seventh Seal is not very interesting, as the scenes are yet going slowly.
I heard from other people in my class how reading subtitles really bother them, but I'm personally okey with the subs. As i read the subtitles, i can listen to the characters' swedish. It's like mutlitasking: reading a book and listening to the radio at the same time. I think the swedish language is funny, sounds to me like a whole bunch of gurgling and bumps. It's interesting, because whenever i listen to different languages, i hear different tones and as mr. bennett calls it, the "musical quality" of languages. For example, when i listen to different chinese dialects which i do not understand, i hear something so similar to mandarin, the dialect i speak, and i get this feeling like if i just listen more, then i can understand what they are saying. The feeling of the dialect spoken sounds so familiar, yet, there's always this invisible barrier that prevents me from understanding. Quite differently, if i listen to korean, i hear this really fluid, bubbly language. When i hear russian, i feel my tongue tripping. When i listen to spanish, i hear babbling. But when i listen to plain old english, that's all i hear--plain old english. But thats just me. I guess different people can hear different things within a language.
Here are some things i've noticed:
Perhaps Antonious Block's (is that the noble's name?) servant may be an existentialist. (I know i haven't been mentioning much on this belief of existentialism--i'm not that fond of this topic), but was it he who said, "meaningless in heaven, indifference in hell"? A few times already throughout the film, he laughs at the matter of God while others are punishing themselves in the name of God and kneeling in awe. He seems to take a bit of a sarcastic personality when it comes to this divine power as well.
And also, i noticed that the director cuts the intense choir music immediatly in the scene where the villagers don themselves in black clothing and parade through the town in a most torterous manner while inflicting punishments on themselves and others. At the same time the music is cut, the camera lingers on a completely empty field, as if to mention that the people only came and passed. were they even there? or a pigment of one's imagination? or will the towns people go right back to the jocular events they were enjoying themselves in before this procession arrived? These are all questions that the sudden disappearance of these people brought to mind.
I heard from other people in my class how reading subtitles really bother them, but I'm personally okey with the subs. As i read the subtitles, i can listen to the characters' swedish. It's like mutlitasking: reading a book and listening to the radio at the same time. I think the swedish language is funny, sounds to me like a whole bunch of gurgling and bumps. It's interesting, because whenever i listen to different languages, i hear different tones and as mr. bennett calls it, the "musical quality" of languages. For example, when i listen to different chinese dialects which i do not understand, i hear something so similar to mandarin, the dialect i speak, and i get this feeling like if i just listen more, then i can understand what they are saying. The feeling of the dialect spoken sounds so familiar, yet, there's always this invisible barrier that prevents me from understanding. Quite differently, if i listen to korean, i hear this really fluid, bubbly language. When i hear russian, i feel my tongue tripping. When i listen to spanish, i hear babbling. But when i listen to plain old english, that's all i hear--plain old english. But thats just me. I guess different people can hear different things within a language.
Here are some things i've noticed:
Perhaps Antonious Block's (is that the noble's name?) servant may be an existentialist. (I know i haven't been mentioning much on this belief of existentialism--i'm not that fond of this topic), but was it he who said, "meaningless in heaven, indifference in hell"? A few times already throughout the film, he laughs at the matter of God while others are punishing themselves in the name of God and kneeling in awe. He seems to take a bit of a sarcastic personality when it comes to this divine power as well.
And also, i noticed that the director cuts the intense choir music immediatly in the scene where the villagers don themselves in black clothing and parade through the town in a most torterous manner while inflicting punishments on themselves and others. At the same time the music is cut, the camera lingers on a completely empty field, as if to mention that the people only came and passed. were they even there? or a pigment of one's imagination? or will the towns people go right back to the jocular events they were enjoying themselves in before this procession arrived? These are all questions that the sudden disappearance of these people brought to mind.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Runaway Train
One word to describe this movie: INTENSE
This movie is very action-packed. I'm not going to say that this is my favorite movie of all times, after all there are some parts that were particularly disturbing for me to watch: Manny getting stabbed in the hand, Ranken shoving the train operator's head into the toilet, and Manny getthing all his fingers ripped off.
Mr. Bennett mentioned to the class to watch for examples of how Manny is portrayed as a train. Throughout the movie, Ive noticed how Manny is so persistant and so stubborn. At one point on the train, when Manny yells, "I wait for no miracle! I'm going around! Up and around! I'll make it! I'll make it!" He's so seriosuly stubborn, if he wants something, he makes sure he gets it. And if he does not get it, then it is quite scary. For example, when Buck tries hard and fails at climbing around the train, Manny keeps yelling at him, "GO GO GO!!" and when Buck comes back onto the train exausted, Manny really beats him up bad while yelling at him that he believes Buck can do anything if he sets his mind on it. Really, Manny reminds me of the runaway train that he is on. The train never stops once, but keeps moving onward at faster and faster speeds.
I find it ironic how the film really portrays Ranken and Manny as similar but different, like alter egos of each other. Besides the fact that they look alike and that both are evenly stubborn, Ranken is high in power while Manny is a lowly criminal. However, though Manny is the ultimate runaway criminal from a high-security prison, Ranken is the one that is portrayed as satanic and evil through-and-through.
I also noticed that when Manny goes on a rampage, yelling at Ranken up in the helicopter, he impulsivly pours the red wine onto his (was i the injured?) hand. He clenches his fist at the same moment. It really looks as if he is squeezing out blood. And i thought, "oh, this guy is set out to kill!" there's definately no stopping him now.
I have a few questions:
Why does Ranken and Manny hate each other so badly? Why does Ranken want to kill Manny so much as to go after him on a helicopter? And why at one point, does a guy from the helicopter fly in through the window, crash the glass pane, and end up killing himself? I initially thought that the glass-breaking can allow Ranken easy access to come in through the broken window, but this is not the case. And lastly, i've been thinking about the significance of the scrap metals hanging off each side of the damaged head of the train. Mr. Bennett says that the metal is shaped a certain way to resemble something. I kind of thought that the pieces of metal resembled a face mask and that each side of the train has a seperate half of the mask. Am i mistaken? Because i can't really see the significance of that.
I would like to conclude with a comment about the conclusions of all films that we have seen so far. All the three movies that the class has seen had left me with the same reaction: "What? That's it?" The movies simply end while you expect more to come. And in all three of them, a person dies in the end. Is this a trend that will be seen in all the movies that we will be viewing?
This movie is very action-packed. I'm not going to say that this is my favorite movie of all times, after all there are some parts that were particularly disturbing for me to watch: Manny getting stabbed in the hand, Ranken shoving the train operator's head into the toilet, and Manny getthing all his fingers ripped off.
Mr. Bennett mentioned to the class to watch for examples of how Manny is portrayed as a train. Throughout the movie, Ive noticed how Manny is so persistant and so stubborn. At one point on the train, when Manny yells, "I wait for no miracle! I'm going around! Up and around! I'll make it! I'll make it!" He's so seriosuly stubborn, if he wants something, he makes sure he gets it. And if he does not get it, then it is quite scary. For example, when Buck tries hard and fails at climbing around the train, Manny keeps yelling at him, "GO GO GO!!" and when Buck comes back onto the train exausted, Manny really beats him up bad while yelling at him that he believes Buck can do anything if he sets his mind on it. Really, Manny reminds me of the runaway train that he is on. The train never stops once, but keeps moving onward at faster and faster speeds.
I find it ironic how the film really portrays Ranken and Manny as similar but different, like alter egos of each other. Besides the fact that they look alike and that both are evenly stubborn, Ranken is high in power while Manny is a lowly criminal. However, though Manny is the ultimate runaway criminal from a high-security prison, Ranken is the one that is portrayed as satanic and evil through-and-through.
I also noticed that when Manny goes on a rampage, yelling at Ranken up in the helicopter, he impulsivly pours the red wine onto his (was i the injured?) hand. He clenches his fist at the same moment. It really looks as if he is squeezing out blood. And i thought, "oh, this guy is set out to kill!" there's definately no stopping him now.
I have a few questions:
Why does Ranken and Manny hate each other so badly? Why does Ranken want to kill Manny so much as to go after him on a helicopter? And why at one point, does a guy from the helicopter fly in through the window, crash the glass pane, and end up killing himself? I initially thought that the glass-breaking can allow Ranken easy access to come in through the broken window, but this is not the case. And lastly, i've been thinking about the significance of the scrap metals hanging off each side of the damaged head of the train. Mr. Bennett says that the metal is shaped a certain way to resemble something. I kind of thought that the pieces of metal resembled a face mask and that each side of the train has a seperate half of the mask. Am i mistaken? Because i can't really see the significance of that.
I would like to conclude with a comment about the conclusions of all films that we have seen so far. All the three movies that the class has seen had left me with the same reaction: "What? That's it?" The movies simply end while you expect more to come. And in all three of them, a person dies in the end. Is this a trend that will be seen in all the movies that we will be viewing?
Ending to Citizen Kane
Here are some quotes that i find to be related to Charles Kane:
Money can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.
Spike Milligan
Money is only loaned to a man. He comes into the world with nothing and he leaves with nothing.
William Crapo Durant
founder of General Motors and Chevrolet
I say that these quotes relate because anyone who watches Citizen Kane will notice that Kan'es life is filled with luxary and money. He can own everything in the world, as you can see through all that junk he's collected over the years, yet he loses all that is most important. He loses his son and first wife, then he loses his second wife, as Susan Alexander walks out on him. Has he ever had a one true friend in life? i think not. One of his co-workers (i forgot his name) since the beginning of his newspaper company betrays him. And what happens to all the junk in his basement? Everything gets burned, including his childhood sled, "rosebud". One is illusioned to think that hes ever experienced genuine love or happiness in his life. And as you can see, he dies alone as well.
I also noticed a characteristic trait about Kane, that he keeps a hold over every single thing that belongs to him, as it is mentioned in the movie that he never throws anything out. This would explain the massive amount of odds and ends collected throughout the years. It is like a treasure box filled with so many worldy possesions, yet are only meaningless. This also explains his watchful and strong hold over Susan Alexander's life, how he never lets her out of the house and never lets her do anything. In a way, he treats her like a possession as well. He tells her what to do with her life and expects her to do it and he keeps her caged up in his mighty castle, like a lonely pet.
So just to comment on the meaning behind "rosebud", like everyone else, i'm very disappointed to learn that all this time, the one puzzle piece that everyone tries to figure out in Kane's life is a childhood sled. Like..what?? However, i still don't understand why Kane would say, "rosebud" of all things to say. Also, i noticed that in the midst of trashing Susan Alexander's room, he stops short when he spots a small snow globe. Then, he walkes out of the room in a statue-like state with the globe still clutched in his hands. Now what is up with that? How does the globe relate to the sled?
I would also like to comment on the scene where Kane is viewed through a mirror reflecting many more mirrors. At first, i really thoguht that the room is an inncredibly large room. But then u see kane march out, with an endless row of Kanes walking out beside him. I think this scene portrays how small in size and powerless he actually is.
I know the class finished citizen Kane a while ago, but this is just to sum up my thoughts of the movie.
Money can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.
Spike Milligan
Money is only loaned to a man. He comes into the world with nothing and he leaves with nothing.
William Crapo Durant
founder of General Motors and Chevrolet
I say that these quotes relate because anyone who watches Citizen Kane will notice that Kan'es life is filled with luxary and money. He can own everything in the world, as you can see through all that junk he's collected over the years, yet he loses all that is most important. He loses his son and first wife, then he loses his second wife, as Susan Alexander walks out on him. Has he ever had a one true friend in life? i think not. One of his co-workers (i forgot his name) since the beginning of his newspaper company betrays him. And what happens to all the junk in his basement? Everything gets burned, including his childhood sled, "rosebud". One is illusioned to think that hes ever experienced genuine love or happiness in his life. And as you can see, he dies alone as well.
I also noticed a characteristic trait about Kane, that he keeps a hold over every single thing that belongs to him, as it is mentioned in the movie that he never throws anything out. This would explain the massive amount of odds and ends collected throughout the years. It is like a treasure box filled with so many worldy possesions, yet are only meaningless. This also explains his watchful and strong hold over Susan Alexander's life, how he never lets her out of the house and never lets her do anything. In a way, he treats her like a possession as well. He tells her what to do with her life and expects her to do it and he keeps her caged up in his mighty castle, like a lonely pet.
So just to comment on the meaning behind "rosebud", like everyone else, i'm very disappointed to learn that all this time, the one puzzle piece that everyone tries to figure out in Kane's life is a childhood sled. Like..what?? However, i still don't understand why Kane would say, "rosebud" of all things to say. Also, i noticed that in the midst of trashing Susan Alexander's room, he stops short when he spots a small snow globe. Then, he walkes out of the room in a statue-like state with the globe still clutched in his hands. Now what is up with that? How does the globe relate to the sled?
I would also like to comment on the scene where Kane is viewed through a mirror reflecting many more mirrors. At first, i really thoguht that the room is an inncredibly large room. But then u see kane march out, with an endless row of Kanes walking out beside him. I think this scene portrays how small in size and powerless he actually is.
I know the class finished citizen Kane a while ago, but this is just to sum up my thoughts of the movie.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)