The Vanishing Point

While viewing this film in class I was really surprised by how different it was from the other films that we have watched so far. In class we learned about exploitation in films of this time period and para cinema films. This film to me didn't feel like it was exploiting the audience but rather the audience of Kowalski in the film.

I really enjoyed the film in that it was fun to watch and guess what would happen next to him and where he would end up in the final part of his race to California. There were a few things in the film that "Super soul" was saying to try to insinuate that what Kowalski was doing was getting his freedom, and was the last cowboy or hero of his time, to me I don't think he was a hero at all. In fact a lot of his life was quite the opposite of heroic. Whenever he tried to be heroic, for example saving the girl in the cop car from getting raped, he failed tremendously. I think that when he heard the radio and "Super soul" telling him all of these positive things and making him feel like he was a star he started to believe it himself. The crowd in town starts to question if he is also, we the audience almost believe for a mil sec that he is heroic. Then we stop and think, for what? What could he possibly be called heroic for right now, in this situation driving this car so fast.

I think that the naked rider, could represent freedom and being a member of society that doesn't belong, so could the snake tamer, the man with the drugs that lives with the naked girl, and "Super Soul" They all are a little different from the vast majority. They represent the group that Kowalski almost desperately wants to be a part of, but really doesn't have that "thing" to put him in that category. I think that is why he drives so very fast. He wants to, its something he knows how to do and has trained for, he is against the police for their injustice BUT most of all because he wants to do the best at something and to stick out as different.

In the reading they talk about the open road and how the american west has wide open spaces, cowboys. These wide open roads are regulated and run by the government for the government with our permission to use them while abiding to their rules. How can one be completely free, on a regulated place? If that's what he's looking for he may be chasing an impossible freedom and should look for it in a different way or place.

Overall I really enjoyed this film, everyone loves a good car chase and whether we know why or not we're routing for Kowalski to get there on time. We want him to succeed. I really don't think he's the last hero, he just wanted something a little more exciting and I guess he got it. I think the ending had to happen the way that it did. It was the only way he could truly be remembered and the only way he could "win" I suppose. He didn't have to stop or surrender as gruesome as it is to say.

La Dolce Vita

I really find this film to be fascinating every time I watch it. I studied this film last semester in Milan, Italy where I studied abroad. It was interesting to hear the italian perspective of the film that my professor brought to the table mixed with us (the students) american view points. We studied Fellini quite a bit and read a book called "The Cinema of Federico Fellini"which was a very interesting break down of Fellini's works and had awesome explanations of the reasoning behind his ideas and unique works. One thing that definitely sticks in my mind from this is the influence Picasso had on Fellini's ideas, Fellini studied Picasso's sketches and used those to base his characters especially, Sylvia in "La Dolce Vita".

Watching the film again in class, here really was a slightly different experience because I noticed things the second time that I missed out on the first time. I think part of it may have been because I now recognize more of the Italian words in the film and spent less time reading and more time viewing the film which does allow for a slightly deeper look in to the events taking place. What I loved about the film was the experimental story telling that Fellini uses. He introduces Marcello through his interactions with other characters in the film. What kind of bugged me about the film was that there is no real climax, or change. It's more of just a continuous story that is taking place.

The article was very interesting to me because it talked about the religious properties of the movie and the reaction it stirred through out the italian world and the film world. Many Italians were very offended by the film. In Italy my class discussed this in depth. We talked about other films that depicted this situation such as "Divorce Italian Style", in that film the characters plan on seeing "La Dolce Vita". The men were discussing the rumors of what the film was about many people called it a "porno" and many women were not happy about their husbands watching this movie. The religious aspects of the film are also very interesting. We have that opening scene with Jesus "flying" above the city. I don't believe Fellini was anti-religious in doing this, I think he's making a statement to the audience. In a way he is saying there doesn't have to be just one way of living, we can enjoy ourselves in other ways and have fun in a more carefree way, he goes for shock value not for insults.

Last year, last week, last....doesn't matter it happened?

This film to me was beautifully shot. It has images that are absolutely terrifying yet gorgeous. However, this film made my brain absolutely hurt at some points. After a little while I was like "what is going on" then I would feel like ok, I am getting this I understand and then once again something completely irrelevant would happen and the cycle of my confusion would start all over again. The entire thing definitely seemed dream-like, which is supported by the article "Philosophical Films: Last Year at Marienbad". I had another take on it though, I also think this film was very much like a twisted fairy tale. "A" loses her shoe, or her heel breaks and "X" comes to the rescue helping her walk and escorting her back. They live in an "alice in wonderland" type of world that they can't escape. Other reasons I compare this film to a fairy tale are, "X" thinks he's a the hero, prince charming saving "A" from "M". I also aside from that theory believe that maybe "X" is another example of a character obsessed. Maybe he's just one of those people that sees a girl that he's never met or talked to and becomes so wrapped up in her that he thinks he knows her and has been with her and loves her and that she loves him back. As creepy as this theory is, he is pretty creepy and it makes sense to me. I feel like he's so convinced that he knows "A" that he confuses her to the point of her asking herself "do I really know him, have we met before" Her and her "husbands" marriage seems to be on the rocks, with him being questionable of her and the "shooting" scene, maybe she has had affairs in the past that she has put behind her or made herself forget. The french gardens are very symbolic to the people of this film. I believe one line is something along the lines of "here the gardens are rocks, stone, cement. The people are very similar their personalities are empty and at times they don't even speak or move, they are like the very statues in the gardens that they are trapped by. A memorable quote from the film is "you're like a shadow, yet you want me to come closer" I believe "A" says this to "X". This quote pretty much sums up their relationship. He follows her like a shadow.....(stalker) and he wants her to be with him, to love him to go away with him...(hello you're freaking her out). I also think this quote summarizes the movie in a way. I feel like it kind of is saying, this world is like a shadow that won't disappear when you're watching it, yet it tries to draw the audience in deeper, this in turn personally confused me to the point of being pulled away from it a little, if that makes sense...or maybe I'm just over thinking this. Sorry if this was really confusing but I guess that sums up my feelings towards the whole thing.

Orpheus

This movie I thought was really well done for it's time period. As oddly as it seems part of me thought some of the movie was like watching an episode of "Charmed" I really enjoyed it's take on the greek myth as well as it's stylistic qualities. Overall I was VERY confused about the reading for this week and didn't really understand what they were talking about. I did find it very interesting hearing the class compare being a poet to being gay at this time in history. They both were supposedly considered crazy and were always looking for signs, symbols or hidden meanings behind everything and everyone which is a different way to look at both poetry and homosexuality. The radio that was constantly sending of signals that Orpheus was so drawn too really nicely supports this idea. He was drawn to the sounds, symbols and ideas that were being expressed and couldn't leave the radio's side, even while his wife was upstairs and dying. What was really interesting to me was how death was a female character that seduces her victims, I thought maybe her character was meant to be this way so that she could make death appear more pleasing than life. I believe that Eurydice, Orpheus' wife represents life and is a polar opposite of death. Her being pregnant especially supports my theory. She is the "ultimate living, she has life growing inside and out" as strange as that may sound. While at the same time "The Princess" is the very touch of death. She quite literally sucks life out of people and makes them her servants. Her very touch made Orpheus cruel to everyone around him, especially to his wife. I found it very interesting how he was forbidden from looking at his wife, who at one point he could care less to look at or be with. He only wants to see her cause he can't. I think that was part of the reasoning for this punishment by the judges. He only wants to look at her when the princess is away. I also think that the idea of sexual cruelty in this film is interesting. Orpheus is cruel to his wife because of his sexual attraction to the princess and to the radio signals. Another dynamic part of this movie is the situation dealing with Heurtebise. He says that he died young and maybe never was loved or able to love and I think his dead self is searching for that love that he never experienced while alive and he finds Eurydice and wants her to be that person to fulfill his love. He sees the baby sock and picks it up and you can tell that he feels compassion for Eurydice and a strong emotion about the situation at hand.

The article "Deadly Statues: Eros in the Films of Jean Cocteau" Greene discusses the idea of homosexuality and homosexuals using signs to gain a sense of understanding and meaning behind gestures and so forth. The article also discusses how the statues in the film are of significant meaning. I couldn't completely decode what the article was trying to say because a lot of it was in French. What I got from it however, was that they are cold, plaster things. They have no heart, no life and are equal to death in that they will never fully be allowed to feel like those that are living. Maybe they can get a glimpse of it but never fully can they achieve that love that these characters long for.

Obsessed

Vertigo was very different from what I had expected. It was definitely made in typical Hitchcock fashion. I loved the trombone shots, it really made me feel like that rush feeling of falling or dizziness and was very impressively done. However, I was not really in love with the film it self. The obsession that is felt for Madeline by Scottie is merely due to her beauty. He falls for her body for her face. He loves the way she moves and speaks. He becomes wrapped up in her to the point where he falls in love with her. He is hired by her husband to see why she is acting so strangely. Scottie follows her all over in her daily routine and watches her from a far. It's so strange that he falls for her through her motions and not through personality. It's creepy to watch Stewart play this type of character.
I honestly thought that Scottie was completely tricked by Judy and didn't think he was smart enough to catch on. It really seemed as if he had lost his mind and was going crazy. The scenes where Judy is being made over to look like Madeline are very disturbing and make me very uncomfortable as a viewer. He picks out clothes she already owns and things she already has yet when she puts on his versions of them we feel uneasy. She is obviously uncomfortable and doesn't want to do what he says yet she agrees to all of the changes that he insists upon. She's very insecure and weak as a character and just wants him to love her and she'll do anything to gain that love that she felt before. During the movie I felt like saying, JUST tell him already. As much as it would have angered him I feel that all of these catastrophic events at the end, especially her final death would have been avoided. I really thought this was a creative movie. It was a unique script and shot really well. It did what it was created to do, make the audience uncomfortable and feel vertigo. The movie isn't just about Scottie's vertigo but it's about the vertigo an audience feels while watching something that makes them uncomfortable. Midge's character also deals a bit with the theme of obsession. She is the type of girl that is comfortable in knowing that she can have Scottie if she wanted in the beginning, especially when he attempts to have her. She likes to toy with the idea of it but it too stupid or too shy to not go for him. Finally when he is moving on to someone new and ready to be with her, she freaks out and becomes horrified and jealous. She's the woman that wants a guy because he's taken. If he were still available she wouldn't be the least bit interested.

Lifeless Laura

To me Laura is very empty character, she's definitely a beautiful girl but other than that I really don't see what she has to offer that makes these three men go so crazy. She is an object of obsession to men, and a pretty thing to have and to "own" similar to property. First of all Lydecker couldn't be more flamboyant. His name alone lie-decker? That to me made me think right away that he was going to be a sleezy character. He is creepy beyond words and seriously nosy when it comes to the murder case and the detective's work. He is very manipulative and controlling. Personally I believe that he is gay, and he knows that he will never have Laura, even if she went for him, because he wouldn't fully be able to have her the way he wished that he could. That is why he is so controlling of her relationships and lifestyle. He wants to shape her life, make it, sculpt it in to something he wants it to be. Him "shooting" her makes her untouchable by any other man. So when he finds out that the detective "McPherson" may be falling for her, after she's dead (which is strange alone) he becomes very angry and wants to control people's feelings for her after her death, as if there is any possibility that they could have her anyways..The detective to me is a strange character because he so quickly falls for Laura just by being in her apartment, snooping around her things and her portrait. All alone Laura was engaged to Carpenter, who was cheating on her with not only one but two women. All three men are not exactly great guys, yet she'd go for any one of them had they asked her. She doesn't have any real desires, wants, personality or emotions. She's kind of just there like that frilly lamp on the piano that is out of place, but there, because it "belongs" there. I almost feel sorry for Laura because she isn't alive when she is "alive" she's dull and empty and I wish for her to have something more, to want something that she wants, not that someone tells her to want. When Laura turns out to not be dead, nothing really changes. Yes we are confused and suspicious as to what really happened. I had suspected that in fact it was Ann that was shot and that Laura was not. She did leave for the country right before the murder happened. Whether Laura is alive or dead she doesn't add or take away from the story or scene. She's just there or not. I don't really think that Laura is a great example of a Femme Fatale because she isn't a very independent or cunning woman. She's ALL around dull and for that I just think she's kind of an empty character. I did however like the film and this didn't surprisingly affect it in a negative way. It made it more interesting to watch.

The third man? OR maybe something deeper

To me the "Third Man" is definitely a way of presenting the United State to ourselves in a way, like a mirrored image of what we did, what we said, how we acted during WWII and post WWII. For many people living in the United States both prior, during and after the war we had this national pride and felt very heroic in liberating people from the occupancy of Germany, but at first many countries felt occupied themselves by Americans especially because of the language barrier that was occurring. I spent last semester in Milano, Italy. I took a class on the golden age of italian cinema. We watched multiple WWII and post WWII films and got a completely different perspective on the war and different countries feelings on Americans coming in to their land. Now I don't mean to sound anti-american at all, because that is not where I am going with this. However, the movie brought up a lot of similar points to other european films and ideology on the situation, especially Italy's perspective. Now this film is about a an America man who goes to Vienna in search of a job his friend Lime had offered him. He arrives and finds out Lime is dead and wants to investigate the matter. Along the way when he sees other things in Vienna that seem out of wack to him, he decides to be the hero and try to fix those matters as well. What he doesn't understand is that somethings are not meant for him to fix, somethings aren't there for him to save. Different cultures have different values, methods and life styles. Often we try to solve all of these differences and want to change the ways of people, even if we think it's for the best, it's not always the case. Arriving in Italy I noticed SO many different cultural ideas and values, but it wasn't my place to change those things. No matter how much they bothered me, I couldn't make people do things faster for me, or do things the way I was used to just because I am used to them my way. The whole thing is experiencing something different and adjusting to those differences, because it's not your thing to mess with necessarily. As much as I get the "hero" concept and the I will fight for their rights. It's not their law, it's not their way and as much as we look at it as corrupt, wrong or unfair it's not our place to make those changes and sometimes, no change has to be made at all. Sometimes and oftentimes it's another way. We need to learn to accept that more than force our culture on others. I think that the film maker is saying bluntly, look at this? Do you see that you can't save this? This is not your fight? I think it's something that honestly isn't said to American audiences because it may sound not patriotic, but it's not about not being patriotic it's about saying this is the situation. This is what American's did and in some cases all acts weren't heroic, some things didn't need to be changed because they weren't our place to change. Or maybe while trying to change something that was wrong, something that wasn't wrong got changed or messed up in the process of fixing the wrong thing. I think it's a little bit of self reflection thing to the audience.