Inside Llewyn Davis

I chose to do my scene analysis on the opening sequence, Llewyn singing his song in the Gaslight.

The film begins with a black screen that says "The Gaslight Cafe, 1961," with the sound of folk guitar picking in the background. The first shot is of the microphone, in the darkness being bathed with ambient light. You can hear the guitar but cannot see the player. The camera is still and steady.

Slowly, the camera pans to the right and Llewyn is revealed right before he begins to sing. The microphone is no longer in focus, but his face is and it is half illuminated by the stage lighting. This becomes a theme throughout the movie- whenever Llewyn has lights shine on him he is never all the way in the light. He is always partially in the shadow, never receiving all the glory that he deserves. The camera now is handheld, it isn't shaky but it moves and sways along with the music and with Llewyn.

Now the camera moves behind him and you can see how many people are in the room. The room is so dark that you can't clearly make out faces, but it is clear that everyone in the room is paying close attention. Again, Llewyn is in the light, but he is also covered by shadow. Only a small part of his head and arm are illuminated, the rest of him blends in with the dark background.

The camera moves back to the front of Llewyn for a few seconds, then to this shot of (presumably) Bob Dylan in the crowd. Dylan is just another audience member, but it is clear that he is enraptured by Llewyn's song. His hand holding the cigarette is right in the center of the frame, and we can see that he has been neglecting it- the ash is all built up from staying in the same position.

Moonrise Kingdom

This shot appears in the movie when Sam and Suzy are at Mile Marker 3.25 beach. The shot begins with Suzy in frame, moving the needle onto her French record, then running off screen to grab Sam and come back and dance. The camera doesn't follow Suzy, it lingers in this spot for about 10 seconds before the couple runs back in. This shot is from an outsider's point of view perspective; we get to voyeuristically watch Sam and Suzy dance like crazy on the beach. However, this beach literally is Moonrise Kingdom, and this shot puts us, the viewers, there with them. The frame is composed symmetrically, with Suzy's belongings spread across the beach. The two patches of land sit balanced in the background, the suitcase and lamp sit in the middleground where the water meets the beach, and Suzy's shoes, records, record player, and binocular (arguably her most important belongings) sit in the foreground right square in the middle. When Sam and Suzy come in, they situate themselves between the water and the belongings right in the middle, emphasizing the symmetry. The weather looks dark and dreary, but the mood is inviting. Anderson lingers on this scene in order to invite the viewer to place themselves in that setting, to vividly imagine spending a day there in Moonrise Kingdom, but then the plot continues, and we are able to watch Sam and Suzy enjoy themselves there.

O Brother Where Art Thou? Part II

Presentation Questions:
2.) In the Odyssey, Odysseus's wife Penelope has not found a replacement for Odysseus by the time he has returned home. She is being harassed by suitors who want to come and take what belongs to Odysseus, but Penelope is confident that he will return. In O Brother, Everett's wife Penny has found a suitor and is engaged to be married to him. She knew that he wasn't dead but she did it anyway, and when Everett reappears she wants nothing to do with him.
3.) In O Brother, the cyclops is represented by John Goodman, portraying a bible salesman with an eyepatch. The salesman turns out to be very mean and he beats up Everett and Delmar and takes their money. In this scene, the cinematography is set up to only shoot the cyclops from below, which makes him seem more threatening and imposing.

Video Analysis Questions:
1.) While the opening logos are still being shown, the viewer is introduced to the movie through sound. Slowly, you can hear the sounds of the bugs and a rhythmic clanging. The viewer doesn't know where the noise is coming from yet, but it is all slowly revealed.
3.) For the very first shot, the camera fades into an empty field. Slowly the camera pans to the left, and it reveals the source of the noise that the audience has been hearing. Shortly after the prisoners come into view, the camera begins to rise off of the ground and it appears at the point of view level of the man overseeing the prisoners. This puts the audience in the position of freedom, from a vantage point where they can view what is going on, one that a prisoner would never see.

O Brother Where Art Thou?

At the very beginning of the film, the scene fades into black and white, and slowly changes to sepia toned, then color. Not long after they escape, the three protagonists come across a blind, black man who tells them their fortunes. This character is a reference to the blind oracle Tiresius in the the Odyssey. The very last scene of the movie is that of this blind man, still going along his path, and the color fades to sepia, then black and white. This opposite color fading effect creates a bookend effect, effectively introducing and concluding the universe of the film. The movie only exists in the hour and a half that it is playing. The color effects serve the purpose of providing closure for the viewer, as well as invoking a feeling of nostalgia. The blind oracle reappears to remind us of the epic journey that the characters have been on, as is highlighted by the final shot of the railroad perspective disappearing into the horizon. These themes also emphasize a major part of the movie- that none of the characters really change. The blind man is still continuing on his epic adventure, just as Everett is beginning his new adventure as a free man and as a family man.

The Piano

The relationship between Baines and Ada in this film is controversial and interesting. The men in this film view Ada as nothing but an object at first. She has been sold by her father to someone she has never met, she is bought by Stewart who she will never love, and she is treated like a prostitute by Baines. Ada and Baines make an agreement where Ada can just sit and play piano while Baines "does things." These things start out small, like rubbing her arms or playing with a hole in her stockings. Ada seems uncomfortable but you never can really tell, because of her muteness. She always agrees to it though, even as Baines becomes more and more sexual, although she does increase the amount of keys she earns for the more intense stuff. It is difficult for the viewer to tell if she is doing this because of her love for the piano, her desire to get revenge on Stewart for bringing her and her daughter there, or a real sexual interest in Baines. I wouldn't call what Baines does as rape. Anna could have communicated with Stewart if she felt truly violated and surely he would have dealt with Baines. However, it is the relationship of Stewart and Ada that feels more like rape. He has basically kidnapped her and made her his slave. When he tries to be physical with her she is very insistent that he doesn't. Baines and Ada's relationship transcends the outward appearance of a man assaulting a woman, and becomes something very sensual and tender. By the end of the film, Ada is so moved that she throws her piano, her voice and the object that inspired the beginnings of their love, into the sea.

The Vanishing Pt. II

2. The most important shot in the abduction scene in both movies is the shot of the photo of Rex and his family. Before that scene we can see Rex already waiting in the car and Saskia standing outside. We know what Rex wants, and we know that Saksia, like most of the women in this film, is not super excited about getting in this strange man's car. Her fears are addressed however when she sees the photo of him and his family. A family man wouldn't, couldn't do anything too crazy, he has a wife and kids to worry about. This is a rational thought process but ultimately it backfires. Saskia is abducted and killed.
3. In both scenes where Raymond is practicing his abduction plans, the director utilizes a bird's eye view shot of Raymond walking around his car. The camera is placed high above and looks down upon the car. The viewer can see Raymond when he is fumbling all the way around the car. The sequence is unbroken by cuts so we can see the full journey of this guy from one side of the car to the other. Only when he enters the car is there a cut, and we can see Raymond as he chloroforms the imaginary woman he has been talking to.

The Vanishing Pt. I

If I watched the Hollywood remake of The Vanishing without seeing the Dutch original first, I probably would have thought it was an okay film. There was a lot of interesting imagery, concepts, and production. However, viewing it in the context which we did, I am forced to say that the original is a much more successful film. The character's are more fleshed out, they give you more reason to relate to them. In the Hollywood version, it seems that everything is just spelled out for the viewer, leaving little to the imagination. The original however is much more innovative, as often what is not said is just as important as what is.
One of the very first things one will notice about the two films is that the opening is changed. In the original, the movie opens with Rex and Saskia driving, with ominous 80's music playing in the background. It is not until Saskia has already been taken that we begin to focus on Raymond, her abductor. In the Hollywood version, it opens onto Raymond practicing his abduction scheme, and continues to show all the creepy weird stuff he does. To me, this kills the suspense. We already know that something bad is going to happen to Sandra Bullock. When I first watched the original, I only knew that the plot involved a serial killer, but based on Rex's strange behavior leaving Saskia inside the tunnel, I thought it may be him. To open onto the killer diminishes the suspense that builds from observing the actions and wondering what he will do. We already know what he plans to do.
When Kiefer Sutherland and Sandra Bullock's characters are at the gas station they have the same "never abandon me again" conversation as is in the original, but none of the playful banter and flirtation between the two characters that we see in the original. Maybe the director thought that because these are two big movie stars and not relatively unknown European actors that he could get away with not having as much exposition between the two characters, as the audience would already feel familiar with them. For me however, I feel disconnected from the characters in the American version. I never really understand Kiefer Sutherland's obsession as much as I can understand Rex's. Rex and Saskia feel like a real couple, because we are allowed to observe them as such.