A Blournal Morning

Cinema is montage. Pictures move across the screen in patterns and rhythms that correspond to the mood and beats of the circumstances. Many different films use a lot of different techniques. Some short films resemble haikus that plan out each individual shot. Some filmmakers use a more dreamlike inspiration to be able to help them capture the thoughts that appear in their head.

This week, we watched many films that are all about what the image means. Cinema is able to show dreams on screen. Ramain talks in his article that cinema is influenced by dreams. In a way, watching a film can be a day dream. It pulls you away from reality and shows new and amazing visuals. So, the films The Life and Death of 9413, The Furies, The Fall of the House of Usher and Lot in Sodom, the montage and other techniques used show more of dreamlike states. In The Life and Death of 9413, it is most definitely influenced by dreams. The visuals, such as the signs that say Hollywood, the wagging finger, and the behaviors of the characters are all abstract. Nothing seems to be placed in a manner that would be "realistic." I loved how this film made the characters seem like puppets. While watching, I felt like a puppet myself. Watching the woman stand up and sit down when she was told or watching male characters repeat their lines. In a way, this reminded me of a cinema of attractions. I feel as if the characters were very aware that the camera was in front of them. True, they didn't look at the camera, but it was very theatrical.

Another theatrical film was Hearts of Age starring Orson Wells. I was very uncomfortable watching this film. I felt as if this was a film about hanging a black man. There were multiple sexual innuendos, such as the woman riding the bell. This film also failed to make any sense. This film also has hints of Expressionism which gives the film a more theatric as well as dream-like stance. It depends heavily on images that lead to the next event. I didn't like the loops, mostly because they made the film more uncomfortable to watch, but they were also humorous. I would say that this film is more of an amateur student film, but it still makes cinema more of an art form. There is so much room for interpretation and so much creativity put into this film. 

A film that I absolutely adored was The Furies. I thought that this was so beautiful and so clever. The way that the furies are "born" out of the chaos of the murder is incredible. They look like flames lighting and it's also brilliant how they are flying through the sky. The cuts back and forth between the couples and the furies make it more chaotic and it adds to the overall factor of the film. I also love the elements they use in the film, such as the woman staring down the barrel of the gun. The circular shape is present. Shapes are pattern that repeats throughout the film. 

I also appreciated Manhatta and A Bronx Morning. I lived in New York all summer and it was cool to see the city in a new light. These films were very much like documentaries or portraits of a place. They covered large areas and involved people as part of the city. It's an interesting technique, but it worked.