A Domino Effect of Events : A Simple Plan

Simple doesn't seem to give this film any justice at all. Such an oxymoron is yet to reveal the true notion of the film: a twisted plot full of consequences. One consequence leads to the other. As I sat there watching the film, I thought to myself, was it really necessary to kill the man on the snowmobile and fake his "accidental" death? It sure got rid of the police and interrogations, but would a life full of misery and cruel torture be worth the knowledge of having killed another human being intentionally? When Jacob punched the guy, he didn't know what he was doing and it was not a purposeful death. Besides Jacob is portrayed as somewhat of a mentally disabled character, so he might have gotten away with the attack since the guy ended up alive.

Here is where we come across with all the reasons why the stolen money is bringing all the trouble. If Hank and the others had nothing to hide then certainly there would be no reason to punch the guy or hide from the authorities or suspect others of suspecting them. Even when the sheriff pulled over in the truck just after they had finished counting the money, Hank was extremely nervous and spoke rather suspiciously. Then Jacob threw in a hint about the plane and instead of easily playing along with it, Hank spoke in an uncomfortable manner and denied the existence of the plane. So now, if the sheriff were to come across the plane the men would be suspects of some sort because Hank pretended that Jacob was once again blabbering nonsense.

One thing certainly leads to another in this film. It is like the classical snowball, the domino effect and a chain reaction all put together. The director sure did a great job planning out the events and how one thing would lead to another. Based on the scenario and eerie black ravens/crows in the background, I'm sure that the end of Hank's troubles and "crimes" is nowhere near. When Lou Jacob and Hank first entered the forest, it was clear that they were in for some sort of trouble and danger. One of the characters said "we're collecting the dead" as a query to their actions in the forest. I'm still not sure what he meant by that and what exactly is their job in the forest. Next, the camera shot from an incredible angle at the three men walkinf below. The camera was pinpointed as if from the sky on one of the higher tree branches so that the men looked relatively tiny below the branches with the ravens peering auspiciously down at them. I personally think that one of the symbols of the film are the ravens (the black birds) because they add an especially mysterious aura to the film: some drop of "evil." When Sarah mentions that they now will be "thinking ahead all the time" it seems as tough the money will never give them peace and more events are in store. We will have to wait and see the second part of the movie tomorrow to see if the money is really worth all the trouble!

Thrown into the world of Momento

After watching Dark City, the plot of Momento seemed rather repititive. Missing the first day of Momento, I was thrown into a perplexing mix of scenes and actions. With a film like Momento it is quite difficult to catch on half way through the plot as if nothing was missed. I found myself experiencing the same sense of emotion that Leonard was experiencing. You wake up and don't know what world you are thrown into. The film I was thrown into came back at me with a pleasant surprise. The more realistic and closer to life scenario of Momento made the film more relatable than the sci-fi genre of Dark City. The director maneuvered the chronological sequence of the film in such a skillful way as to show the audience or viewers(us) the confusion of Leonard's mind. We learned in class that Leonard was actually capable of forming new memories since he had flash backs of injecting insulin into his wife. At the time he did that he probably invented the story of Sammy to make himself forget that he was the killer of his own wife. It must be devastating to hold those memories forvever by writing them down so it is easier to just make up fake memories to remember in the future. The real truth cannot be traced and Leonard gets away with living a comppletely fake life chasing the unknown:John G.

One more on Midnight Cowboy

So today we finished Midnight Cowboy and to my own surprise I quite enjoyed the film. It held a certain power that drags you to the screen and you want to know whats going on at all times. If you miss a part or don't understand the symbolism, you can easily get lost. I personally got lost a first with all of the flashbacks and random images with Ratso in a phone booth after he ripped off Joe Buck. [Does Ratso have a first name? I feel like in the first scene where Joe meets Ratso at the bar and the waitress calls him Ratso and he rebukes that its Rizzo, his name was mentioned fully but I don't recall.] to be continued...

Views on Kane and the like

As we are wrapping up Citizen Kane, I am unclear on certain aspects of the movie. I may be over-analyzing the insignificant, but I could not help but wonder about the light bulb that flashed momentarily after the scene directly following the multitude of newspapers that highlighted Susan Alexander's ironic singing "success". This rapid flutter of Inquirer titles from all over that country raved of her stunning performance was immediately brought to a halt by a momentary flash of a light bulb that dimmed to the point where all we can see are the stems of the bulb, or the wiring, and then....darkness. Does this serve as simply a transition or perhaps there is symbolism involved here. i would suspect that the dimming bulb foreshadows her dimming "career" and essentially her fate because what awaits her is misery and darkness.

Watching Citizen Kane, I have thought greatly of the idea: does money, fame, and your self-conceived image bring you happiness? In today's society many can argue that this is so. Movie directors have taken this to a whole new level nowadays. In National Treasure, Nicholas Cage is the hero who did not stop at anything to accomplish his pursuit of a far-fetched clearly fictitious plan to find a map on the back of the Declaration of Independence. He ends up with fame, fortune, and of course the girl! Does this perceive the exemplar of society or was this just another so-called "popcorn flick" made to placate the masses into believing in "fairy tales", happy endings and secret treasure hunts. Same goes for all movies with predominantly cliche plots and happy endings? Is this what we expect? The classic good guy bad guy scenario....good guy always wins, bad guy always loses. Unfortunately in life, we can't often draw a parallel. There is no clear cut definition of good/bad people and there are inherently no happy endings. Rather... what brings happiness to you is another's demise.

For starters, I don't know anything about film. I joined this class to learn what i consider the essentials. I can't say I watch a lot of films, perhaps some here or there on the big screen. Most of the films we are going to watch in class I have never seen, predominantly due to my childhood. I can name you some of the most notewothy films in russian filmography that i have been raised with, their famous phrases, songs, etc... but i cant do the same for American classics and such. I really hope that this class will provide a strong foundation of knowledge for me and let me catch up to the great films I've unfortunately missed out on! I am interested in the symbolism that is greatly embedded in practically every film and the techniques the director uses to accomplish his goals. As someone who is very involved in design, I view film as yet another way to reveal one;s artistic expression. I can easily relate the effects you want to achieve on a poster or publication to the effects a camera and scenario can achieve. As we've learned in class, the camera can work magic. Directions, colors, lighting and sounds are all without a doubt neccessary to create the final touch.
I don't believe I've seen any great films on my own very recently, but this summer I watched Dark Knight. The film really played with my head and was quite the thriller. Thinking back, I realized how many tricks the director used to provide that feeling. I have never really paid much attention to if the camera was looking from below or from above on a character or the presence of a discussed gun or an overbearing presence of doors and windows, but I have noticed that I've done that ever since the beginning of the term. The symbolism is immense. Watching "It was one of us" on lifetime about five college friends turned enemies, I began to watch out for every over-emphasized object or detail. The film was about betrayal, bribery and lies, so every word and action carried symbolism in itself. The whole time neither the characters in the movie nor the audience knew who the true "criminal" was so the suspense was elevated. I hope that this class makes me more aware of quality films and look forward to learning as I watch!