Persona (1966) - Swedish

Swedish director Ingmar Bergman weaves the vastly contrasted lives of a nurse and actress together in a blaze of envy and jealousy. Elisabeth, an actress who becomes mute one day on set, is taken into the care of Nurse Alma. The head nurse advises that the both of them take a trip to her summer home in order to keep recuperate. Elisabeth's muteness serves as a template for Alma's confessions of past sins, and eventually, Alma seeks to destroy all of herself and wishes to become Elisabeth.

The editing of the film suggests a zealous adolescence by beginning with a bright light, followed by a film strip, followed by dormant figure in beds. The only one to awake is a young boy who attempts to read only to be arrested by the projected image of woman. The tactile sense in the film is also quite evident considering the boy touches the projected image of woman very attentively. This beginning has nothing to do with the overall story arc and it only wraps up the film in the end. The fast paced editing is one to jolt anyone out of their seats.

After the non-linear beginning, Elisabeth and Alma begin to discover much about each other, but Elisabeth refuses to speak, so we are mostly learning of Alma with nothing to tell us about Elisabeth aside from what Alma assumes about her. The two become very close, touching and feeling each other's hair and body's. They stare deeply into one another yet Alma really loses it later in the film, even by attempting to destroy Elisabeth with a piece of broken glass. Alma's attempts to get her to talk reach insane ends and it deconstructs each woman's persona that they've lived in their individual lifestyles. The persona's each woman takes on is a permeable veil only in that one woman may act and live like another. In a beautifully constructed scene, Elisabeth enters Alma's room in ghostlike fashion. To Alma's relief, she stands in the billowy curtains just outside staring at Alma's awakened body. They then begin to wrap feel each other's hair and wrap each other in them. Strange? Yes! Ambiguously gay? Indeed! But the scene speaks for itself in its attempts to describe the envy of one another's soul to become and engulf another. Give this film a watch. It is Bergman's masterpiece.

Goodbye Lenin! (2003) - German

I would just like to mention that there is some spoiler-ish information in the text below. Just so I don't ruin any future viewing of the film. Although, I'm sure everyone is aware that the Berlin wall does indeed fall. And with that Goodbye Lenin!

The story of political change in a divided country told through the eyes of a young man and his recently comatose mother. Alexander (Daniel Bruhl) must hide the recent political shifts in his East Berlin town from his politically active mother(Katrin Sass), since her heart is too weak and can't take any excitement.

The lengths that Alex goes to prevent his mother from knowing the truth illustrates a struggle of covering up reality for the sake of continuing a life once lived. It seems this sin runs in the family since Alex's mother also has a secret of her own that has been covered up. The theme of keeping ignorance under control taps into the psyche of the consumerist, capitalistic, and communist decree that now runs rampant through Germany after the fall of the wall. With the spread of satellite dishes, knowledge of both cultures begins to seep through East Germany rather quickly. A good instance of this is the process Alex uses to sustain his lie by making videos about West German refugees entering communist East Germany in order to pursue different, anti-capitalist lives.

I love so much about this film, but what really grabbed me in the beginning was the score written by Yann Tiersen, a French musician, who also wrote music for Amelie. For what I thought would be a comedy, which it surely is, I was met with a sorrowful mood. It was delicate but the imagery of communist Germany was very passionate and powerful, drenched in red. This combination showed me a portrait of a mother who's life and vigor were cast in red like that of the Soviet flag, and the music showed me just how dire her health was, and how fragile her body had become. This is the perfect setup for what the film would explain in the coming chapters. 

ODST Commercial

The Halo ODST commercial directed by Rupert Sanders, was my first experience with video games being transposed to the video medium. It is also the first in a series of live action commercials for each sequential Halo game. The commercial follows the path of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper who's brother was killed in battle. The candle lights at the funeral look like flaming pistols and the amphitheater that the funeral takes place in is large, gray and empty, like the faces of the fellow infantryman in attendance. The boy joins the ODST ranks and goes through a nightmarishly dark and gritty boot camp. He is then jettisoned  into a scenario straight out of Saving Private Ryan.

And with that, the transition to the scene is phenomenal. Jumping from a training wall, the scene has changed to that of interior of the pod in which ODST's are implanted behind enemy lines. In another effective transition, the young boy is slashed by a brute in the face, and his scars are healed through a cut to the boy as a grown man, again attending the funeral of a fallen comrade, only this time, they are in the field of battle during the burial. In these transitions, the boys journey to manhood is rapid and immediate. The scars of battle are given quick convalescence and the entry into battle is preluded by a mental scarring of training.

To see more from Rupert Sanders and the group of directors responsible for story prevalent commercials, look to http://www.mjz.com. Among the groups other notables are Spike Jonze and Micheal Mann.

The Matrix Trilogy: Institutional Racism and Representation

The Matrix is such a hodgepodge of different influences that it seems endless the many different readings and associations one may have while viewing it. The most overt symbolism in the trilogy of films is the allegory of institutional racism. Through a series of representations inside and outside of the Matrix, there is clear allusions to the concept of institutional racism. To name a few, the most clear and obvious sign would be the Agents. They are all of the Caucasian race and they all represent the bureaucracy by wearing suits and ties. Men in black have always been associated with the government's agenda to keep a lid on conspiracies. They are the men in power, or machines, who will stop at nothing to maintain the control over a species they find inferior. Agent Smith even associates them with a parasite. Another instance of white male dominance is established in the Matrix with the pseudo-religious association with The One and the perpetuation of typical Caucasian/Western ideals of gods. Neo is the one, yet he is also white. He is the typical symbol of Christ, who's image has been used to give hope to minorities everywhere. Neo's sacrifice in The Matrix Revolutions is clear indication of Neo's Christ-like qualities. He is the white symbol of control of hope and optimism that is also essentially controlled by the system. In The Matrix Reloaded, Neo confronts another Caucasian white male who is The Architect, or in other words, God. These two depictions of God and Jesus have been circulated around the globe by the conquistadors of Spain and early Puritans of the Americas. They have become a degree of spiritual control that the machines have used to govern the outliers that live in Zion. The Matrix bleeds into the real world through associations with the pseudo-religion of the one. Zion exists because it is allowed by the machines to exist for the purpose of exiling the people attempting to destroy the chains of their bondage to an illusion of the truth.

Zion is first and foremost a ghetto. Its inhabitants are mostly minorities, the captains of their ships and armies are mostly African American, and the machines they use are primitive (compared with the society of machines). The information gap between the poor people of Zion and the machines of the surface world are vastly different and the machines are eons ahead in tech. Down to the clothes they wear, which are usually tattered and gray, and the food they eat, Tasty Wheat, which only provides what the body needs. Nothing more nothing less.

Representation in the Matrix trilogy may only promote the ideologies of the dominant race running things, but it narrates the story in a way to make us believe that something may be wrong with the system of doing things, and to not only constantly question it, but to move to erase it. Neo ends up becoming a ambassador to the machines in the final Matrix film. He attempts to reconnect with the machines by offering them a solution to their Agent Smith problem and offering them a truce. Coexistence is promoted and established in the Matrix and it is only through a clear representation of institutionalized racism and only trough the avowal of its existence can it be destroyed.

Jeff, Who Lives At Home

A product of the "mumblecore" duo Mark and Jay Duplass, their most notable to date has won me over. Their technical altercations provided by a randomly zooming close-up typical of "The Office" moves the form of the film toward the main characters philosophy-constantly search for meaning because everything happens for a reason. Their technique has been used before, but it only adds to the philosophy and aesthetic of the argument of the film.

Jason Segel (Jeff) and Ed Helms (Pat) expose a natural brotherly rivalry and emotional distance from one another that it ends up saving one another from a distinct lack of control in each others' lives. Susan Sarandon also adds to the life improvement going on in her and her children's lives by taking a chance at her job. Her acting is playfully, timid and it just goes to show she can carry the weight of a 30 yr-old in her home for so long. I highly recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of the slacker comedy because not only will it convince you that lethargy can lead to destiny, but it will fill you with warm fuzzies along the way.

Oscars Picks

Oscar season is here. There were many great contenders and they all deserve to win, but there can be only one.

Note: These are my personal opinions and not the actual results of the 2012 Oscars.

Best Performance in a Leading Role (Male): George Clooney - The Descendants

Best Performance in a Leading Role (Female): Viola Davis - The Help

Best Performance in a Supporting Role (Male): Christopher Plummer - Beginners

Best Performance in a Supporting Role (Female): Octavia Spencer - The Help

Achievement in Directing: Michel Hazanavicus - The Artist

Original Song: Man or Muppet - The Muppets

Achievement in Costume Design: Hugo

Achievement in Makeup: Albert Nobbs

Achievement in Visual Effects: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Beast Animated Feature: Rango

Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation

Achievement in Cinematography: The Tree of Life

Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris

Adapted Screenplay: Moneyball

Best Motion Picture of the Year: The Artist

The Artist (2011) - French

The Artist is a film that reminds audiences of the beauty of silent films, and the pure innocence and joy of watching pantomime. Jean Dujardin portrays a silent film star who transcends the auditory realm through his acting. He is dropped as soon as sound comes into the picture because withe fresh new technology comes fresh new acting talent. Dujardin's portrayal of George Valentin, an artist struggling to reclaim the medium he once used to project his soul, is a heart warming and earth shattering accomplishment. Peppy Miller, played by Berenice Bejo, is the perfect representation of the sound era. She's beautiful, bright, and sympathetic to what the old silent films contributed to the art of film, yet she temporarily forgets about George when her stardom takes off.

This film can be appreciated by all audiences alike, yet, due to it's silent film appeal, cinephiles, film historians, and the older generation of movie goers will appreciate it all the more. The film is essentially a silent film, yet it uses sound in a jarring and conciliatory way. The film eventually uses sound, so to call it a silent film would be incorrect. It's more of an homage to the silent film era and it reconciles the medium's tendency to adopt new technological innovations at the cost of artistry.

The aesthetic beauty in this film was perfect. Even the aspect ratio of the film was that of a silent film. No widescreen here. There is much to the self reflexivity in the film itself and in the self destruction that Valentin puts himself and his work through. George watches himself behind the screen at the premiere of his latest film, he creates his own film, writes, directs, and acts in it, and he also meticulously browses his collection of his films. His life and work are what destroy him. He has given so much to the screen visually. Muteness in expression is the only way he can work. Even his faithful companion dog is an accomplice in the silent film star's gimmicky endeavors. When this muteness is analyzed, it becomes a self destructive love affair between George and his films, all the while sound and Peppy gain all the glory. The two clearly belong together, just as their representations of sound and movement also belong together, in perfect cinematic matrimony.