What I loved about Du Levande

After class Monday I couldn't help thinking about how much I enjoyed the brief clip of Du Levande we saw towards the end of the period. As soon as I got home I jumped online to get a better look at it, and perhaps identify what it was about Du Levande that ensnared me so. Take a look at the clip below to refresh your memory.

Now aside from having an incredible set design, I think what really captured my attention was the way the film strayed so fantastically from traditional narrative film. Instead of watching to unattainablely gorgeous people arguing over some fictitious drama, I was watching two obese people arguing on a park bench. What's more is that I related immediately to the characters in frame, I didn't need any sort of backstory explained to me or lengthy origin story behind why the bench woman was so miserable, I just got it. 

I wish that Hollywood would break away from the mold of talking head style films more. That's in part why I'm interested in pursuing a career in the commercial industry, I want to be able to experiment with different idea's without being forced to abide by the traditional Hollywood cinematic tropes.

Tyler

Whilst on my weekly routine of scouring Short of the Week, I came across a four minute film called "Tyler". After finishing a short of about the same length about children myself, I was interested to see what it was about. What I saw was the opposite of what I expected. Director Sam Benenati created something that I consider a cross between a film, a music video and poetry. "Tyler" concentrates more on emotions and visuals than a completely concrete story, which I believe is why it's so strong. Coming from a writing background, I find it very difficult for me to come up with experimental concepts rather than a locked down story, so I found this film refreshing and inspiring.

The sound design immediately jumps out at you. The entire film is a fluid, memory-like sequence, which was perfectly assisted by the overlapping music and dialogue. The shots were just as beautiful. I am a huge fan of natural lighting, and in this film, it really humanized each of the characters. 

Although the film is technically about a young boy who falls in love with his older brother's girlfriend, it really touches on each of the characters' relationships with each other, even with the missing father figure. Dakota Allbecker, who played the young boy, did a phenomenal job expressing the character and interacting with the older actors. Short of the Week writer Ben Watts reported that Benenati had "a knack for directing children without making them feel precocious or 'child-actor'-y", which I admire much more now that I have worked with children myself. I think "Tyler" is a very successful short film and I plan on looking up more of Benenati's work.

Duality

29 year old producer, Steven Ellison, also known as Flying Lotus, and Captain Murphy, has always had a very alternative approach music, and art itself. One of his early albums, entitled "Cosmogramma," touched on how experimental Flying Lotus's career is, and hinted at what direction he could potentially be going. His other alias, Captain Murphy, first was presented last year with a anonymous Youtube account during the summer of 2012. Fans began speculating the identity of the unknown artist based on the musical stylings, content, and other collaborative musicians. Upon the arrival of the date of his first mixtape release, he posted via Twitter a link to a website: http://captainmurphy.xxx/. It is a link to a rather empty website, containing a single thirty-six minute video. There is a huge lack of context with the clips chosen, it contains everything from cartoons, to pornography, to 1980 films. The general theme of the video is that Captain Murphy is a cult leader and he is attempting to recruit you into his cult, telling you to "join our elite mission to save the world," and that "it doesn't sound like your friends and family love you if they can't support your new decision. Maybe you should stay away from them. It is unhealthy for you to be around unenlightened people anyway." The video is broken into seven "lessons," that all promote similar things to the quotes listed above. It is still unclear the context and the motives of this video. Steven Ellison claims that he never wanted credit as the identity behind Captain Murphy which further illustrates his alternative approach to art and his desire to say and do what others will not.

Here is Duality:

Persona

Last week I watched Ingmar Bergman's 1966 film Persona for the first time. Its one of those films I'd heard about over and over again, and seen lots of references to in other films, but never actually watched it myself. I didn't really have any idea about what the plot was before going in, but after watching it I was really pleased with it. I tend to enjoy twisted, strange films that provoke thought and the urge to watch it a couple more times.

Here's the premise: Well-known theatre actress Elizabeth Vogler is in the middle of performing a play and suddenly finds that she is unable to speak, crippled with what we gather is an overwhelming anxiety or depression. She is sent to a facility and is looked after by Sister Alma, a nurse. The doctor decides it would be beneficial for Elizabeth and Alma to retreat to her seaside home to help Elizabeth recuperate faster. The two bond though Elizabeth still will not speak, while Alma uses her as a confidant of sorts, constantly talking to her and eventually confessing her innermost secrets. Elizabeth is physically healthy and able to speak, but still refuses while she voyeuristically "studies" Alma's character. Alma, soon in a weakened mental state, begins to assume the identity Elizabeth has cultivated for herself over her years of rising to fame as an actress. Alma basically becomes Elizabeth, helping Elizabeth cope by separating herself from the inner turmoil caused by her own existence.

Persona is minimally shot with many close ups, allowing the viewer to "get into the minds" of the characters. Its very cerebral, and provokes a lot of thought in order to piece it together, while also being pretty creepy. After watching I was able to see the connection between this film and one of my all time favorites, David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, which is said to be heavily influenced by Persona. Both Persona and Mulholland Drive feature main characters that are actors who meld identities with other characters. The concept of fluid identities is really fascinating, and also prompted me to think about where a person's identity lies in the profession of acting. I think that it must be hard for an actor to separate himself from the identity of a character he is playing, or truly know who he is as a person.

I really enjoyed this film, though I'm not sure I've fully grasped Persona in one viewing. I'm eager to watch it a few more times as well as check out more of Bergman's work.