Chungking Express (1994)

Chungking Express is an extraordinary film that plays with genre, narrative and chronology. The Film reminds me of Pulp Fiction meets Chinese romantic comedy, but with an aesthetic twist.Together, elements tell the stories of four people, breaking the conventional traits of Classical Cinema.

The film plays around with genre. The beginning starts with an action sequence, as a policeman chases a felon. However, the tone and smooth cinematic effect contradicts the action genre, making the sequence disoriented. In addition, the voice-over talks about love in the chasing opening sequence, which essentially expresses a paradoxical feel of genre. The film continues with a storyline about drug trafficking, then switches to a similar story about a different policeman, then switches to another storyline of a woman trying to achieve her dreams. The change of tone in the film leads to an ambiguous genre. This is an unconventional trait for a film, contradicting elements of Classic Hollywood.

Another element that contradicts Classic Hollywood, is its narrative structure. Chungking Express revolves around the points of view of four different characters. The film provides voiceovers from all four characters, dividing the plot in four as each part focuses on a particular character. This enables the viewer to see every side of a character's perspective as the storylines intertwine. Thus, rather than identifying with one or two characters in the film, the film allows the viewer to become familiar with four different characters.

The chain of events within the film are not told chronologically. The plot is disorderly presented based on the focused character. The events taken place are told chronologically by each character, but as a whole, the order is non linear because of the separations of stories. For example, in the beginning of the film, we see Faye walking out of a store with the stuffed animal as the woman in the blonde wig waits outside the store. The action taken place in Feye's point of view is later presented later in the film.

Sound in Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)

When watching Paranormal Activity 2 , I could not help but notice how significant sound and the lack of sound was in the film.

The film is shot informally with a hand-held (and surveillance) camera to evoke authenticity. Due to such aesthetic, visual elements are not enhanced by CGI (Computer-Generated Image). Instead, sound is used to produce anxiety, fear, and anticipation.

Throughout the film, day scenes are cut to night scenes. These scene are very quiet. The viewer is aware of a presence. The silence is used as a sound effect that evokes a frightening anticipation.

In the midst of the silence, a slight, indescribable sound creates tension that alarms the viewer that something is about to occur. Such tension would turn the peaceful image of a baby sleeping into a intense and fearful event in the film.

The film plays with the viewers feelings with such sound, making the viewer unaware of what will happen next. When something does occur, the sound drastically changes, creating the "jump" effect from the audience.

I think about the film and wonder if I would have the same emotional effect if the audio was off, or if I simply covered my ears.

Blackmail (1929)

Blackmail (Alfred Hitchcock) was one of the first sound films ever made.

When watching the film, I was very impressed with the quality of sound for such a early sound film.

Despite such innovative film technique, the film still used off-screen sound and cutting within dialogue.

An interesting thing I found about the movie is that the actress playing the main character was the woman we hear in the film. With out this knowledge, I would have never guessed it was not her voice being use in the film. This comes to show how images can become manipulated by sounds.

Without a doubt, sound is an important element in the film. The film utilizes sound to underscore its themes of eavesdropping.

The film begins as a silent film. Very little dialogue is exchanged after the introduction of the characters. However, the audience is given signs that Alice is having a secret affair with a man. Like most Hitchcock films, the viewer is indulged with watching. The lack of sound gives the viewer hunger for explanation. But when sound is introduced, the viewer learns to depend on sound for meaning.

Consequently, when more dialogue is introduce, the viewer becomes more involved in the sounds of voices and music in the film.

Like the character who becomes involved in the murder for eavesdropping, the viewer is intertwined by the storyline knowing what is and is not being said.

Sound helps intensify some of the scenes in the film. For example, one of the most memorable scenes when Alice is haunted by the repetition of the mentioning of the word "knife". The viewer becomes engaged in the same emotion as Alice because the viewer is presented with the same sounds that the character hears. In another scene, the non-diegetic sound of laughter serves the same purpose as the sound of "knife", conveying the emotions of Alice's guilt.

Without sound, this film would not have had the same effect from the viewer. The film shows that sound is very important in cinema. Although film is a visual medium, sound is the important element that completes one's film experience.

Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1959)

Hiroshima, Mon Amour (Dir. Alain Resnais) is a story of couple’s romantic journey in Hiroshima. The main female protagonist meets a Japanese man in Hiroshima while filming a movie about peace, fifteen years after the end of the Second World War. The Japanese man she meets and falls in love with reminds her of her first love; a German soldier who was killed. The film displays the woman's troubling character as she remembers her past.

The film’s themes are the power of memory and love. Most of the film is shot in extreme close ups between the two main characters. The close ups not only show the isolation they have developed with their love but also the claustrophobia of the space in the world. The frame is constantly narrow with display of the characters’ skin/body. These shots evoke the love for each other because the bodies seen become almost one single part. In addition, it shows the viewer that the minimal space these characters have are shared with one another, enhancing their chemistry, both physically and emotionally.

The film provides a lot of voice over scene with the display of past images. In addition the shot always has a straight cut transition to and from these memory shots. This shows the power of memory in the film. It shows that the characters’ memory is strong enough to even be a part of their current lives. The memories of these characters are an essential element of the film because it shapes their behavior throughout the film. Essentially, the memory of the female's first love is so critical to her that Hiroshima becomes a metaphor that represents the loss of her first love.

The order that these memories are told also say a lot of the female protagonist. The memories she shares with her Japanese lover is not told chronologically, which shows the disorder of her character. The character is eventually portrayed as an unstable woman who is traumatized by the death of her husband. Likewise, the film itself has a disorderly composition, going from the past to the present, and then back to the past.

Half Nelson (2006)

Half Nelson (2006) is a contemporary film that deals with issues of race tensions, drug abuse, and friendship. Played by Ryan Gosling, Dan Dunne is a middle school teacher and girls basketball coach who struggles with his drug addiction. Drey (Shareeka Epps) is one Dan’s student who plays basketball in the team he coaches. Drey and Dan develop a friendship after she catches Dan getting high at the school’s locker room.

The films is composed of several close ups of Dan’s face. Dan’s expressions show the deep focus of a lost man’s face who struggles with his drug problem. Dan is pale, he does not shave and he has bags under his eyes. These close ups also have a lack of space within the frame, which shows Dan’s constraint from moving forward and away from his problems. Capturing his expressing between a squeezed frame conveys the idea of his aloofness towards his surroundings.

The color palettes of Dan’s scene are almost all dull blues and yellows. These colors covey the lack of liveliness in Dan’s life. In addition, the bar scenes exposes a lot of shadows. This element highlights the dark side of his day, as he purchases drugs. Contrast to the scenes reflecting Dan’s home and night activities, however, the scenes in the classroom are very bright. The scenes show Dan interacting with the students, teaching them History through his unconventional tactics; through metaphors not textbooks. This shows Dan’s happy place; a place where he feels alive and can make a difference in the world. The mise-en-scene in the film is also enhances the effect of such transition. Dan’s apartment is messy and bland, where as the classroom is decorated with colors children’s art work.

The whole film is filmed with a handheld camera. The frames are not stable and are often shaky, which reflects the instability of the characters’ lives. This component also makes the footage look authentic, making the images of the film realistic. This element helps convey the realness of Dan’s addiction and Drey’s difficult life in the “hood” where she is pressured to sell drugs. The racial tensions created among Drey’s dealer friend and Dan are also realistically conveyed through such aesthetic.

A scene that stood out for me personally was intimate scene between Dan and another teacher from the school. The scene cuts to Drey looking at herself in mirror and applying make-up to herself. The scene cuts back to the intimate scene and back again to Drey. The juxtaposition of these images shows that Drey is developing feelings towards Dan. This becomes a powerful scene because the viewer is reminded through these images that Dan is dysfunctional and that Drey's feelings cannot go beyond a school-girl crush. I sympathized with Drey because she tries to become feminine despite her "tough-girl" attributes. She is essentially thriving towards something that will never occur.

Dan and Drey unexpectedly cross paths through an exchange of drugs; where Dan is the consumer and Drey is the supplier. The scene is powerful because the frame focuses on the characters’ reactions, which the viewer immediately feeds on. The last scene shows Dan’s apartment. This scene resembles the first shot we ever see of Dan in the film. However, the apartment is now cleaned. Dan suddenly appears and is dressed up and shaved. Drey appears in the frame and sits next to him. Without seeing the aftermath of the encounter, we are presented with images that suggest that the two friends resolved their issues with the help of each other.

Throughout the film, scenes cut to random shot of students’ descriptions of significant historical events that changed the world. These scenes convey Dan’s dream of one day making a significant change in the world and in the lives of people. Due to the realism of the story, however, Dan is only able to change Drey’s life. The title thus makes a historical reference expressing that Dan will not be like Nelson Mandela (who changed the lives of an entire country), but simply “half nelson”.

The Piano (1993)

Jane Campion's The Piano is a nontraditional coming of age story of a mute woman's affection with her piano. Ada (played by Holly Hunter) is a young single mother who has to travel to New Zealand to her arranged husband, Stewart (Sam Niell).

Character blocking suggest the presence of two worlds. When Stewart and the natives arrive at the beach to pick up Ada and her daughter, the natives are positioned right behind Stewart. The natives stare, mesmerized by Ada's appearance. While Stewart and Ada communicate, the natives are seen emulation their expressions. The comparison within the film suggest the presence of two very distinct types of people. In addition, a native wears a hat similar to Stewart. As the native stands behind Stewart, the viewer is presented with a direct comparison of two different types of people that intertwine with Ada's arrival. The color of their distinct attire also highlights the distinction of cultures. The natives wear browns and colors of nature, while the more "civilized" people wear dark attire.

Throughout the film, camera distance reflects the connection between Ada and her piano. Extreme close-up shots represent the strong relationship between Ada and her musical instrument. Long shots reflect Ada's isolation from society, due to her fascination with her piano.

Ada's daughter Flora (Anna Paquin) represents her conscious. As Ada sexually indulges herself with a native named Baines (Harvey Keitel) for her piano, Flora reminds her that it is not a good idea to do so. While Ada plays her piano in Baines home, Flora stays outside playing "mother" with a dog. This shows that Flora is much more motherly and conscious than her mother.

As Ada starts to fall in love with Baines, the color of the scenes begin to change. The blue-ish frames change to warmer color scenes of passion. The change in color reflects Ada's sexual independence from her husband Stewart.

The film's climatic moment, where Ada's finger is chopped off suggests a form of castration; where her independence is being prohibited. An earlier scene foreshadows such event, when the play director is playing with props and shadows. The canted angle in this scene highlights the foreshadowing event that eventually becomes a catalyst for Ada's growth. After Ada leaves New Zealand, Ada maturity is seen by her decision to leave her piano behind. After getting caught in the rope and falling with the piano in the ocean, the slow motion effect of her rising from the ocean suggests purgation/rebirth.

The final scene represents Ada's new life. In comparison to Stewart's home, where the windows were closed and the doors were locked, the new home she now lives with is fill with white walls and open windows, with curtains flowing with the wind. Ada's ability to continue playing piano with a missing finger and her willingness to learn to to speak again shows how much Adas has grown from when we first saw her, mirroring the image of her six year old daughter.