Short movie clips

Today in class we watched three very unusual clips from three very different movies. They were nothing like I had seen before, but I can’t say they were at the top of my favourite list of movies. Although they were all very unique in their own way, which amazed me, they were not the type of movies I would attempt watching in the future.

The first clip we watched was from the movie “Don’t look now,” directed by Nicolas Borg. In this scene there were several juxtapositions between the husband and wife inside the house and the two children playing outside. The girl playing with the ball and the boy riding his bike captures the innocence of children as well as the ignorance their young age results in. I commend the director for his quick change of scenes, as he does throughout this clip.  As the daughter throws her ball in the lake, the husband simultaneously throws the cigarettes to his wife, and then as the ball hits the water, the father knocks water on his protector. What truly amazes me was that as soon as the ink began to run from the pictures, caused by the spill of the water, the father instantly knew his daughter had drown. I believe this is due to the fact that the ink colour was red, which is the colour of blood and death so the father instantly knew something was wrong, and ran to her rescue. Throughout the time it takes the father to go under water to retrieve his daughter, the mother is inside looking at pictures, unaware of the suffering that surrounds her. In addition to this, as the daughter is dying the ink continues to drip more severely, which as well as blood, could symbolise the girl’s death in her red coat. The dramatic weeping from the father as he holds his daughter in his arms symbolises his anguish, which reveals the unpleasant nature of the film.

The second clip we watched was from the movies “Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” directed by Michel Legrand. This clip was the first time I had ever seen a movie that is sung the whole way through. I actually never thought there was anything possible. I truly believe that is movie would have been a good one had it not been sung and if it were in English. The story was engaging, from what we viewed and we could get a good sense of the love between the couple. The way they look into each other’s eyes symbolises there heartache of having to leave each other. What makes the movie truly heartbreaking was how the girl did not wait for the man and moved on with her life. If she really did love him she should have waited. In the final clip, we get a feel of the tensions between the couple, as the man clearly still resents the woman despite the many years that have passed and the fact that he has also moved on. It was disappointing to see the man not what anything to do with his daughter or want to be with the woman again, but then again I give credit to the script writers of the movie as a good love story always ends in heartbreak.

The last clip we watched was from a French movie called “Bande A Parte,” directed by Jean Luc Godard. I found this clip to be quite humorous as pose to interesting, as I thought it was quite random for three people to just get up from their seats and start dancing in a cafe.  I did however believe it was a very courageous act to express one’s talent publically like that. Not many people would just stand up and begin dancing the way those there people did, so the scene highlights the fact that you should not be afraid to show others what you’re made of and unleash your hidden talents, and in a public place is the best place to do it. The dance itself is believed to be quite a popular one in Paris, and nobody had publically come out and performed it like that before. I did not particularly like the dance, as it was very repetitive and the music became annoying to listen to after a while. Out of all the clips this would have to be my least favourite.