Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin

According to our textbook, the Sergei Eisenstein vision is that “the capitalistic, Czarist system is fundamentally inhuman and inhumane, an obstacle not only to physical survival but also to human fellowship, family, and brotherhood” (Mast 162). Thus, Eisenstein’s political films sought to demonstrate the corruption of the political system of Russia and the importance of brotherhood and unity of the masses. In Battleship Potemkin, Eisenstein uses several techniques that illustrate his vision. First, he focuses on the importance of the masses and the people as a whole suffering under the Czarist regime. Secondly, he characterizes the soldiers and officers as cold-hearted people. Lastly, his editing techniques try to evoke a certain emotion in his viewers and to try to sway them against the Czarist regime.

            Eisenstein liked to focus on the masses and the people as a whole. His central character in most of his films was the masses because at that time in Russia it was the masses that suffered under the regime and were treated horribly. It wasn’t just one person who suffered, but every single person who was not of high status was treated as if he or she was an animal by the Czarist regime. One example occurs in the first part of the film entitled “People and Worms.” In this example, the officers clearly don’t care about the sailors working on their ship. To them, the sailors are just a bunch of lowlife workers who don’t deserve good meat. This is also an example of Eisenstein’s characterization of higher class people as cold-hearted people and taking advantage of the lower class.

It wasn’t until the last ten minutes that Eisenstein’s editing techniques made me feel something. Before the squadron comes into view, there’s this waiting period of what’s going to happen. Everything is quiet and calm, like before a storm. Then all of a sudden, as the squadron nears in sight everything starts to happen and it happens fast. As the sailors on the Potemkin get ready for battle with the Admiral’s squadron, I felt anxious waiting for what was going to happen next. The fast intercutting of shots and the movement of the actors on the screen added to the tension and anticipation.

All in all, what Eisenstein does in his films fulfills his vision that the Czarist regime is a cruel and brutal system that gets in the way of the people to be united in brotherhood and family. In Battle of Potemkin, Eisenstein celebrates the importance of the masses, he dehumanizes those of higher status and members of the Czarist regime, and he tries to persuade his viewers to see how horrible the Czarist regime treats its people through his unique editing techniques.

Fellini's Use of Humor Towards The Catholic Church, and A Review of 8 1/2's Criticism

Originally hailing from Rimini, a small town off the coast of the Adriatic sea of Italy, Fellini's upbringing and Catholic schooling made him detest the strict religion. The disturbing discipline shows up as an influence to much of his work, like in the beach narrative of 8 1/2. A young Guido, the main character of the film, goes to the beach after school, where he and his friends pay the sluggish harem dancer, Saraghina, Lira to dance for them. In front of the camera she becomes a humorous tease. Wearing a two-size-too-small dress, Saraghina flirts with the camera and the boys, making sexually suggestive winks and dancing like a prostitute after school. The scene is Fellini's humorous joust to the discipline of the church.
Much of the film's criticism comes because of its autobiographical nature. These critics thought the film was not of universal interest. Other critics found 8 1/2 to be deliberately inarticulate. They found Guido's different experiences not to be meaningful, but rather a result of a confused mind which hadn't reached to explain itself. Others found the film inconsiderable, as it had no significance to social issues of the the time. Of course, all this criticism comes cardinally from commentators at the time of the feature's release in 1963. Now in 2010, it is well-known by many filmmakers as one of the best feature films of the surrealistic genre of all time.

I Am Curious (Yellow) • Dir: Vilgot Sjöman • 1967

The film, I Am Curious (Yellow) is the story of a young girl named Lena's awakening to her society's ills and to the tumultuousness of sexual exploration. For all intents and purposes, the film is structured like a French New Wave piece. There is a very loosely structured plot, fast and loose editing techniques are employed, documentary footage is included and the characters are passionately politically motivated.

There is a film within a film as Lena works with a filmmaker to interview people on the street about their thoughts on money, religion, sex and politics. The filmmaker is played by Vilgot Sjöman himself, as a filmmaker striving to make a difference and push the boundaries of what he can do on film. I have to assume he is playing a parody of himself, as he doesn't really come off in the best light, appearing a bit pretentious and a little sleazy towards our young heroine.

One particularly interesting scene is made of actual documentary footage of an interview with Dr. Martin Luthor King, who Sjöman interviewed during the former's visit to Sweden in an attempt to gain Swedish support of the plight of African Americans (perhaps it was a European tour for support, as I have to wonder the significance of Sweden itself). Also of note is the film's frank and deliberate representation of nudity and staged intercourse, in fact, I found myself surprised by the casual inclusion of nudity and sexual situations without feeling gratuitous, artsy or pornographic. It just "was."

I was surprised that I had not heard of this film, nor the companion film I Am Curious (Blue) before this past year, as I have discovered numerous pop culture references to the film, due to it's controversial nature and an American court case to keep it out of our theaters. Episodes of Moonlighting, The Lucy Show, Get Smart, Melrose Place and The Simpons have all had titles referencing the film. Not to mention homage being paid by the british music group The Fall, a color by the Chrysler Corp, and a title of an issue of Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane.

All in all I'm glad I saw the film and I am curious (HA!) about the companion piece. It made me think about how much a film can be both ahead of it's time and completely representative of the time it was made at, since it is grouped in with alot of New Wave work, though it was not part of that movement officially.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any clips online that had subtitles to post here.

I Vitelloni

Federico Fellini’s early masterpiece I Vitelloni earned the director praise as his first great work after the cold reception of his first film The White Sheik. I Vitelloni tells of a group of friends in Italy that aspire to greatness, and wish to go off and lead rich successful lives. However, their dreams are starkly contrasted by their current lifestyle and beliefs. Not one of them willing to actually do any work, and all in their 30’s, their dreams are but mere fantasies as we learn more about their moral ineptitude and general lack of motivation.

In line with his neo-realist style of filmmaking I Vitelloni takes place exclusively in Italy and follows this poor misguided group of friends as they try their hand at life, and seem to all but fail along the way. Fellini mocks them as they build up their actions to be self-righteous, but as the audience we see that they are nothing more but sad and unwise in their endeavors. Fellini was said to draw upon his own childhood memories in creating this story, along with fellow writers Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano. The only qualm I had with the film was that it was hard to believe at times that these characters were all 30-year-old men, but acted literally like little boys. A few scenes were outlandish and seemed unrealistic in that sense, but overall it was an interesting movie. This film is meant to be observational and humorous, and it does a good job at showing how life can be for a certain group of people during this time in Italy.

Neorealism & Current Latin American Filmmaking

There are clear parallels that can be drawn between Italian Neo-realism and recent films coming out of Latin America that are using a neo-realist approach. The necessary social characteristics for neo-realist filmmaking to emerge are evident in Latin America. There is a definite socio-economic context in which a large percentage of the population is impoverished and the stories of the working classes are rarely told by the dominant media channels. In the last decade there has been a significant political shift to the left in favor of increased social change. At the same time, while technological developments have made cameras and editing equipment more accessible than ever before, a lack of funds for filmmaking continues to push innovation and foster a documentary style of filmmaking that is rougher around the edges.

For a selection of the top films to come out of Latin America in the last several years that use elements of neorealism, all of which have won significant awards and screened widely both nationally and internationally, check out: City of God (2003, Brazil), Carandiru (2003, Brazil/Argentina), The Motorcycle Diaries, (2004, Argentina, et al), and Sin Nombre (2009, United States / Mexico). Each of these films uses a carefully crafted fiction script highlighting the plight of the marginalized, working class, and at the same time creates an atmosphere of authenticity by shooting on location, using primarily non-professional actors and especially children actors, and using a documentary style cinematography that is rougher around the edges and makes use of available light.

A US filmmaker to watch who is uses a neorealist style is Ramin Bahrani: Goodbye Solo (2008) Chop Shop (2007), Man Push Cart (2005)

The Battle of Algiers

Gillo Pontecorvo's classic film shows viewers that not much as changed in guerrilla warfare from the 1950s to today's battlefield. Using hyper realistic cinematography combined with amateur actors to create a docu-drama like feel to the film, Pontecorvo paints a gray picture of the Algerian struggle for independence. Although there might be an Algerian protagonist and a emphasis on the French brutality against the Algerians, it becomes apparent there just isn't a good guy to root for.

Both sides use violence and terror in their attempts to win out, whether it be torture or bombing civilian locations as Pontecorvo shows that not all is fair in love and war. The film's relevance to the asymmetrical battlegrounds that the United States among many other Western nations have found themselves in demonstrates the timeless nature of the subject. The film does not mean to just show the Algerian struggle, but the universal struggle of an oppressed people who seek freedom or sovereignty by any means necessary. Set to a tense and stirring Ennio Morricone score, The Battle of Algiers shows you don't need lots of special effects or overwhelming battle scenes to make a war film that makes a lasting impact on the viewer.

La Bete Humaine

No human being is perfect. Everyone has some evil in them, but some have more then others. The three main characters are each battling inner demons. From lust to murder, everyone has their vies.

Severine plays the role of the damsel in distress. She lusts after Lantier, which ends up being a fatal attraction. Though she is in an abusive relationship, she stretches the truth, in order to get her husband murdered. She could easily leave him, but she chooses to plan out his murder instead. After she witnesses the murder of her former lover ignited an obsession with murder.

Her husband, Mr. Roubaud is not innocent himself. Not only was he the one who planned and executed the murder, he also verbally abuses Severine. When he sees that he is losing her affection, he begins to gamble away. His obsession with Severine makes him develop a gambling habit.

Lantier may be the character that literally is a human beast. Although he is charming, hard working man, he has a dark secret. He attempts to one woman in the beginning of the movie and ultimately murders Severine. His explanation was that he could not live without her. He truly is a beast.