I Am Nothing, who believes it is something
“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” Director: Michel Gondry Released: 2004 Writers: Michel Gondry & Charlie Kaufman Featured Actors: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson Notes Love imperfect because human love is imperfect Note all love relationships incomplete/unhappy review the other parallel relationships to avoid the feelings from unhappiness → erase from memory Motifs Water Drowning…
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Wild Strawberries / Smultronstället Director: Ingmar Bergman Released: 1957 Writer: Ingmar Bergman Featured Actors: Victor Sjöström, Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin Structure: similar to Seventh Seal in that the film appears to record events as they occur, but in fact is a retelling of what happened to Isak Borg – and his growing awareness that he has been someone…
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Cries and Whispers / Viskningar och rop Director: Ingmar Bergman Released: 1972 Writers: Ingmar Bergman Featured Actors: Harriet Anderson, Liv Ullmann, Kari Sylwan Story: Agnes is dying. Sisters Karin & Maria return to care for her w/ Anna, a servant. Narration: Memories & Reflections…structure similar to Wild Strawberries…Bergman returns to his 1950’s structure and theme…drama of re-birth, along with…
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The Act of Killing Director: Joshua Oppenheimer Released: 2012 Title – “The Act of Killing” Double Meanings commission of the crime act out killing killing ideas, community, hope The Opening Images of Indonesia Backstory (inter-titles) No authoritative history of the killings allows the brevity of the inter-titles to create enough backstory Theme of history &…
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M Director: Fritz Lang Released: 1931 Writers: Thea von Harbou, Fritz Lang Featured Actors: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut The Film M turns like a hinge, between Lang’s silent cinema and sound cinema, Also, between his German & American career M ties up themes from the first part of Lang’s career Also an homage to the…
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Metropolis Director: Fritz Lang Released: 1927 Writer: Thea von Harbou Featured Actors: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustov Frohlich Film Notes Referenced in: Madonna Video, Express Yourself The Bodyguard Dr. Strangelove Einstein on the Beach (Robert Wilson & Philip Glass) Gravity’s Rainbow (Thomas Pynchon) Story / Script by Harbou – Film directed by Lang [Collaboration between Husband & Wife] The…
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Breathless / À bout de souffle Director: Jean-Luc Godard Released: 1960 Writer: François Truffaut Featured Actors: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Daniel Boulanger “…he didn’t have enough money in his pocket to buy a metro ticket, he was as destitute as the character he was filming….The miracle of Breathless is that it was made at a time in the life of…
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Cleo from 5 to 7 / Cléo de 5 à 7 Director: Agnes Varda Released: 1962 Writer: Agnes Varda Featured Actors: Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray Basics & Plot The film contrasts Cleo’s fear of death with the teeming life of the Paris streets A large amount of the film takes place outdoors 90 minutes of real time Varda introduces…
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The Grand Illusion / La grande illusion Director: Jean Renior Released: 1937 Writers: Charles Spaak, Jean Renoir Featured Actors: Jean Gabin, Dita Parlo, Pierre Fresnay, Erich von Stroheim Historical & Cultural Context Released in 1938 Banned in Italy by Mussolini & in Germany by Goebbels Renoir wanted to make a statement about peace Film lost until 1946 (Nazis seized the print)…
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Imitation of Life Director: Douglas Sirk Released: 1959 Writers: Eleanore Griffin, Allan Scott Featured Actors: Lana Turner, John Gavin, Sandra Dee, Juanita Moore I tried to make it into a picture of social consciousness — not only of a white social consciousness, but of a Negro one, too. Both white and black are leading imitated…
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