Det sjunde inseglet (The Seventh Seal)

Ingmar Bergman’s dark fantasy drama follows the journey of a returning crusader knight as he questions God, struggles with his faith and plays a game of chess with Death... I found myself really quite immersed in this world. Although a Swedish film there are undeniable similarities, in terms of visual style and tone, to German expressionism (a form that I find fascinating). There is something about its dark and detailed quality which uncomfortably and effortlessly transports the viewer to another world, somewhere between life and death. For someone who feared death like Bergman this must have been a world his imagination was quite familiar with. This film is bold; he is not a depressive hiding behind a comic’s mask but a fearful man who is honestly and bravely portraying his fear on screen. The Seventh Seal is a priceless glimpse into the mind of its director and there is much fear and doubt to be found there. Yet there were frequent light-hearted moments of bright life. A complex and intriguing journey.

Location Scout

How awesome it is to be on an innovative and practical filmmaking course and to be able to turn up for class of a Wednesday afternoon and use it to scout potential shooting locations in Glasgow. I was struck by the reminder of just how fortunate I am whilst visiting Glasgow University Library and seeing the endless streams of proper students – numbers on a database – go about their routine of lectures, research and essay writing... I feel very fortunate to have narrowly escaped that fate. How different my life would have been if I had not gone to the Academy. It is unfair to categorise and generalise students and I do not mean to undermine or devalue them in any way. All I can say is that I could never be a student, and thankfully never will be. That moment, when I was fifteen, I decided what I wanted to do with my life, and since then I have been a filmmaker... in training. A location scout through the streets of Glasgow was another great step in this training. It’s amazing what art and inspiration can be found in the heart of this city and how exciting it is to think that this beauty can be used to create unique worlds through the magic of cinema.

Wanted

Starring the Academy’s very own James McAvoy this graphic action flick tells the story of a man who discovers he is the son of a dangerous assassin so leaves his mundane office life behind to be trained as a killer himself. I think this is a very interesting idea dealing with sensitive but universal topics. The only danger is that Hollywood can often sugar-coat or glorify subjects and if that subject is murder it could end up communicating a very bad message. I think Wanted only just gets away with it because of the plot twist. I am hoping to view Taken since as far as I can discern this is playing with the exact same fire.

Some of the action and special effects were quite interesting but I was a little disappointed in the writing. It felt sadly contrived and one-dimensional especially in the opening which lazily was nothing more than a voice over listing ‘protagonist problems to be fixed’. Michael Brandt, Derek Haas and Chris Morgan (the writers) obviously didn’t have much imagination between them when it came to dialogue. I felt sorry for poor James whose character’s vocabulary was so limited we could hardly make out his lines through all the fffs. I’m not trying to be condescending but this film was an example of business burying the art. Its purpose was to sell popcorn. Dodgy to think that the targeted popcorn-buying audience was probably fifteen year-old boys, yet over here the film was an 18. Did they go too far with the blood? How does this kind of content affect our minds? Hey, it makes money; the studio couldn’t care less about our minds…

This Is England

I really enjoyed this realist film, set in 1983, depicting the life of a down-trodden twelve year-old boy who becomes involved in a Nationalist campaign to reclaim England for the English. I could not believe it was made as recently as 2006. Somehow I had got the notion that this was an older classic made not too long after the time that it was set so my surprise was great indeed on discovering it was a recent retrospect on this period of history. This proves one thing; it has captured that time very successfully without the filmmaking distracting or hindering the story in any way. The same was true of the performances. Not once did I think, “Great acting”. These people were as real as the setting and I’m convinced this could not have been achieved without this director who actually lived through similar experiences and is such a mover of British realism; Shane Meadows.

Thankfully British realist films are another genre, again because of the low-budget, that we here in Britain are actually quite good at. I’d be worried if we weren’t! However, realism is a limited platform in that the most it can ever hope to do is realistically depict a specific society and then highlight the flaws in that situation, and also the positives. I can find this frustrating because in my opinion films, like any good art or literature, should be presenting truths and then suggesting solutions to the problems and ultimately offering hope. If they do not then what is the point? What are they adding to the world? What are they saying? Why even watch them? Social realist films can get away without doing this because they are often simply displaying truth and saying, “That’s how it was”. I got a slight sense of this in This Is England regarding its theme of racism which is a big issue to tackle and very relevant; so it was brave of Meadows. The topic was being served, tasted and chewed but it never went deep enough to enable us to relate it to ourselves just now; or indeed to enable humanity in whatever time or place to swallow and digest some meaningful message of hope.

Its strengths were in how real and familiar it looked and, more importantly, felt. There is a real power to the scrutiny of the real world on the big screen. This Is England led us through humour, sorrow, excitement and anxiety; a real kaleidoscope of emotions. I would definitely like to make a social realist film, though it would have to be about a world that I knew very well indeed… let’s think… the Academy? Who knows!!

Trauma

It’s rather interesting, and somewhat scary, to watch a feature film written by one’s Screenwriting tutor and then to review it like any other film. There is a sort of pressure to be either too kind or too harsh, and it bears a very slight resemblance to ‘telling off’ one’s father! However, Richard Smith is a skilled writer and an even better teacher and I have much respect for him as either. Therefore I feel it would be right and fair to review Trauma as I would any other film since in reality that is what it is.

Trauma tells the story of a man who wakes from a coma to discover his wife has been killed in an accident and as events unfold he begins to fear that he has lost his sanity. It is well-written, with quite convincing performances, and thrilling enough to keep the viewer interested. The psychological thriller is a genre we are able to handle quite well over here in Britain as it is, by its nature, low-budget. It’s a bit like what we do on this course but to a larger scale. We are given some money and instead of trying to replicate what the ‘Big Guys’ (in our case the industry; in Britain’s case Hollywood!) do, we simply make the best film we can with the means and the money at our disposal. So Trauma did what it did, and it did it well; it was a good thriller.

However, my main criticism would be that it did not contain enough significant story. Not enough happened. We didn’t take enough twists and turns; we didn’t travel down enough roads leading to dead-ends; we didn’t start to drown in a sea of confusion which gradually morphed itself into a cohesive and comprehensive beast. It seemed that everything was hinging on the end, the final twist, without there being enough twists within that overarching twist. There were not enough pay-offs set-up, and worse; some set-ups were not paid-off. In fact it was a recurring motif that tension would be built up and then released without anything happening. I felt manipulated for no reason and it felt like there were too many anticlimaxes and not enough resolutions.

Colin Firth in the lead was a huge casting mistake. Clearly a delighted Producer realised there was not much in the script demanding a huge amount of money so made the decision to get hold of a star. In my opinion they got the wrong one. His performance was, as ever, very good but he did not fit the character; partly because of the preconceptions surrounding him as an actor but mainly because, in my opinion, the role required someone with less ability and more charisma. Nevertheless, the structure and the characters were pretty sound and, despite being hyper-analytical because it was my tutor’s work, I was rather impressed.

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

The story of a rebellious factory worker who is just out for a good time but gradually is forced to face the consequences of his actions; I rather enjoyed this film. Essentially this is a Rom-com but made during the British New Wave so nothing pink and fluffy here; pure realism. Interesting to see a light-hearted romance played out in the real world, or as close to it as we’ll ever get onscreen, and the serious consequences in the story give it a bittersweet quality. The theme is extremely relevant now, and increasingly so. Our culture is so focussed on the ‘Saturday Night’ state-of-mind with no thought for the ‘Sunday Morning’ which will inevitably follow. This needs sorting out, as I’m sure it did in 1960, and it is important to raise awareness of the warning communicated in this title. We need more films like this…

Funnily enough 17 Again is a film that does this to some extent. There is a particular scene where Zac Efron’s character expounds on the advantages of abstinence to his teenage classmates, which is communicating this same message somewhat unexpectedly but rather effectively. I must admit I was rather impressed! If only The Hangover had added its tuppence worth to continue the good work...

American Beauty

This is a bleak and revealing tragedy exploring the darker side of human nature, and more specifically the dysfunction and downfall of a suburban American family. I get the feeling it was trying very hard to give some message of hope – the ending voice over is a dead man declaring that “there’s so much beauty in the world” – but just didn’t quite merit it... Our protagonist is an anti-hero but, unlike the great Shakespearean tragic heroes, I didn’t like him at the start and I was no fonder of him by the end. And yes, death is sad but using it as the only factor evoking sympathy for a character is either morbidity or bad writing. Let me be clear, American Beauty is a well-written and well-made film but I did not enjoy it, and I do not think it is particularly good cinema.

This type of social drama is almost always trying to hold up a mirror to society and say, “Look, this is what we are like”. Yet I did not see myself reflected, the mirror missed me, and the reason is simple; I’m not American. Now, in all fairness, there is a clue in the title as to which society is being reflected, so it’s not too surprising if I find it hard to relate to. However, really good cinema should have universal appeal.

Interestingly the writer, Alan Ball, first considered writing it as a play. In my opinion, he should have done. Theatre is a far better arena than cinema for the portrayal of intimate truths of humanity and it is better at, and more suited to, holding up that mirror and saying, “Look, this is what we are like”. Theatre is pure drama whereas cinema often has other factors added that distract from that. At its core American Beauty is a piece of theatre. Recurring imagery, visual motifs and stylistic cinematography have all been packed round it to make it look like a film but the same story could be told just as well from the stage. As it happens this made it the perfect film directing debut for stage director Sam Mendes and clearly his transition was smoothly achieved since he won the Oscar for Best Director.

So, American Beauty; a film that says, “Look, this is what we are like”. My response; “I don’t think we all are… but even if that is the case, so what?” My final grumble is that it’s not enough to simply reflect society. One has to then comment on society and at least highlight the problems, if not suggest some solutions.

Save the Cat!

Blake Snyder’s colloquial handbook is a must-read for every serious screenwriter. Whether being a Hollywood spec screenwriter is the dream or the nightmare of the reader it is full of information and guidance that it is very useful to know, even if it is never applied. Personally I found the first half, on the process of idea to script, more helpful than the second half, on the actual writing of a script. I think I’ve read better books on the handling of the actual screenplay but Snyder’s stylistic discourse on loglines and story beats, particularly with regards to ‘The Board’, was really rather inspiring; whilst also being strangely entertaining. He is somewhat unashamedly shallow, assuming that as writers our primary and ultimate goal will be to make money. This is perhaps sensible and logical, but also rather superficial... then again, I suppose, so is Hollywood. Certainly for anyone wanting to write a feature screenplay this book is ideal for leading them through that voyage. As for me, impatient as I may be, I’m not quite ready for that yet but I’m hoping I will be soon.

Rome, Open City

So after our class on Italian neo-realism I thought I’d better catch up on the associated screening I had missed when filming the Brodsky Quartet. I like realist films. I think they’re a useful antidote to Hollywood and a great example of the power of cinema as a means of mass communication and, in some way, documentation. Rome, Open City was a great example of a film that captured a moment in history and didn’t just show me what it was like but actually made me feel what it was like. That surely is the magic of cinema. Yet we must be careful when it comes to realism that it does not descend into soulless propaganda. Every great story is about the fight of good against evil but when it comes to social realism one has to take sides in order to define this. In the case of Rome, Open City the Nazis are the ‘evil’ and this works because most would agree with this stance. All cinema is truth to some degree but I believe that realism is closest to actual life and therefore requires very careful handling.

2010 Begins!

I apologise for leaving on a question last term. I didn’t fall asleep, honest! I suppose I was hoping to provoke some thought and maybe encourage some response. Of course I am more than happy to provide answers, according to what I believe, and discuss further with anyone who is interested. My email is phil_todd1@yahoo.co.uk. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

This first week back has been one of unexpected challenge and growth. Unfortunately, and somewhat disappointingly, I have been unsuccessful in both the ‘Enter the Pitch’ and ‘FilmG’ competitions. In all honesty I’m quite glad. It’s been a powerful reminder of what I’m actually here for and why I do what I do. Worldy success is certainly desirable and for those with a certain attitude, and maybe a touch of talent, it is quite attainable but no matter how successful we are it doesn’t last, and it won’t satisfy. Even if our ‘name’ lives on for a few generations it will all come to an end eventually when this world’s time runs out. I think it's different for the Christian. It wouldn’t be totally inaccurate to describe a Christian as a heavenly ‘brickie’! Slowly and faithfully they lay stone upon stone, building the foundations of God’s Kingdom on Earth, and their heavy labour often goes unseen, even scorned, by the world. Yet they are not the ones wasting their life. For this Kingdom is eternal and when this Earth has passed away and the greatest film ever made is long forgotten their work will be revealed, and enjoyed forevermore. I hope, as I start this New Year, that I will remember to be a hardworking and obedient bricklayer.