Love The Beast

'Live with passion!'- Tony Robbins

Love the Beast
Director/Producer/Editor:Eric Bana

Eric Bana is famous for being a great Australian actor in successful films such as Chopper, The Nugget, Troy, The Castle, however there is another side to Bana that most people don’t know about and that is his passion for cars and motor racing. Love the beast tells the world of Bana’s knowledge of cars, after being brought up in Melbourne surrounded by engines influenced by his father’s love of cars, and spending most of his spare time tinkering under the bonnet of his prized possession a 1974 XB Falcon Coupe. The Falcon Coupe remains Eric Bana’s dream car and the same group of friends from his teens years help him with his racing career.

As a person who knows very little about cars I found the film very interesting and felt that the technical aspects and music along with Eric Bana’s likeable, honest personality allows viewers of all walks of life to connect to Eric’s emotional attachment to the car. We all have some strong emotional attachment to something in our lives and the car in Love the Beast can be used as a metaphor for our own loves.

The excitement and feeling of the beginning of the race is rubbed off onto the audience with pumping, tension building music and high helicopter shots.
The comic book style portrayal of the race is quite interesting, not necessarily a montage rather a clever way to show all aspects of the car during the race at the same time and is quite visually pleasing. Close ups of his father’s Thunderbird portray the car as an invincible, God like machine.

The film gives an insight and another perspective into the life of a ‘celebrity’. Bana reveals the people closest to him including his family and friends which shows the audience a ‘real’ ordinary human rather then what we assume through the tabloids.
I felt that using Jay Leno, Jeremy Clarkson and Dr Phil was a little corny, trying to make the documentary a life lesson. However it is more of a personal story and dream then a documentary that explains the attraction of speed and vintage cars.

Boys On the Side- Herbeert Ross

'A woman can laugh and cry in three seconds and it's not weird. But if a man does it, it's very disturbing. The way I'd describe it is like this: I have been allowed inside the house of womanhood, but I feel that they wouldn't let me in any of the interesting rooms'- Rob Schneider

Boys On the Side is a heart-warming drama that explores the themes of self-discovery and the bonds between women. Director Herbert Ross presents us with a romance comedy with very real emotion, where the characters must learn how to help and be helped by those who care for them.



Jane (Whoopi Goldburg), an unsuccessful singer, answers an ad in the paper to join Robin (Mary Louise Parker), a prim and proper real estate agent, on a road trip to Tuscan. On the way Jane drops in on a friend, Holly (Drew Barrymore) who is in an abusive relationship with drug addict and dealer, Nick. When Jane wants to take Holly away from Nick, he intervenes with his violent ways which forces Holly to strike him over the head with a baseball bat, essentially knocking him unconscious. We later discover the blow has killed Nick. The three women are now forced on the road together on the run from manslaughter, on the way they learn to come to terms with their own personal dramas.



Jane is a black, gay woman who struggles with her love for heterosexual Robin who is battling with AIDS. Ross deals with the issue of AIDS in straight, white women as apposed to black men who are at the highest risk and are the most known, group of people to contract the disease. Pregnant Holly is oblivious to the extremity of her manslaughter and is the ‘dits’ of the three. Their contrasting difference in personalities makes for an interesting relationship.

This film is a classic ‘chick flick’ demonstrating the strengths of womanhood I recommend it highly.

Metropolosis

'As machines become more and more efficient and perfect, so it will become clear that imperfection is the greatness of man' -Ernst Fischer


Metropolis (1927- fritz Lang) is a silent science fiction epic, and was the most expensive film of the time. Filmed in 1927, it is set in 2027, where technology and machines have overrun the city. The city, Metropolis, is segregated into two groups, the thinkers and planners who live in luxury high above in skyscrapers and the workers who live underground and work under a 10 hour schedule. All this changes when the son of one of the Metropolis leaders falls in love with the daughter of a worker. Soon the son discovers the true horrors that take place below the surface and how badly the workers are treated.

The film is expressionistic in style, with its sets of futuristic skyscrapers and machines, the story and futuristic robot and scientist characters convey a strange atmosphere to the film. Not only the machines but the city itself appears mechanical as everything is orientated around working and nothing appears out of place, even the workers at shift change walk in a grid formation. This is highly contrasted with the surface world, where everything is more natural with plants, animals and gardens, everything is office like and the leaders seem to have a care free life with not much work.

Being a silent film Metropolis can be quite slow and dragged out making a contemporary audience loose concentration even with the highly exaggerated acting, as in today’s cinema a film has to hold our attention through skillful shots and editing. However looking past that it is an artistic film due to its outstanding expressionist techniques and has gone on to influence many science fiction films such as Bladerunner (Ridley Scottm 1982) which is a story of the men and machines the fight between classes and politics.

The Cabinet Of Dr Calgari (Robert Wiere 1919)

'There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality' -Pablo Picasso

The Cabinet Of Dr Calgari started so many new ideas for filmmaking that are still evident in contemporary cinema. It was the leading film for the popularity of expressionism in cinema. Although the plot is quite traditional it is filmed in a very untraditional, expressionistic way, similar to Melies’ ‘Trip to the Moon’, which is shot in a very unrealistic format and exaggerates reality.

Expressionists are not interested in producing the outer reality, rather the ‘inner life’. How the subject is shot is important, and this introduced a greater need for the art director who designed the lighting, scenery, and costumes. The sets in ‘the Cabinet Of Dr Calgari’ are strange, extreme and irregular, such as the sideways doors and angled walls. Many of the shadows are distortedly painted on the floor and ceiling, this creates such an interesting effect that I as a designer would love to explore. The painting of the shadows could have been a functional thing, as there was not much budget for lighting. Dark shadows, along with the lights unexpected camera angles, expressionistic lighting and high contrasts create an eerie mood and an insane, claustrophobic world.



The story is shot in a studio, which helps keep control over the set. The set is purposefully depicted as a fake world with an unfinished quality. None of the objects and props are functional to help emphasise that the action is being viewed through the eyes of a mad man who is not to be trusted.

Robert Wiere is thought to be the founder of horror films starting the traditional Hollywood genre still used in contemporary film, consisting of a mad scientist or Doctor, his monstrous creation and the damsel in distress who they terrorise. Wiere influenced many other historical expressionist films such as Dracula (Tod Browning- 1931), Frankenstein (James Whale-1931), Hitchcock films and film noir. Contemporary films such as Batman Returns (Tim Burton- 1992) use the techniques of expressionism with the high, angular buildings and sideway shots.

A contemporary audience would enjoy this film purely for its artistic presentation, it is a must see for any film lover.

Travelling Film Festival

Lake Mungo is a faux documentary, horror film about a pubescent girl Alice Palmer, who drowns at a family picnic. After the family bury Alice they feel her presence in their house and are convinced at one stage that she did not die and have her body exhumed. Her character is a beautiful, well-to-do young lady, however the more the family discover the less they realise they knew of her.

The film is full of twists that pull you back into the story after some conclusion is made. I think there are too many up and down moments that keep changing your view and eventually it evokes doubt making the film less suspenseful and frightening. Its unsatisfying, open ending leaves you not knowing if Alice’s ghost is real and gives many unanswered questions, the audience wants to know more, hence the film quite anticlimactic.
It is interesting to note that the mobile phone footage was actually recorded on a real mobile. The attention to detail in trying to make it as realistic as possible is remarkable. The acting is more or less believable and the locations are well used.
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Lemon Tree is an Israeli film that tells the story of a widow Salma, who earns an income from her lemon grove that her father planted 50 years ago. However her new neighbour, Navon the Israeli defence minister, and his team of security men decide the lemon trees are a security problem against terrorists and order them to be cut down. Salma does not let them touch her trees without a fight with the help of lawyer Ziad, she takes the Defence Minister to court.


The relationship between Ziad and Salma I believe was awkward and unnecessary. The writer was trying to add interest to the plot with a taboo love affair, however the actors had no chemistry whatsoever. Their needed to be more focus on Salma’s relationship with her lemon trees rather then introducing another relationship with Ziad. I felt I could not connect with her emotions towards the grove and by the end wanted the Defence Minister to win, and Salma to just go live with her son.

The film attempted to show the troubles between Israel and the Palestinians, it showed that the values of the Israeli government are a lot different to Australian customs. Bulldozing an innocent woman’s trees that are her life and soul for no major reason frustrated me, however, I could understand the need to protect the Minister.






The Grocer's Son Antoine agrees to help out with the family shop in Province, after the grocer suffers a heart attack, accompanied by his neighbour from the city, Claire. Antoine delivers groceries in the van, however he does not have very good customer skills much to the disappointment of the elderly customers who are used to his father. Antoine is an unhappy character much like his father. Ultimately the story is about the coming of age and the re-discovering of place, life and love in the countryside.

The film seamed to take a long time to get anywhere and I found myself falling asleep. The best part of it was the look at the communities visited by Antoine, the locations of narrow lanes, and the scenery.





I've Loved You so Long is a dramatic tale of a forty-something year old lady, Juliette played by Kristin Scott Thomas, who is coming to terms with grief after being institutionalised for 15 years for the murder of her son. It is a tale of sisterhood, life and love. Thomas’s performance in eerily realistic, her expressions suck you right into the screen and she manages to convey a standoffish presence as well as allowing the audience to empathise with her even though she murdered her son, with the reason not being revealed until the last few moments. I don’t know if it were necessary to actually tell the audience exactly why Juliette killed her son, perhaps implying it would have been more dramatic. I felt that the ending was rushed and just finished with Juliette explaining why she committed the murder purely to answer the underlying question in the film.

Juliette character is brilliantly portrayed. Her costuming of grey cardigans and make-up are so realistic that the audience can really connect. He sister Lea played by Elsa Zylbertstein, has perfect chemistry with Thomas, and emphasise the sisterhood theme. An all-round good drama film that evokes many emotions.





The Wackness is set in New York in 1994. It follows the few months of loner, Luke who has just finished high school and is waiting to go to collage. He sells pot to make a living under the disguise of being an ice-cream seller. His customers are well-developed characters that make for an interesting film. One of his customers, Dr Squires pays for his drugs with counselling sessions. The two characters become good friends and evidently it is Luke who helps Dr Squires. Luke has a relationship with his doctor’s stepdaughter, Stephanie, however the real emotional relationship and overall message of the film is the one between Luke and Squires, their connection on screen is one the audience can relate to.


The characters are well defined and developed and the acting is quite good. There are many themes such as the depression of Squires and the bullying and isolation from friends of Luke that an audience can connect with. Overall I think it’s a good coming of age film and my favourite of the Travelling Film Festival.

the Battleship Potemkin

'It doesn't take a majority to make a rebellion; it takes only a few determined leaders and a sound cause' -
H. L. Mencken

The Battleship Potemkin is based on a true story of sailors rebellion against their officers aboard the ship Potemkin. Their rebellion is triggered by them being forced to eat maggot-infested meat, and when they refuse the officer makes any protestors to stand on deck to be shot. However one sailer speaks up, ‘Brothers, do you realize who you are shooting’. The men fight a sailor is killed, Vakulinchuk. There is an attack on the shores of Odessa and the sailors go to fight a squadron, however they are called ‘Brothers’ and realize they need not to fight but to join them. There is a celebration.

The film has a very slow political plot that seems irritating to modern viewers. However, The Bttleship Potemkin is a must see for people interested in the history of cinema, as it masks the beginning of montage. Sergal Eisenstein developed a style of editing called intellectual montage which was aimed at influencing the audiences reaction and emotions by juxtaposing contrasting images to create a third meaning.


Eisenstein’s style of film making was not the traditional Hollywood way. He did not use a main character or hero; instead he made everyone a stereotype such as a sailor.

the COMBINATION

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" -Abraham Lincoln


This daring film looks at the very controversial and factual subject of racism in Australia in the backdrop of the Cronulla riots. It is a scarily, realistic view of the conflicts between Lebanese Australians and those of Anglo-Saxon decent as well as an excellent portrayal of kids growing up in multi-cultural Australia. It is vital that the film be realistic so as not to become racist in itself, I did not feel that writer, George Basha was biased to one particular culture, the film was essentially to awaken our minds to the very real and relevant struggle between cultures in Australia.

The realism of ‘The Combination’ works with its true to life depiction of an aspect of Australian culture. It captures Lebanese culture brilliantly with the dancing, food and family. The film is shot in the backstreets of Sydney, which is where much of this type of violence actually takes place. The portrayal of the schoolyard is so accurate to Australian schools all over the country, such as the placement and segregation of different groups within the yard. Schoolyard conflicts generally break up at the sight of a teacher, which was evident in the film. The fact that this film took seven years to make has payed off, the research was obviously quite extensive.


David Field should be credited for making a film using relatively unknown actors, as they did not disappoint, it is evident that the cast and crew had a passion for the films content. This point of using unknown actors and authentic dialogue contributed to the realism of the plot. The audience can connect to the characters much more without the distraction of recognising the actor from another film. George Basha’s past of growing up in the suburbs of Giuldford, being arrested for theft and assault, just like his character, was the obvious inspiration for the film.

I do not believe the story would have carried so well without the awesome digital cinematography by Toby Oliver. Many of the scenes with high action were framed, such as the wire fence after the stabbing, the boxing ring when John is fighting, the library shelves where Charlie is obviously not welcome gathered from the dirty looks of the people around, and the soccer goals which frame Zeus, played by Ali Haidar, as he is gang bashed. It is ironic that Ali Haidar was arrested in actual life with assault charges just before the premier of ‘The Combination’. Scenes were shot with many interesting angles. One in particular that stood out to me was the high angled shot of Sydney and John just before she tells him she is pregnant. It is interesting to note how the two conflicting characters, Charlie and Scot, are shot in the same way. Both characters are shown from behind, shirtless and listening to music through white headphones. This is particularly important as it shows all races and enemies are similar without them knowing, and the fights between people are essentially arrogant.

Charlie follows in the footsteps of his brother who is trying to turn his life around after being released from jail. He has a new job and a girlfriend, however his brother forces John to risk everything to protect the family from harms way. Although John is the protector and comes across as the good guy, his violent background is evident in the fact that he yells at everyone he is close to such as Sydney and his Mother, the only way John knows to help Charlie is to threaten him with violence. John dominates every character in the film beside his boss who is evidently the one person he goes to for help when Charlie needs money to pay back drug dealer ‘Ibo’. John’s dark, dominating character is further backed with his predominantly dark wardrobe. His costumes contrast with Sydney’s light, feminine, floral blouses, which help depict her background.

Sydney’s household is depicted as an ordinary Anglo-Saxon family. It is a ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ situation, as the family seam happy and held together with a very clean, brightly lit and light coloured house however her mother and father are the symbols for racism against Lebanese people in the film. Sydney’s parents do not want her to be with John purely because he is Lebanese, her mother says “they have their fun with us but they marry their own kind” and “that’s not racist that is just the way it is”. This is an important scene in the film as it shows just how racist human beings are without realising it.

The scary reality in the film is how the two characters who commit the murders, Ali and Ibo, show no remorse. Ali smiles in the taxi just after shooting Scot and Ibo attends Charlie’s funeral. No matter how much the audience want everything to be ‘ok’ and for Ibo to leave the family alone, it is not reality, in a sense I am glad Basha had Charlie murdered as it heightens the seriousness of the racist wars that exist right here in Australia.

W.

"Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks." -Doug Larson



Oliver Stones, ‘W.’ is a biographical take on George W. Bush’ life, from his carefree, alcoholic days in college to his military service, government of Texas, leading to his 2000 campaign for president and his four years to his 2004 re-election campaign. It also shows the few weeks that led up to his decision to invade Iraq. I do not know much about American politics, so I took this movie as a chance to learn a little about George Bush.

The film seemed to have an underlying focus on the characters relationships, particularly between George and his father. Stone portrayed George Bush as somewhat of an underdog who relied on others to get through life and a need to impress his father. For example Bush relied on other people such as his parents in his campaign. However, Bush’s deciders were shown to be undermining his authority by misinforming him of important decisions, which made Bush seem quite ‘stupid’.

The film is not necessarily pro or con Bush, however, Stone seems to try to change America’s opinion of him, from an authority figure to an ordinary man with many weaknesses. Bush genuinely thought he was a good person evident on his becoming sober, he thought he was doing the right thing for his country and did not see that he was a laughing stock.



The film was made very close to the actual events and some critics are saying it is too soon. There are so many themes in the plot that seem to mesh and draw to a close, this could have been deliberate, however the plot becomes chaotic and all over the place making it not easily understood to someone like me who does not know anything about American politics. The non-linear structure is quite wild adding to this chaotic feel. Stone may have been trying to link the past to the present making the present a product of his early life, however, there was not enough background information for the audience to really engage emotionally with Bush. It also focuses too much on the negatives of Bush’s life making the audience not able to connect to him emotionally.

From an acting perspective, the audience cannot connect to the story, as it is not believable. The casting seemed to be focused more on trying to imitate the real life pet habits of the characters rather than concentrating on reacting with each other.

I believe a story about political issues needs to have something extra that draws in the attention of the non-politically minded; I lost interest almost straight away.

Birth of a Nation

"The length of the film should be directly related to the endurance of human bladder." - Alfred Hitchcock

DW Griffith is one of the most important figures in American film history. His Birth of a nation is an important film as it influenced the advancement of cinema and popularized many film techniques that are still used today. The acting also demonstrates the advancement of cinema. As the story is being told through visuals only exaggerated movements are necessary to convey emotions that cannot be derived from the dialogue, this was considered normal at the time however actors do look quite ridiculous and unrealistic in a realist film.

The three hour epic, Birth of a Nation follows the story of two families, one from the north and one from the south. Griffiths shows both families living happily amongst black and white people in a master and servant kind of way. When the north side wins the war the black people run wild hurting many white people. The KKK are there to save the day and rescue the town from being destroyed by the black people. In this day and age this concept would be highly controversial, a contemporary audience would not accept the racism displayed in this film.

Contemporary audiences would expect more from a movie, however no matter how slow the action is, at the time the film was made, audiences would have been amazed with the many battle scenes and hundreds of extras. Beneath the story are a number of shots that were never before seen all in one film. Close-ups (for psychological impact), the flashback, crosscutting, tracking shots, tilt shots and long shots.



Despite the racism and long, slow scenes this film is a must see if interested in the history and development of film.

THE First Ones

"Above all we have to go beyond words and images and concepts. No imaginative vision or conceptual framework is adequate to the great reality". -Bede Griffiths

The Lumiere Brothers shot many 'moving pictures’ that were essentially, a means of capturing and recording movement. Their short films such as Workers leaving a Factory and Arrival of a Train at a Station were representations of reality, and would have seemed very realistic and impressive for audiences of the time. It is interesting to see these early films such as the Lumiere Brothers films and to see how cinema has progressed.

A Trip To The Moon (George Melies- 1902)
This film is considered to be the first sci-fi ever made and is an important resource in showing the advancement of film. Trip to the Moon has incredible special effects for its time, it would seem very basic to the modern day viewer, however I still found it quit entertaining. Melies, being a magician originally, brought technical and narrative developments to cinema such as multiple exposures, time lapse and dissolve. This film shows the revolution of the time differing from the Lumiere Brothers short films that captured real life, which inspired future filmmakers into the new fantasy film for entertainment. Melies showed the audience things that they could not experience with his formalist approach, he has not attempted to recreate reality in anyway with the story set as a narrative, exaggerated acting and sets. Again this film is a must see if interested in the history of film making and the advancement of sci-fi and special effects.



The Great Train Robbery (Edwin Porter- 1903)
This film is considered the first western ever made and started a whole new genre of film. Porter’s editing and use of both in and out of studio locations, showed audiences a new complex way to tell a story. The film demonstrated that an audience was able to follow something like this and they enjoyed it. This film was the first time a camera was moved during filming and new angles were explored with tilting the camera. The film is categorised as classicism.

Introduction to my Movie Blog

Sheriff: You know, I'm not sure I like all these new guns rolling through my town without so much as an introduction.
"Magnificent Seven, The" (1998)

I am a uni student at Charles Sturt University studying Design For Theatre And Television. Due to my family’s large collection of videos consisting of many classics, I was destined to love film.

I was brought up surrounded by a wide array of films from the silent era to classic Hollywood horrors through to 80's cult classics. Hence I am fascinated with all aspects of film and the theatre, particularly with how and why they are created.

This blog will be my thoughts and ideas on many films as well as other information I learn in my studies.

Kerri