Django chained me to my seat!

Nothing better than Saturday night at the cinema, glued to my seat viewing splattering body parts in Candie Land. If you haven’t yet seen the film then maybe you shouldn’t read this; it may contain a few *SPOILERS*.

Every story has been told, but it’s the way you tell the story that makes the difference. A delicate theme such as slavery is definitely dealt with differently in Tarantino’s film Django Unchained and he never fails to provide his work with violence and black humour. There has been a huge debate regarding both the theme and (obviously) the violence; first of all, there is a great controversy from director Spike Lee who states that he will not watch it because “it’s disrespectful to my ancestors.” I can understand his disapproval and can’t imagine what slaves had to go through in those days…just as the Jews during the Holocaust. This is defiantly not the first film which reviews the discourse of slavery or blaxploitation, some explore the matter but attempting to create a ‘heroic’ image/icon of Afro-Americans; see for example Red Tails by George Lucas. When I first saw it, I thought: why don’t they talk about this during history class?

Tarantino claims that he had always wanted to produce a western and approach matters that have ‘haunted’ American history: “I want to do movies that deal with America’s horrible past with slavery and stuff but do them like spaghetti westerns, not like big issue movies”. I’m not very fond of westerns myself but this innovative approach mixed with “Tarantino’s touch”, the violence and humor was intriguing and kept me fixed to my seat! The blood and gore were a bit extreme in certain parts, as the Mandingo fighting or D’Artagnan wrenched to shreds, but also possessed a twisted-surrealistic humor, as the shoot out in Calvin Candie’s house. It presents us with accurate, interesting and horrifying facts… Tarantino did his research.  One of the most striking moments of black humor, I would say, is the ridiculous discussion between the white masters deciding whether they should keep the white bags over their heads even though it was difficult to see; mocking the embodiment of the KKK. An alternative element can be the slave plantation called Candie Land, very unusual and not really fitting the description.

I was also intrigued by the pattern I found between Django Unchained and Inglorious Bastards; there is a certain role exchange between the two dominant nations. In Django, the Americans are perceived as ‘the bad guys’ while Dr. Schultz, the German, develops a sense of compassion for the slaves. In Inglorious Bastards, the American’s fight in favor of the Jews. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”.

The movie presents two types of violence: 1) Django’s pay back and 2) the violence of the time. Recently a reporter tried to tackle the matter directly with Tarantino but with little success. It’s an ongoing debate that of violence in various mediums, performing a negative impact on society. I don’t agree. I watch violent films, play violent games…and I’m scared to kill a tiny spider. As director Oliver Stone affirms: “it was not films that influence people but instead ‘perhaps a negligent or abusive upbringing, combined with defect in their psyches…”. Some films simply portray facts, what MANKIND has done in history and is still doing; no filmmaker told a nation to conduct slavery, impose the holocaust or go to war.

Overall, I enjoyed the film and had some good laughs; it is a clever mix-match of cinematic elements, ‘cracky’ dialogue and nifty soundtrack… although, I was tempted to use some ‘Django tactics’ on a spectator messing with their phone during the film.

Clips

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O34Vf50sPQ  - “I like the way you die boy”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrsJDy8VjZk  - “I’m shutting your butt down!”

AG

LIGHTING A SET: A STUDENT GUIDE

So there’s a set, some lights and some actors. You’re in a studio. It’s almost dark, eyes are studying you expectantly and you’re frantically trying to remember what that bearded man mentioned in that lighting workshop you had once.  The 1st A.D. is bulging with panic – ‘We’re 45 minutes behind schedule. The studio closes in an hour and we’re 45 minutes behind schedule. We have to keep to the schedule!’ – and you’re tempted to express your annoyance on his shin.  Clenching your eyebrows to concentrate your thoughts, you resolve to start with the basics, to take away all the light and begin with what you know. This is what you know: you want to create an atmosphere, to subtly but sufficiently light the varying skin tones of the actors, and you do not, if you can absolutely avoid it, want the set to look like a set.

Placing a few practical lamps within the set, you manage to create pools of light and shade that suggest certain objects: the fringe of a curtain, a picture frame, a desk scattered with fragmented notes. You’ve decided not to use any of the studio lights, opting instead for a naturalistic scene lit only by the lamps within it.  There’s no denying this scene has atmosphere. Timidly, the director points out that it might be useful to see the actors when they speak, and you’re shaken from your smugness. Clamping a small Dedo light onto the wall of the set, you direct its light into the standing lamp below to expand its halo, before repeating the same for the desk lamp. A devious moment of lighting trickery and you’ve brightened the practical lamps without a dimmer switch.

To prove that the actors have faces, you consider bouncing the light from a Redhead off the floor, the wall, the ceiling or the soundman, to illuminate the actors within the scene. Ultimately, you choose a white polystyrene board (more commonly known as a bounce board or a reflector). You diffuse the light further with something that resembles tracing paper and a rectangle of black mesh (these probably have more common names too) – the resulting light softly reveals the actors, creating lively eye-glints and a complete, mysterious setting.

So there’s a set, some lights and some actors. You’re in a studio. It’s almost dark, but eyes are focused on scripts and cameras and clapperboards. You return to that happy, mindless place at the edge of thought, and check your Facebook notifications.

Once: The Beauty of Simplicity

“Take this sinking boat and point it home – we’ve still got time.”  

                   - “Falling Slowly”, as performed by the Frames

Falling Slowly (Album Version)

The film’s genre is debatable: ‘musical’ can only describe so much. 

Once (2006) is an Irish film directed by John Carney.  Besides being a film that should be recommended for any aspiring director or script writer, it is everything an independent film should be: moving, successful, inspiring, and simple.  Above all else, the music and plot tell a beautiful story.    

Glen Hansard stars as a Dublin street musician who only just manages to scrape by with the use of his aging acoustic guitar and the money he makes from fixing hoovers.  That’s right – a musician who fixes hoovers.  Hansard, a professional musician outside of the film, portrays a likeable character who is not afraid of facing his own lofty ambitions of recording his music on something other than his pocket-sized recording device.  He meets a girl who is lyrically gifted and plays the piano and the two forge a smashing partnership that blossoms into what initially appears to be an unlikely romance.  Together, they play songs that they really did write and perform outside of the film.  Their songs of love may have echoed their feelings for each other as the pair dated for a considerable amount of time.

But I’m not here to talk about all of the details of this film, nor of Hansard’s love life.

The first idea that pops into my head about this film is that it shares such a compelling story and is yet so simple.  The music of course plays a central role in the emotional pathos of the audience, but there are other features that Mr Carney has incorporated to good effect. 

For instance, the two main characters’ names are never given: they are simply known as Guy and Girl (this also appears in the film’s credits).  This is interesting and not very common, but it is also purposeful.  Just because the audience does not know their names does not mean that we do not know who they are.  There is only a guy, a girl, and their music.  The story is so much more than any name could ever mean.

In this beautifully descriptive still, Guy and Girl are shown to be connected through their music.  Any barriers in their age difference, responsibilities or financial situations temporarily collapse. 

Girl frequently plays the piano inside this piano shop, as she cannot afford one herself.  The shop owner knows her and allows the two to play together.  It’s the first time in the film that this happens and as soon as it does the rest falls seamlessly into place. 

As previously mentioned, one of the most striking things about Once is that it is an independent film.  In other words, it does not come under a major Hollywood label and its estimated budget of €180,000 (£154,000)[1] is incredibly miniscule.  It is a film that could be written and directed by a student, but take nothing away from its brilliance in simplicity. 

The shots in the film are often hand-held, which further stresses how the audience is able to get closer to the film and relate to the characters, especially Guy.  Without giving too much away, the ending sequence is one of the most effective that I have ever seen in any film.  It’s not so much that director Carney relies upon specific camera-related techniques, rather he is more focussed on depicting the emotions in the film as portrayed though the interplay of the music and mise-en-scene.  Guy’s final action in the film is unexpected and one that is likely to touch you deeply.  It also shows how the development of plot can make or break a film, regardless of how clever the directing is.  
***

So, there you have it: a simple film with a heart-warming story and interesting Irish accents to top it all off.  The music itself is half of the film's voice.

If there is one thing that this film proved to me cinematically speaking, it’s that a small film-festival feature can go a long way to entertain, enlighten and most of all inspire any audience – even if this sort of thing only happens Once. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=726SFblz9Lk  (official YouTube trailer)

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[1] IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0907657/