Starting with French New Wave and ending with Postmodernism, in the past six weeks we have looked at a variety of film movements which have gone against the more conventional styles of cinema we started looking at.
I have previously watched the film 'A bout de Soufflé' (Breathless) and I found it as entertaining then as I did now. I enjoy the look and 'feel' of the film, and the almost disjointed, yet almost 'stylish' editing.
I had never really studied the French New Wave movement, and found the lecture and seminar interesting, particularly how the movement utilisex their less-convention style of editing, and its almost disruptive effect in the film.
I also enjoyed the documentary 'Close-Up', which though I missed in the screening, I watched in my own time. Being Half-Iranian, I foudn it interesting to watch and consider in my studies, a film relating to what is a part of my own culture so to speak.
One film viewed as part of this module which had a particularly poignant effect on me was 'The Trial' directed by Orson Welles based on Franz Kafkas novel. From slight research before the screening, I knew to expect the downcast ending and confusion throughout the film, yet the film itself still had an effect on me. While the plot itself confused me at times, and If eel the film dragged on quite a bit, I found certain aspects to the film engaging and interesting.
For example, I found the animation-esque imagery at the start involving the story of the gate and a man being denied access very interesting, as I feel the visuals were different and something I had not seen before, and the story itself complemented the narrative of the film.
Throughout the film, as it was clear form the start the protagonist wasn't exactly set-up for a victory, there was a melancholic and almost belittled feel, which I believe was complemented by the almost fascist mise-en-scene, (i.e. the large, dark, towering structures and how even the sets themselves seem to look down upon and belittle audiences and the protagonist).
I also found the ending quite 'difficult' to watch; not in the sense that I foudn it shocking or frightening, just because of how after witnessing the character's struggle to get himself 'cleared', and all he had been through and the journey we as an audience had gone on with him, his life was ended brutally, with no real explanation. This, I suppose, was one of the main aims of the film with regards to audience response.
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