Rufus's Film Blog

 Right from the start Pan's Labyrinth works to establish a contrast from the real world and the fantasy world, using  mise-en-scene and the atmosphere of the environment to do so. The opening scene displays light colours, creating a warm feel and connoting with ideas of freedom and youth when we see Ofelia. However, this is almost instantly opposed when we meet the general, Vidal. The colours change from warm and vibrant to cold and sinister, lines go from playful and squiggly to straight and sharp, highlighting Vidal's harsh demena and the sobering truth of reality. There are several POV shots in the opening scene that help demonstrate Ofelia's youth, and her wonder with the world. When she looks up to the sky and through the trees there is an almost magical feel, establishing the 'fairy tale' world we will experience throughout the film. This use of Cinematography is then followed by the giant bug that Ofelia sees climbing from an ancient stone carving. This once ...

 The cinematography in the opening of The City Of God is one of the crucial elements that adds to audience response. The first sequence of the film has very cold lighting, even though it is in sunny Brazil. There is a blue tint on the camera lens, making the environment feel almost alien to us as the audience. Most of the time we can't even see the children's faces as they chase the chicken, distancing us emotionally from the characters. There is a massive contrast however when we go back in time to the 60s. The lighting immediately changes, transitioning from a cold harsh light in the first sequence, to a warm softer light. This perhaps conveys the difference in violence in the eras, and how much has changed. The camera handling is also very shaky in the first sequence, moving in and out so quickly we can barley focus on what is happening, creating an intense feel of violence and animosity straight of the bat as they chase the chicken. The camera angle is also almost always on...

It becomes apparent early that there is a disconnect in Sean and Liz's relationship. When Liz asks Sean to sort things out in his life he vaguely agrees, opening his eyes wide an d pretending that he is listening to her. Liz disapproves of Sean's friendship with Ed, feeling as though Ed is holding him back. Liz wants desperately for Sean to get out more, and spend more time with her and her friends. Sean however even though acting like he wants to change at this point has no intentions to do any of the things Liz wants him to. There is a divide between Liz and her more middle class friends and Sean and Ed, who partake in more working class behaviours, such as going to the pub. Working Class. Pub. Beer. Messy Clothing Middle Class. Davis and Di. Restaurant Art style clothing/extravagant hat. Theatre. I think that Sean is being pulled by Liz to a middle class lifestyle, going to restaurant's and feeling obliged to go to theatre's and visit buildings. Howe...

The Genre:  Horror. Narrative: An old man is coming back from the pub, it's dark and he's walking along a road that's lit slightly in yellow light. It's around 1am and there are forests on either side of where he's walking. There are no cars on the road, and all he can hear as he stumbles along is the rustling from the trees. He's slightly drunk and also occasionally has delusions, so when he starts to see movements in the trees he's not to bothered. However when he looks behind him and sees someone peering out from behind a tree he realises it could be more than just his mind.  Protagonist: Old man  Goal: To make it home in the dark. Obstacle: Something is chasing him slowly. Why is the story important/different? The man is mentally ill so can't tell whether the things that are chasing him are real or not. I took inspiration from Meshes In the Afternoon, as the feeling of paranoia and the sense that an unknown entity is pursuing them is present in both ...

 The film for me was very anti-climatic, as the expectations I had for the finale were very different to how it played out, being a calm ending, lacking the classical shoot out that westerns usually have. After Llewelyn's death, my focus shifted to Sheriff Ed, who I expected to step up and eventually kill Anton, capping off his police career as a hero despite being lazy throughout. However, this did not happen, instead a series of scenes took place where it seemed that a final fight was going to occur, however never did. This built up tension, teasing the audience with an action-packed ending but never delivering. The film left me with an empty feeling, like something was missing, which was the conflict between Ed and Anton. Even though I felt let down by the lack of action, I do appreciate the alternative ending that was explored, something that almost never happens in westerns. It makes me think more about what is happening in the film, rather than me just watching and not really...

 David Lynch uses everyday occurrences in the short film Grandmother, twisting them into nightmarish scenes to create a sense of tension and fear in the audience. The first of these occurrence's happens in the first scene, when the son is birthed. The dark grey colours give of a feeling of un-ease and mistrust, with the un-nerving static music playing with our imagination as the seed of the boy, a strange jagged shape, makes it's way up to the ground. As his parents reveal themselves, a man and women on all fours, barking in an animalistic manner, scars on their faces, the dad runs over to his son, behaving aggressively towards him. This could be a pre-curser to the horrors and abuse to come. The twitching, uncomfortable movements the parents and boy make lead to an unnatural distorted feel, making the audience feel uncomfortable, leading to a nightmarish first scene.  There is a scene in the film which depicts the grandmother and the son interacting with each other in a very ...