Sunrise - what happens after sunsets...or is it before?
Sunrise - another silent movie that won best picture along with Wings in 1927. And again I was amazed and impressed that I could relate to a silent movie. I felt for the characters and was on the edge of my seat in the final scenes. Ironic as trusty IMDb trivia states that this came at a time when talkies were taking over the screen so this movie didn't do well as audiences couldn't relate.
It has been awhile since I saw this movie - university, socialising and procrastination got in my way. And every time that I started writing this entry in my head I couldn't get past the Powderfinger lyrics "Sunsets over the peaches, sunsets sunsets sunsets" - of course now that I have googled it i know that it isn't peaches but beaches. But then that would start me off singing Peaches by Presidents of the United States. And so a vicious circle was created for the last 3-4 months.
Now I find myself on a Tuesday night, sitting in front of Ch63 listening to the Pet Shop Boys, writing my entry yet finding another way to procrastinate - by not writing about the actual movie!
Did you know that I am now going to attempt to write two blogs when i can't even write this one? Should be fun :P
Back to the movie... ooo stairway to heaven has just started playing! I am just going to have to take a moment....
Right where was I - Sunrise made me realise something that should be obvious to a media and film student but I guess was too obvious that I didn't consciously thing about, and that is the idea of the universal message tied in with the stereotype to deliver that message.
A simple country couple struggling with poverty and raising a child are faced with the husband being tempted by a sultry city woman who has come to holiday there. You have the villagers talking about how happy the couple use to be and how in love until life got in the way.
The husband plans to kill his wife in order to run off the city slattern (slut in old time language). To do that he takes her on a trip to the city that the wife thinks he has done to rekindle their relationship. And it ends up doing exactly that.
LIke with Wings, the 'special effects' in this movie astound me: split screen and superimpostions - done in camera by hand. It was also the first feature film to be filmed with Movietone and a full soundtrack.
SPOILER ALERT:
The movie ends with some on the edge stuff. The husband decides to stay with his wife and on their little sailboat back after a day in the city they hit a storm and it looks like he loses her just the way he had planned to make it look like when he wanted to deliberately kill her - ironic or what! As he is about to strangle the slutty city woman his wife is found, revived and they live happily ever after.
So our lesson is learned. Single, brunette, urban living women are sluts and evil (this is myself being a single brunette in the city), and country life is more true and good for you, while the city is just for a bit of fun.
That teacher deserves an apple. I guess an oscar will suffice...