Question.2024 - Which movie was you favorite in this class and why? Which movie was your least favorite and why? Which movie had the most impact on you and why? List a movie we DID NOT watch you think would benefit this course to add on and why. List your top 5 movies we watched you think I should keep for future classes- in order from top to least- Please list 5 points or pieces of information you learned from this course you did not know before. Do you like the dynamic, style and design of this class why/why not and if you can, what would you change?
Answer Below:
I would like to consider "Bicycle Thieves" as one of my favorite films, basing it on some of the following reasons wherein the film served as a cornerstone of the Italian Neorealist movement by emphasizing the post-WWII style depiction, be it the location of shooting with real streets of war that included actual buildings rather than any sort of sets, that gave it gritty documentary-like feel this also includes the casting employing inexperienced actors that gave the feel of watching ordinary people more like non-fictional characters that were relatable, some of the actors who caught my attention was Lamberto Maggiorani as Antonio?who's?acting was able to instill a sense of actual struggle. Another reason is social commentary, as the film tends to revolve around neorealism by focusing on the hardships of the working class, voicing for dignity that?was overlooked.? In terms of technical brilliance, what I loved about the film was the cinematography - the film utilized long shots with deep focus, taking advantage of the natural lighting to create a sense of unfiltered reality with the lack of technology makes me wonder how they employed tracking shots following Antonio during his search; not to forget the editing cuts seemed restrained but yet very effective,?particularly?when the theft occurs mirroring as a sense of shock the protagonist feels.?The sound engineered into the film depicted limited non-diegetic music to underscore the bleakness, while ambient sounds captured the?tensions the city was involved in during the war times.? In comparison to other films, I would like to compare it with "Life is Beautiful," as this film utilizes more of a contrasting approach, playing with a mix of tragic subject matter and other elements of fable storytelling, while "Bicycle Thieves" has a more unwavering commitment to realism, and some?of the other films watched in the course like -The Idol/3,000 Nights/Parasite: These films are more recent and often demonstrate a greater level of stylistic complexity compared to the raw simplicity of "Bicycle Thieves." Considering the impact of "Bicycle Thieves," I feel it helped solidify the potential of cinema to transcend entertainment and become a medium for social and emotional introspection. The film showed that cinematic power could lie in simple stories about everyday people, while the balance of innovative use of location, naturalism, and sound techniques continues to be studied and admired by film students. Some of the suggestions I would like to make in terms of technically sound international are - the Soviet Union 1925 Battle Potemkin - taught me how to cut the film, in terms of editing by placing montage shorts for creating tension; also a Japanese film named Rashomon from the 1950s, tend to explore the plot from a subjective nature of truth through a distinct camera work, which I was not able to understand. Another example from the Japanese industry would be Seven Samurai from 1954, with varied positioning of dynamic action sequences and complex multi-character narratives. Some of the other examples include a French film named 400 Blows from 1959, which served as a?key?film of the French New Wave, demonstrating handheld camerawork and an improvisational feel; also, during a similar period, another film called "Breathless"?which is also a French film, that I believe challenges conventional editing norms with its jump cuts, I really enjoyed them and also the freewheeling style.? I feel?I've?covered some of the intriguing and technically sound movies above, but I have a few more on the suggestion list, like the Umberto D similar to "Bicycle Thieves" from 1952, an Italian depiction of De Sica neorealist, and surprising I watched a old Indian film and it stunned me, the director of the film is Satyajit Ray and the film name is Pather Panchali - I do not know much about India but this was clear depiction of the population from a developing nations perspective.?Some other suggestions include Pixote, which was a Brazilian film from 1981 that also tends to have a similar theme of neorealism resonating in a modern or maybe urban context; also, Los Olbidados - I only watch the second half of the film while staying in a motel, this is a Mexican film from the 1950s, such a gritty portrayal of street children in the Mexican city.? Some of the things I learned throughout the course are - how the director intends to place or position the camera with varied angles and uses the editing techniques to give a meaning; even the Anime we watched during the course was very strong in the storytelling with animation, yet it never failed to convey deeper emotions; I also learned collaboration as filmmaking is a symphony of diverse creative and technical role working together to convey one common objective.? In terms of class feedback, firstly, I loved the way the entire course was drafted; in one line, I'd say learning was not burdensome. However, a small suggestion would be that - considering two different films for a week, one for the discussion and the other for the assignment - both within similar scopes that way, we can compare them and learn?better;?I personally felt having one same film for both discussion and assignment becomes a lot easier and the content we write is also not much varied.?More Articles From Film and Movies
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