Paul split us into groups and gave us some short films to watch and discuss in class. Here are a few scattered thoughts on these films.
As I Am - https://vimeo.com/wearegrounded/asiam
This was possibly my favourite short film this week. There were a few things in it that I feel are applicable to my own film this year. I really enjoyed the overly flowery and poetic language used. This paired with the extensive use of slow motion throughout, made the film feel somewhat unreal; like you are in a daze. It made it all feel less worldly. I liked how the film was more focused on capturing an emotional feeling, without worrying too much about plot. It’s almost musical in that sense. I totally understand why some of my classmates weren't so keen on this element of the film, but I found it very effective. My classmates criticised the film for not showing its narrative clearly enough, however I don't necessarily agree with this point of view, because I think it somewhat misses the point. The film is less of a narrative and more experiential. I do however feel that the film lasted too long and should have been trimmed down a bit. It was like a dreamy poet meditating on a tough reality. It very much reminded me of some of Terrence Malick's films, like Tree of Life.
Obviously much of the film used slow motion extensively, but there was one shot in particular that really stood out to me as particularly good use of the technique. It featured a person with one leg struggling to climb a set of steps. The slow motion made it agonising to watch. The person's struggle was amplified and shocking.
In Crystal Skin - https://vimeo.com/michaelaobrien/short
My focus within cinema has never been on documentary, however I did find this one very affecting. It was incredibly difficult to watch. The filmmakers did a really good job, however there were moments where I felt completely uncomfortable watching the film.
I really like the title 'In Crystal Skin'. It evokes something incredibly delicate, but infinitely precious. I think the reason the film was difficult to watch was actually because it really put in the time early on in order to normalise her. For example, in scenes like the one at school at the start where she was eating lunch next to a wee boy and she was just talking like a child. Like any child. The film put the time in to show her as a perfectly ordinary child and that just made seeing her suffering even difficult to watch because it forced you to see past her skin disease and you could see her as a real person with a personality and a life.
One edit in particular stood out in my mind as particularly effective. The child went to bed one night and the film hides a cut while the screen is dark. Seemingly only a few seconds later, the mum returns and it’s morning already; the whole torturous process begins again.
I've mixed feelings about the talking heads. On one hand, it somewhat took me out of the film, because the rest of the film is entirely observational, and it took me out of it to have her in an interview. On the other hand, it led to the girl saying some very poignant things that I don’t know we would’ve gotten otherwise. Perhaps it would have been more effective to retain these soundbites as voice over and merely use the observational footage.
Sevilla - https://vimeo.com/90798046
I didn't like Sevilla as much as the other films this week, so I don't necessarily have as much to say about it unfortunately. If found it overly cheesy and somewhat pretentious. The moment with the young man getting hit by the boat was certainly shocking, but it was so ridiculous and out of nowhere so as to make the moment unintentionally funny. The moment had good dramatic timing, but it also had good slapstick, comedy timing.
I did really enjoy some of the cinematography. It felt like much of the camerawork hadn't been planned in advance, and while this did lead to the film feeling too much like a long montage at times, it led to a really interesting observational, reative, almost documentarian style at times.
Strange men - https://vimeo.com/144197055
Strange Men is the only film this week which I'd actually seen before, so it was interesting to see it again and reflect on my thoughts on it from before. I really enjoyed the opening shot of the film. It starts uncomfortably close and with incredibly heightened sound design. It feels very invasive. This was a really nice way to set the tone for the film.
In the scene with the police officer, the light in the background made a loud buzzing sound. It really emphasised the silence and their isolation, making the scene so much more uncomfortable. I really liked the sound design in this film. It was possibly my favourite aspect of the film. However, I do think some of the music was a bit much; particularly in the bit in the diner when the dad walked towards her, it was a bit over the top. This is unfortunate, because I think it would have been more effective if the film merely stuck to the heightened diegetic sound that it had done so well earlier in the film.
The film has the constant feeling of being watched. We are regularly shown her from remote perspectives, like the POVs of strangers. I think the slow zooms really emphasised this.
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