Come And SEE
Director: Elem Klimov
Name Of Film: Come and See (1985)
Starring:
Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Leubemiras Laucevicius
Genre: War/Thriller/Drama
Come and see follows the story of a young boy who goes through war during a time when one could loose their lives as easily as a needle in a hay stack. Elem Klimov did an outstanding job at shaping and building the cast along with the film as it progresses. I would agree that his methods of telling his side of the story are, but i also strongly believe that if it wasn't for this film i wouldn't understand war from the different perspectives that the film gives me. The film gives me the perspective of the Nazis, The Jews, The world of a little boy going through war, the futility of life and the development of humanity overtime.
Klimov made aa very bold decision by deciding to tell us the story from a young boy’s perspective and to follow him only throughout the course of the film. Looking at the impact of the explosives on the environment in which the explosive scenes were filmed, the way in which the trees fall and rocks almost hit the camera is proof that they were setting off real grenades on set and Aleksey might not just acting out that his ears are blocked in some of the scenes.
According to me, Klimov Tries to make The audience Aleksey's only solid companion throughout his entire journey! The sound design and unstable camera movements strongly suggests that. Aleksey sometimes even breaks the fourth wall and looks directly at the camera and the audience doesn't even mind because of the intensity of the scene. There is one significant moment when Aleksey is robbing a civilian off his cow. He stands behind The camera in some shots and gives the man some instructions, but it sounds as if its the cinematographer who is speaking because of the change in sound design. His voice is different up until he gains full amenity of the cow and wonders off to the field where he dodged a bullet but his cow caught a few!
The camera and sound design makes the audience Aleksey’s companion throughout the course of the film and finally significantly detaches from him and his world in the final shot where it tracks the marching army, takes an unexpected turn and meanders into the Bush where it has to dodge a couple of trees to pass through, then finally gets back on path with the other soldiers, Tracks with them for a while but finally leaves them and watches them march further into the darkness. This final shot represents The audience’s entire journey with Aleksey during the course of the film and serves as a Visual Metaphor of Aleksey’s Story in the film.
Yeleen
Director: Souleymane Cissé
Name of film: Yeleen (1987)
Starring: Issiaka Kane, Aoua Sangare, Niamanto Sanogo, Balla Moussa Keita
Genre: Fantasy/Drama
Yeleen is a film that captures a viewer’s attention from its opening scene. As an African, one cannot help but draw their focus to the images and nature of the narrative on screen. Souleymane Cissé uses non actors in this film, which i believe helped to shape the film in accordance to the nature of its plot. Issiaka Kane’s body structure and overall appearance gives him a sense of power over all the other older and/or younger characters within the film. Watching Yeleen educates the viewer about African history and mythology that would be essential in understanding how a broad spectrum of Africans think.
The plot follows a young man who walks a great distance in attempt to evade his father who has sworn oath to kill him. Both father and son are gifted with African magic and it plays a major role in their journeys and overall narrative of the film. The production design of this film relies a lot on the natural environment which allows the viewers to accept this story as a reality. Considering the availability of resources and film capabilities of the time, most of the things we see in the frame are not manipulated through editing. This makes me believe that the witchcraft that we see and most of the other magic may have been performed in reality in order to be visually captured. The film also depicts the role and position of women in society at the time.
This film carries themes of war, lust, sex, love and spirituality as a main. The extent to which spirituality is used as a motif becomes the driving force of the narrative which the film follows.
Almost once or twice within every ten minutes of watching the film, events unfold that question and challenge one’s interpretation an connection between a tangible an intangible reality. Yeleen leaves unsettling feelings within the audience which makes it a great film to watch for people who are clueless about African spirituality.
Tokyo Story
Director: Yasujirō Ozu (1953)
Name of Film: Tokyo Story
Starring: Chishū Ryū, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura, So Yamamura
Genre: Drama
From the exposition of the film we are immersed into cinematographer Yûharu Atsuta’s world of framing. He creates frames within frames of the screen, using this tool effectively in creating depth of fiend within his diegesis. The technique which Atsuta uses works well in coordination with Yasujirō Ozu’s blocking of the scenes.
Atsuta is very precise when coming to his placement of characters in accordance to the rule of thirds. He uses this type of framing to keep most of the characters’ locomotion in the center of the frame. The characters are mostly seated so he had to setup the camera at a much lower height than normal and film the actors at a low angle so the audience can still see then at eye level. In most cases he films his subjects in a long shot. The advantage of this shot is that it has a larger depth of fiend, and it also allows for movement in the background as well as caters for the characters in focus to be able to stand if required to in the scene. In most cases of the film Atsuta uses high key lighting, which has it advantages and disadvantages. It allows for more visibility of elements and objects in the frame. It’s does not add a dramatic way in which you see the characters so they have to rely more on their acting to convey and evoke emotion. The unfortunate part is that we have less shadows on the surfaces and on the characters, material also looses its texture. Most of his shots are on a tripod and are stationary. He only does two camera movements in the entire film which is a right pan and a tracking shot.
The main theme in the film is romance following the story of an elderly couple who visit their children. Their relationship’s challenges teaches viewers a lot about the importance of patience in a relationship, and the essential need for one to understand their partner just as they understand themselves.
Tokyo Story is a film that carries morals that people still live upon today, but has lost its touch with the youth. The naturalistic feel that the actors portray makes the film very believable in realistic context. The blocking was perfectly planned and the continuous takes are a pillar to the work of the director, actors and cinematographer
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