a film director who influences their films so much that they rank as their author.
To me, an auteur is a person who both writes and directs their films. I believe this because it would mean the film went from being first thought of by them, to being made by them. It is all their idea, every aspect of the film is theirs.
I believe that the Coen Brothers are definitely ‘auteurs’, because they very skillfully write and direct all their films.
Joel and Ethan Coen at the table read for ‘True Grit’, with Hailee Steinfeld and Jeff Bridges (taking picture).
Some of their best films are: ‘No Country for Old Men’ (2007), ‘Fargo’ (1996), ‘The Big Lebowski’ (1998), ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ (2000), and ‘True Grit’ (2010). I have watched 11/20 of their films, including the above, as well as ‘Raising Arizona’ (1987), ‘Miller’s Crossing’ (1990), ‘Burn After Reading’ (2008), ‘A Serious Man’ (2009), ‘Hail, Caesar!’ (2016), and ‘The Ballad of Buster Scruggs’ (2018).
I love every one of their films, and think they are made with so much skill and care, the ‘auteur’ label could not be more applicable.
Joel Coen on the set of ‘True Grit’, taken by Jeff Bridges.
“I’m the Dude. So that’s what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you’re not into the whole brevity thing.”
The 2003 film ‘Lost In Translation’, written and directed by Sofia Coppola, is one of my favourite films. It follows the story of an aged actor, ‘Bob Harris’ (played by Bill Murray), staying in Tokyo to shoot an advertisement for Suntory Whiskey; and a college graduate, Charlotte (played by Scarlett Johansson), unsure about what her future is with her husband and as a profession. While Charlotte and her husband are staying in a hotel in Tokyo due to his job as a photographer, she crosses paths with Murray’s character; who, like her, spends most of the nights wandering the hotel. They form a connection as they discover the night life of Tokyo and each other’s relationship problems, which ends in a blossoming romance. This film won Coppola ‘Best Original Screenplay’ at the 76th Academy Awards in 2004, and was also nominated for; ‘Best Actor’ for Bill Murray’s performance, ‘Best Picture’, and ‘Best Director’ for her fantastic directing.
Sofia Coppola
The directing is fantastic throughout every aspect of this film; however, where I think her directing shows the best, other than the dialogue scenes, are when Murray and Johansson have scenes together without dialogue. These completely silent scenes are directed with such skill that you can feel all the emotion and feelings being expressed with just a glance from one character to another. These times show such deep thought and emotion that really connects the viewer with the characters.
While I do love these scenes, she does direct dialogue scenes in such a realistic way that makes the characters feel so real that we are watching true events rather than a performance by an actor. Such as the scene when they are sat at the bar together; the pauses in their speech makes their performances feel so true and sincere. Also, after Charlotte visits the shrine, near the start of the film, and then calls her sister about not knowing what to do with her life and not knowing the man she married anymore.
Depression – Loneliness and Aimlessness
To me, this film is about depression, a sense of unknowing sadness. Two people not content with their lives, and struggling with connection. This lack of connection is amplified for both of them by being in a foreign landscape. They are lost without connection. The multiple uses of faxing messages and notes limits the contact that the characters have with other people. While the title suggests an inability to communicate with people speaking other languages, I think it has a deeper meaning of being lost when trying to communicate with others in general. I believe this is most apparent when Charlotte and her husband run into an old friend; the following interaction is very awkward, where Charlotte is excluded from the conversation, her husband puts his arm around her which makes her uneasy and push it off. She does not know what she wants to do, and thinks she can find it in self-help CDs.
It is similar for Bob, in that he is struggling with connection in a foreign place, but also with his wife and son. This is shown through the multiple faxes he receives from his wife, usually about a complaint or a request; which ultimately makes it feel like he is interacting with a machine rather than a real person. In addition to this, the phone calls he has with his wife are very half-hearted in that he waits until late at night so it is the morning for his wife, resulting in a very slow and sleepy phone call for him. In these phone calls, when trying to talk to his son he runs off; and when trying to talk with his wife she is distracted from him, and more directed towards her children. All this disconnection with his home life causes him to feel lost because he has no one to talk to, from both America and Tokyo. Also the fact that he is shooting a commercial when he says he “could be doing a play somewhere”. This aimlessness he feels is what Charlotte labels as a “midlife crisis”, but is simply just not happy with his life and what he is doing.
Their lack of sleep, or rejection of sleep, is due to their lack of connection; not knowing what to do with your time, but still wanting the time. This is eventually what draws them together, and starts their relationship. With this new connection, they find comfort and more meaning in their lives. Before, this aimless wandering and disconnection with everyone; and now, connection and love that entertains the possibility of no longer being adrift in a sea of millions. This is shown in the main turning point in the film, the karaoke scene. It is a point where their depression is no longer felt by them, just pure joy, and most of all a sense of belonging with each other.
Cinematography
For this film, Coppola wanted a very natural look for the cinematography, which lead it to its very minimalist approach, by the director of photography Lance Acord. Following the state that the characters are in, the cinematography changes according. For the majority of the film the characters take up small areas of the frame, to show their loneliness, and how disconnected they feel from everyone else; the use of a very shallow depth of field helps with this. Often you will see the characters in a sea of people, but they will be the only one in focus, creating a feeling of disconnection from society, and isolation even when surrounded by millions of others.
However, in the final scene when Bob spots Charlotte in the crowd before he leaves and they embrace, the use of a shallow depth of field makes the encounter seem so intimate and special. It gives the viewer the same experience the two characters are having; that they are the only two people in the world that matter, and that their love is so strong.
The Colours are mostly desaturated, often using cool blues and sometimes pale yellows; even when Charlotte leaves the hotel, to visit the shrine, the colours are all very desaturated and is shot on a grey overcast day.
It was shot on Kodak 35mm film stocks which I think gives the very structured environments of Tokyo a bit more chaos, and more of a friendly feel. The choice to shoot on film made the movie feel like an old photograph of a pleasant memory; a lot like the film itself, a trip to Tokyo.
In this blog I will be writing about different films that we watch in class, all of which fit into different parts of the Film Studies course.
Component 1
Component 1 is split into three different sections:
-Section A is about Hollywood 1930-1990. We will have to look at a ‘classical Hollywood’ film which would range from 1930-1960. An example would be ‘Casablanca’ (Michael Curtiz, 1942). As well as a ‘new Hollywood’ film which would range from 1961-1990. An example would be ‘Blade Runner’ (Ridley Scott, 1982).
-Section B is about American film since 2005. We will be looking at a mainstream film. An example of this would be my favourite film, ‘La La Land’ (2016) By the brilliant director Damien Chazelle. Also, an indie film; such as ‘France Ha!’ (Noah Baumbach, 2012)
-Section C is about two British films since 1995. Films such as Edgar Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy, like ‘Shaun of the Dead’ (2004). Or ‘Moon’ (Duncan Jones, 2009).
Component 2
Component 2 is called ‘Global Filmaking perspectives, and is split into four parts
-Section A is about global films, in which we will have to pick two films. A European film, such as ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006). As well as a foreign film from outside of Europe, like ‘City of God’ (Fernando Meirelles, 2002)
-Section B involves studying documentary films like ‘Amy’ (Kapadia, UK, 2015)
-Section C is about film movements, in this case Silent Film. Filmmakers such as Keaton.
-Section D is the film movement of experimental film. Such as the brilliant ‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994) by the incredible Quentin Tarantino.
Component 3
Component 3 is called production, which is where I get to write, direct and shoot my own short film, which would range from 4-5 minutes. The part I am most looking forward to in this component is doing the cinematography for the short film, as I love framing certain composition and playing with lighting. I like to leave shadows dark rather than trying to eliminate them, and often using silhouette.
“Winds in the east, a mist coming in Like somethin’ is brewin’ and ’bout to begin”
The first film I saw at the cinema was WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008) which is brilliant as it is my favourite Pixar film because it has both a comedic and surprisingly serious view of the very realistic dystopian future. As well as this, the cinematographer Roger Deakins worked on the film, which obviously meant it was going to look stunning. His influence is most notable during the times on Earth when there are dark shadows and harsh warm light. In addition to this, for the first time in animation, Pixar rendered the animation as if it were shot on a real lens, to help ground the film in reality. They accomplished this by doing multiple tests using anamorphic lenses, and then replicating the characteristics of the lenses, such as the lens flairs and how it shifts focus, so it appeared as if it were shot using anamorphic lenses.
The thing that has had the most profound emotional impact on me was the television show ‘Maniac’. Jonah Hill and Emma Stone play the two main characters, and give incredible performances; Hill plays a depressed schizophrenic who is unable to form a connection with anyone due to his fear of fixating on people; Stone plays an addict struggling to move on from the death of her sister. The show explores their minds through multiple dream sequences where we see them take on different lives together; all expertly directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, and brilliantly shot by Darren Lew on the anamorphic Panavision DXL lens.
An obscure but wonderful film that I have seen is ‘Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of ignorance)’, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and was released in 2014. It is a crazy film about an out of work superhero actor, played by Michael Keaton, trying to revive his career by starring, directing and writing his own production on Broadway. The film consists of incredible performances, stunning visuals and a brilliant score all that helps the realism of how abstract it is. The cinematography is possibly my favourite part of this film as it is one long continuous shot from start to end. Emmanuel Lubezki’s brilliant choreography of the camera composed the one long shot to feel as if the viewer were watching real people experiencing real ordeals.
I am Ryan Stainsby, and this is my blog for my Film Studies A Level.
The purpose of this blog is for the coursework section of my A Level. It will contain film analyses of required films of the exam as well as films related to the required essay subjects. I will also be including personally chosen films that I believe to be very good, and films that I go to the cinema to see.
If I blog successfully throughout the next year, I would have hoped to accomplish a complete documentation of the pre-production, production, and post-production process of my short film, as well as many analyses of films.
Ryan Stainsby's Film Studies Blog 