Edit Suite No 4

Written thoughts about films I've watched.

[editsuite]

SONG TO SONG, Terrence Malick, US 2017

Terence Malick is known for his deep philosophical, dreamlike films that take us on a journey to question life and our existence. With Song to Song he did it again with a twist to music.

The four main characters are linked to each other, more or less, in various kinds of relationships which are transforming during the film. Some are toxic, some are deep romantic and full of love. Malick creates a sexual tension without showing actual sex scenes. Instead of that he uses the small gestures and gazes that happen before two people get together and this had even a more intimate effect on me.

The story flows like a river and is non-linear, missing a clear structure what makes the film kind of magnetic to watch. Everything that happens comes by surprise and some cuts are really tight and hard, fitting the turns in the story. The characters are acting together and at the same time against each other which manages Malick by the different but also similar personalities. What one character lacks, appears even stronger in another character. Rooney Mara’s character is permanently switching between different identities (lover, affair, daughter, musician) and so is her hair style which may have a deeper meaning. Maybe not. Ryan Gosling is playing a similar type of men as seen as in his other films. Part of him is tough (The Place Beyond The Pines), some is caring (Drive) and loving and funny (La La Land). Additionally Malick shows another side of him, a more vulnerable and destructive one. Michael Fassbender’s character was more tough and destructive, but also charming and with a sense of humor and crazy ideas that pull everyone with him. Not to forget to mention his huge amount of money which gives him a lot of force on the other characters which, paired with his strong manipulative side, makes him an extreme dangerous character which is noticeable from the first screen appearance on. Natalie Portman’s character seems to have the most consolidate lifestyle of all the characters and the self-esteem Rooney Mara’s character lacks. When Michael Fassbender’s character steps in her life she shows a naive and vulnerable side, similar to Ryan Gosling’s character and in contrast to Rooney Mara’s character which is younger but far from being naive.

The camera style is warm and smooth and floating, most of the time close to the characters. As seen as in other Terence Malick films there are some dreamlike sequences which are more fitted in the actual happenings on the screen this time. In contrast to that there was an amount of documentary-like footage, a shaky, following camera with point-of-view-perspective.

All in all Terence Malick created with Song to Song a floating, poem-like, highly aesthetic cinema experience.

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16/06/2017

FRANCES HA, Noah Baumbach, US 2012

What a sweet piece of feel-good-indie-film is that? It was just so pure and honest character and story wise and also in its’ visuals. The whole film was black and white with a warm and smooth style in total contrast to the rough cut. I really liked this mix.

Frances is dancing her way through life which isn’t the easiest one as a 27-year old in New York but it’s not really hard at the same time. Just a typical 20-something-life I guess. She moves organically, free and easy. Just very natural. That seems to be an expression of her lifestyle. Even if not everything is going right she is not taking it too hard and just moves (=dances) on. She takes the wrong steps sometimes (often) but finds her way back again anyway.

I guess I just loved the simplicity and easiness of this independent movie which captured me with it’s realistic presented characters and some jamming tunes and left me with a smile.

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01/05/2017

TIGER GIRL, Jakob Lass, DEU 2017

So simpel und aufdringlich der Titel verspricht, haut Tiger Girl von Jakob Lass von der ersten Sekunde an rein und zieht den Zuschauer in einen Sog aus Gewalt, Freundschaft und Großstadt. Eine bereits vielfach angewandte Formel, wären die beiden Brutalos im Film nicht zwei Frauen.

An dieser Stelle würde sich eine wunderschöne Diskussion über Feminismus und Gewalt von Frauen (gegen Männer, Frauen und auch gegen sich selbst) anbieten. Kommt jetzt aber nicht. Das haben andere schon zur genüge getan. Außerdem spielt das Geschlecht der beiden Hauptcharaktere nicht unbedingt eine Rolle für die Handlung. Eigentlich geht es um verzweifelte, kaputte Menschen, Rache, Langeweile, den Ursprung von Gewalt und deren bereits erwähnten Sog, dem man sich auch als Zuschauer kaum entziehen kann.

Die beiden jungen Frauen Maggie und Tiger könnten unterschiedlicher nicht sein. Tigers erster Auftritt zeigt sie in einer Ordneruniform, wobei sie für alles andere als Ordnung sorgt. Maggie hingegen wird als Versagerin eingeführt. Dazu noch als blondes, von der Welt eingeschüchtertes Mädchen. Auf die erste Begegnung der beiden, folgen schnell weitere, scheinbar zufällige. Das Ganze geht soweit, das Tiger Maggie in einer brenzligen Situation zu Hilfe kommt. Als sie dann selbst Hilfe braucht und ein Baseballschläger zu Maggie’s Füßen rollt, kippt das Kamerabild um 180 Grad. Sie hebt ihn schließlich auf, das Bild dreht zurück doch von da an vollzieht auch Maggie ihre 180 Grad Wendung. Bei Tiger tritt der umgekehrte Fall ein. Nach einer weiteren waghalsigen Aktion der beiden, verletzt sie sich und von diesem Moment an zeigt sich auch ihre seelisch verletzte Seite.

Es ist interessant, wie Lass uns auf der einen Seite gedanklich zu Maggie hinzieht, die aber eigentlich immer unsympathischer wird, und gleichzeitig versorgt er uns mit Hintergrundinformationen zu Tiger. Wo sie lebt, wer ihre Freunde sind und mit was sie sich täglich so rumschlägt (ja, im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes), was uns wiederum mit ihr verbindet.

Dieses Gegenspiel der Charaktere macht für mich den Kern des Film aus. Sie spielen miteinander und gleichzeitig gegeneinander. Es gibt ein paar Twists zwischen Traum und Realität, die an BLACK SWAN erinnern aber vor allem erinnert der Film an Lass letzte Arbeit - LOVE STEAKS. Er hat nicht nur auf einige der Schauspieler zurückgegriffen, sondern auch auf den Kameramann und sogar die Handlung betont ähnliche Facetten (Gewalt, die Beziehung zwischen zwei zunächst gegensätzlichen Menschen, Liebe, Verzweiflung). Auch der Doku-Charakter tritt wieder sehr deutlich hervor, der durch Lass Regiearbeit zustande kommt. Er gibt während des Drehs lediglich Anfangs-und Endpunkt der jeweiligen Szene vor, was dazwischen geschieht und was genau gesagt wird, überlässt er den Schauspielern. Das muss auf der einen Seite unglaublich anstrengend für alle Beteiligten sein, mich persönlich hat dieser Stil, weiterhin durch schnelle Schnitte und Jump-Cuts geformt, sehr angesprochen.

Wer zu guter letzt noch ein Feeling für den Film bekommen möchte, hört sich am besten mal den Soundtrack Piss ans Ende der Welt von Grossstadtgeflüster an. So oder so, eine Empfehlung.

[editsuite]

11/04/2017

EINSAMKEIT und SEX und MITLEID, Lars Montag, GER 2017

Die Handlung des Films ist, wie der Titel schon verrät, in drei Teile gegliedert,  und könnte daher als Episodenfilm bezeichnet werden. Statt einer Hauptperson, gibt es eine Vielzahl an unterschiedlichen Charakteren, deren Wege sich immer weiter überkreuzen. Da gibt es zum Beispiel die 14-jährige Svenja, die in einer Dreiecksbeziehung zwischen Mahmud und Johannes hängt. Ihr Vater der von der alleinstehenden Künstlerin Janine in Szene gesetzt wird, welche sich wiederum Bestätigung durch Internetdates mit Supermarktleiter Uwe holt. Dessen Ex-Frau, die Ärztin Julia, die sie sich regelmäßig Callboys bestellt, lebt verbissen ihre Unabhängigkeit aus. Der Film schafft einen Schnitt durch alle Altersgruppen, fokussiert sich jedoch auf die Mittelschicht und zeigt überspitzte Handlungen und extreme Charaktere, was ihn zu einer Satire macht. Dabei behandelt er aktuelle Themen wie die Angst vor sexuellen Übergriffen durch Ausländer, der dadurch entstehende Hass aber auch die Rolle des Mannes, als Beschützer und Oberhaupt der Familie wird in Frage gestellt. Allen Charakteren ist gemeinsam, dass sie auf die ein oder andere Art einsam sind, Bestätigung durch Sex suchen und am Ende vom Zuschauer bemitleidet werden.

Die Zusammenhänge der einzelnen Geschichten werden oft überraschend aufgetan und miteinander verwoben. Das Ganze geschieht auf eine humorvolle Art und Weise, wobei der Humor an manchen Stellen durchaus als dunkelschwarz bezeichnet werden könnte. Der Film zeigt die düsteren Seiten des Menschen, jedoch ohne dabei zu bewerten, was beim ein oder anderen Zuschauer dazu führen könnte, Sympathien aufzubauen oder sich gar selbst in einer der Personen wieder zu erkennen. Verschiedene Stimmen aus dem Off gehen manchen Handlungen voraus und leiten sie ein, wobei der Eindruck einer höheren Macht, des Schicksals, geweckt wird.

Alles in allem würde ich nicht sagen, dass der Film einen Einblick in das heutige Leben einer deutschen Großstadt zeigt. Dafür sind die Charaktere und ihre Geschichten zu speziell und die Zusammenhänge teilweise doch sehr gewollt. Dennoch schafft es der Film, den Zuschauer an den richtigen Stellen zu überraschen und an anderen eine Vorahnung stehen zu lassen. Durch die einzelnen kurzen Geschichten innerhalb der Episoden ist er außerdem kurzweilig und mit seinem schwarzem Humor äußerst unterhaltsam.

[editsuite]

09/03/2017

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, Kenneth Lonergan, US 2016

We get introduced to Lee Chandler who works as a caretaker in Boston. He basically deals with the problems and dirt of others. His boss describes him as rude and unfriendly what interests him very little. He ends his work day in a bar, drinking too much beer and picking a fight with some strangers. All in all he seems to have a bleakly life and has more or less settled with it.

When his brother dies and he is made to take care of his nephew Patrick in Manchester by the Sea, Lee isn’t very happy about that. The smallest kind of socializing seems to be a torture and showing emotions is definitely not easy for him. Patrick, his nephew, is pretty similar to him (we get introduced to him as he gets aggressive on a team member at the ice hockey training) except for the point that he has a lot of friends and is quite popular. Patrick and Lee are trying to get along with each other but it is almost torturing to watch them trying to have a normal life because they both suck at communication. Lee is haunted by flashbacks which are sometimes hard to identify as such, picture wise, but that could symbolize how his past and present situation seem to melt together. Some of them are happy, together with his brother and Patrick at the sea, but most of them are a deep look in his dark past. That makes it hard for him to life in the present and deal with the current situation which apparently overstrains him more and more. Anyway he finds a solution and fixes his relationship with Patrick. The following quote shows that change:

In the beginning, after Patrick had a panic attack and Lee didn’t know how to help him, he just sits next to him until Patrick is calm again. Patrick: „Can you please go now?“ Lee: „No.“

In the end Lee is struggling with staying with his nephew and tries to talk with him about that. Patrick: „Why can’t you just stay?“

I had the feeling that a lot of people were really touched by that movie because it is a tough story but for me it didn’t worked out. The characters and their behaviour were too far away from my situation and I often could not follow their reactions which seem to have no concrete reason. For me it was hard to identify with them. Half of the story was almost like a bad teenage film with a pubertal boy who tries to have sex with his girlfriend while her mother is sitting and waiting for them downstairs. Of course that’s a common problem for young people but for me it was given too much space in the film. Another point I did not find very fitting was the dramatic classical music which made some scenes more emotional that they were but maybe it was chosen as a contrast to the more or less emotionless characters.

All in all I was disappointed but believe that other people could like the film. I just struggled with the main characters and wasn’t able to identify with them.

[editsuite]

27/01/2017

LA LA LAND, Damien Chazelle, US 2016

You’ve probably read a bunch of La La Land reviews but if you still haven’t watched it yet here are ten reasons:

1 Emma Stone is surprisingly good in singing and dancing and acting at the same time. 2 The score is great. 3 It is colourful. 4 It is funny. 5 You will learn something about classical musical movies. 6 You will learn something about Jazz. 7 The story is cheesy but in a nice way. 8 You will go out of the cinema humming and moving and feeling like your life is a musical. 9 You will start to think about your own dreams. 10 Ryan Gosling.

If you come to the conclusion that you don’t need to watch it by the end of this list then you’re right. In my opinion it’s a nice-to-have one, not a have-to.

[editsuite]

11/01/2017

ARRIVAL, Denis Villeneuve, US 2016

Normally I am not a fan of science-fiction films. ARRIVAL was recommended to me as „the best film I’ve seen this year“. After watching the trailer I was willing to give it a chance.

In the beginning we meet Louise and see what happened to her. A dramatic, life-changing event which could bring you to tears even in the first minutes of the film. The question about the beginning and ending of a story is introduced to us by Louise’s voice over and is a first hint in what kind of direction this film is going. Louise is teaching linguistics at university where the students are not that interested in the topic and instead watching the news where „the arrival“ is shown. Twelve so called „shells“ arrived on twelve different locations around the world. When the alarm goes off and the university is being evacuated, Louise stays calm and you could almost say relaxed while everyone else is panicking. A quote from the film when Louise talks with her mother on the phone: „No mum, I’m not nervous. I’m feeling like everyday.“ Anyways she is very interested and follws the news all the time. Because she is one of the best translators in the United States the military asks her to help them communicate with the two aliens arrived in Montana, US. There she meets Ian, a physician who is the stereotype charismatic, clever man who is trying to be humorous to hide his fear. In the meanwhile Louise is a stereotype too. A single and hurt woman who puts all her energy and life in her science. She stays calm, tries to solve the communication problem in a peaceful way and gets a deep connection to the aliens which they call heptapods because of their seven legs. They communicate through a kind of window which looks extremely good on a big screen so watch ARRIVAL in a cinema if you can. Back to the stereotypes: Louise is the first out of many many scientists who tried to communicate with the heptapods who is successful in her work and quickly makes progress. Anyways she always needs to explain and justify her work methods in front of the „big men“ from the military. A woman’s work is not appreciated even if she is successful, is this a message of the film? Nevertheless Ian believes in her and supports her working. They become friends. During the stressful and hard working process Louise gets more and more flashbacks to the blow of fate we saw in the beginning. Towards the end the question arises: Are the heptapods on a peaceful mission on earth or a destroying one? The story takes an interesting turn which I had not expected but builds up slowly.

The picture style in the film is all in all dark lightning wise what I see often in films recently. Perhaps because the camera technology is extremely good with low light now which makes the film more realistic, more natural and at the same time literally inscrutable at some points. The film starts with many close ups of Louise. We quickly connect to her and dive deep in her world and emotions especially in connection to the blow of fate happened to her. Later the camera uses some beautiful wide landscape shots as well. A big amount of the composition is geometrical and very clear. The film is highly aesthetic especially when it comes to the sign language the heptapods use. All in all ARRIVAL looks natural which is among the mentioned aspects due to the coloring. It is highly believable, at no time I questioned the story though I know this is not real. In the credits you can see the huge amount of VFX artists (of course) but the effects are working in a very discreet and elegant way which is, in my opinion, highly achievable.

The music is created by Jóhann Jóhannsson who did a great job in giving the heptapods a voice which may be inspired by whale sounds.

For me it was interesting to see Amy Adams again after watching Nocturnal Animals last week. Again as a woman alone in a big house with a successful career but nothing else. Though she is alone on screen for many scenes, especially in the beginning, she has a extreme strong presence and power.

The fear of the unknown seems to be the leading theme of ARRIVAL and questions the viewer: How to react? Afraid or interested? Suspiciousness or trust? Hate or love? Facing the current refugee crisis this seems to be a message of the film for me. This film might have a different ending if it was not made by a Canadian who are a helping and welcome country. In times where everything seems to drift apart the world should stand together is probably the main message of ARRIVAL.

To sum it up: ARRIVAL is a great film and yes, it is the best film of 2016 for me as well though I watched it in 2017;) I think the great story (based on „Story Of Your Life“ by Ted Chiang), beautiful images and natural look convinced me though it is a science-fiction film.

[editsuite]

04/01/2017

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS, Tom Ford, US (2016)

Tom Ford is a fashion designer who worked for example for Gucci. In the beginning of his career he was also a model for several tv commercials. And he is from Texas. This was my previous ‚research‘ before it was getting dark in the cinema and I started to watch Nocturnal Animals.

The intro was a little bit unexpected and I still question myself what he was aiming for but it is obvious that this film is made by someone who is familiar with the glamour, superficial fashion world. Everything looks really clean and perfect, it reminded me of The Neon Demon. There are several scenes you could use as a commercial for example a shiny car, driving to a house with a large glass front and big swimming pool or even the characters like the police man in Texas who looked like straight out of a Marlboro campaign. The atmosphere created in the film is immediately ominous. Most part of the film is set at night which made me think of Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler.

When Susan (Amy Adams) receives a manuscript from her ex-husband Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal) she cuts herself at the paper which could be seen as a first bad sign. It doesn’t take long till we dive deep in her mind while she is reading his manuscript which is dedicated to her. A brutal story about a man who looses his wife and daughter.

This film captivated me really fast because it was a wicked storyline with several parallel stories but in the end only one. It is based on a book, in the film Susan reads a book and suddenly we are in another film, the one in her mind, interrupted by her life in the present and her life in the past with Edward. The storylines melt together more and more not only by the pictures we see but also by the story they tell. A solution is coming at the end but leaves the audience unsure anyway.

Nocturnal Animals deals with treat, manipulation, psychopaths, self-justice and love in a very interwoven way. So if you like complex and confusing stories I can recommend it to you. And it’s not only bad and scary, there are some funny moments too. For example the credit for the Pilates Trainer in the end;)

[editsuite]

26/10/2016

RAVING IRAN, Susanne Regina Meures (2016)

A compelling documentary about two techno DJs trying to do their business in a land where every kind of electronic music is illegal. We watch Arash and Anoosh organizing parties, printing their covers and selling their CDs. What sounds like normal music business is a difficult and dangerous challenge in the Iran. Scenes at the “moral department” in Teheran makes you laugh and choke at the same time. This culture is so different from our western values and understandings of moral that it’s sometimes hard to believe. But the documentary is most of the time very authentic (I say most of the time because some dialogues seemed a bit scripted) mainly because of the vibrant and rough cut, of course driven by techno beats, and the camera style which is, due to the circumstances, often smartphone footage or even worse quality. This changes when the duo travels to Zurich where they get the chance to play at Lethargy, part of the biggest european techno festival Streetparade. After we watched them having rough times in their home it feels like a release for the audience as well to see them in the middle of this giant party. It is really special for them to play in front of a lot of people, open air, in the city. The change of camera style visualizes the culture change. Funny thing is  - they already miss Iran. After five days in Zurich they need to decide whether to go back to Iran or to destroy their documents and try to stay in Europe (at least this is what a lawyer back in Iran advised). As I mentioned it’s an interesting and deep inside in a totally other culture than ours, so much is illegal but on the other hand there is always a way to make it possible somehow. You can’t make a party in your house because your neighbours will surely call the police and they will surely arrest you. So you rent a bus, invite all of your friends, bribe some policemen and party in the desert. The perspective you get is - of course - biased and shows only one side. But nevertheless it’s an interesting inside and only one of thousand examples of the difficult life in Iran.

[editsuite]

24/10/2016

FRANTZ, François Ozon (2016)

Frantz is the name of a young German who died in the First Word War and left his parents and fiancé behind. They suffer badly and his fiancé, called Anna, visits his grave almost every day. One day the family get a surprising and unknown visitor - Adrien, a young Frenchman who says he’s a friend of Frantz, they met in Paris and had good times, visiting the Louvre, dancing and going out. But this all is not the truth as it turns out later in the film. Lies are one of the main topics of FRANTZ accompanied with love, disappointment and forgiveness. The search for happiness and freedom and of course the difficult relationship between the Germans and the French after the First World War. Though the film covers a range of topics it’s superficial at the same time unfortunately. Especially the loads of lies are exhausting at some point because they seem to lead nowhere. That is what makes the film long-winded. It was a little bit dissatisfying that the whole story was kept so confused and open, especially the ending.

Most parts of the film are in black and white, some parts are in colour. The meaning behind the different colouring is not fully comprehensible but the transitions were really interesting. Sometimes it was a smooth transition, raising up the saturation on the other hand also a sudden swap from colour to black and white was used. It often fitted and intensified the storyline. The composition and framing was very geometrically with a lot of symmetry and parallels in the picture. At some points it looked more like a photography or paining than a moving image piece. This kind of composition reminded me of other black and white films for example ‚The White Ribbon‘(Michael Hanneke, 2009) or ‚Ida‘ (Paweł Pawlikowski, 2013). The camera was most of the time really calm and distant what fits the personality of the characters. Another point which stood out for me was the sound. It was very vividly and captivating most of the time which may be caused by the amount of whispered dialogues and the French language. I’m not quite sure about that but it makes me wanna learn French;)

All in all FRANTZ is an interesting film to watch but more for its’ technical aspects than storywise.

[editsuite]

11/10/2016

FINDING DORY, Andrew Stanton (2016)

Normally I’m not a big fan of sequels especially when it comes to animations because they are either really boring or really stupid storywise and almost every time a disappointment to me. But Finding Dory is different.

Recently I’ve read an interview with writer and director Andre Stanton about Finding Dory and how he wanted it to be “new and familiar to the viewer at the same time”. In my opinion he achieved this challenge very good. It’s a great sequel or should I say second story? I think you could watch it without having watched Finding Nemo (if there’s someone who hasn’t watched it yet). The stories are well connected to each other, you see parallels, remember anecdotes and of course the characters. For example the beginning of the story is again a family tragedy which is maybe a bit too sad for children? I’m not sure about that (but I’m not sure if they are the real target audience neither). It was a little bit like meeting old friends you haven’t seen in a while but the characters developed further. Another challenge was sure the whole story about Dory, a fish who is suffering from memory loss. The filmmakers take us on another journey through the ocean (yes Marlin is not very pleased about that as you can see on the picture) with lovely new worlds and characters. 

Lovely seems to be exactly the word for this film. You really can see how much love the filmmakers put in that piece which is well thought through, with great and fun dialogues. One example from Marlin when Dory asks for another journey: “No we will not cross the whole ocean again, we did it already. We can tick that off. You only travel to not have to go there again.” Of course they do it again and of course they get in some - let’s call it “little problems” - again. There were several moments during the story where I thought “how will they manage to get out of there?” and to be honest I normally ask me questions like that when I watch James Bond.

Of course I’ll comment on the credits too. First of all - wow, so many people! Even the credits were lovely and with a nemoesque humour as we like it. And stay in your seat till the end, there may a little surprise for you;)

[editsuite]

28/09/2016

TONI ERDMANN, Maren Ade (2016)

People say one of the best german films since years, standing ovations in Cannes and submitted to the Oscar 2017. So what is so great about this film?

At the beginning it seems just German to me, especially the interior, clothing and even some habits, just “spiessig” (bourgeois). But there is Winfried the male lead actor who breaks all the rules and is more embarrassing, awkward, unabashed, especially when it comes to his daughter Ines. She is a successful business-women, currently working in Bukarest. The story is mainly about their relationship which is something we can all relate to and is one key point which makes this film so good. Next thing is this excellent kind of humor which just makes everybody laugh and this is really difficult. It’s long without feeling long. It’s set in unseen locations like Aachen and Bukarest and non of the typical Hollywood-Places which is nice and interesting at the same time because you haven’t seen it a thousand times yet. There are multiple unexpected turns and twists and both characters raise during the film. They seem to strengthen each other even if they hurt the other one. Both of them have their crazy, mad times during the film (maybe father more than daughter) and are played so well by Sandra Hueller and  Peter Simonischek. Sometimes there are only gazes at each other, full of hate, love and disappointment at the same time. Those are extremely strong. A scene which stayed in my mind is during a business-party in Bukarest where Winfried (Toni), Ines and some of her colleagues going out just after the “game” between father and daughter started. People are dancing, an uplifting popsong (Safe and Sound) is playing, there is champagne for everyone. Ines is laying on the couch, looking to her father, sitting on another one and tears fill her eyes. She starts to cry slowly and silent. This kind of contrast hits me every time. Writing about the sound, there is not much music during the film, mostly original sounds like street noise, office, restaurant. At the end I’d like to mention the clean and restrained credits. Everything black and white, in the same size, rolling over the screen, ending with the title.

To summarize why is this a great film? We all can relate to the story/main theme, it’s funny (really), it’s surprising, very well played characters who develop during the film. It brings small but effective things like costumes (wig, fake teeth) back on the big screen and makes use of German cliche.

[editsuite]

19/09/2016

LOOPING, Leonie Krippendorff (2016)

The title of the film is shown from the first minute on when Leila, one of the three female leading parts, makes her way over a fun fair where she lives and works with her father. Played by Jella Haase, an upcoming german actress, Leila is introduced as a character with a lot of problems. She has trouble with friends and her father, wants fun, alcohol and sex. All the time the camera is really close to her and follows her through a disturbed night, surrounded by colorful lights and music which is a looping melody, of course ;)

After that night she wakes up in hospital and decides to go to a psychiatric clinic for a while to sort our her life. The film contains not much dialogue but if there is dialogue then it’s often minimalistic and kind of poetic at the same time. It feels as if there is not much more to say. One example is the scene when Leila’s father gets her to the clinic and they’re both sitting in the car before she goes, unsure what to say. Her father starts:

“I don’t understand what is going on.”

“Do you want to know it?”

...

Leila seems to live in a tough world where words doesn’t matter a lot. Anyway she can build pretty sentences in her head and her big, round eyes and the high, childlike, naive voice strengthen this ambivalent character. She can speak like a dream and creates a safe world for herself and others which is beautiful translated by the image style. Really close, blurry and colorful. Another sentence Leila says which makes her sad because it reminds her of the soon coming end is: “This morning there was grass in front of my window”. These small sentences have an enormous emotional power in the film and probably because they are so rare.

The other characters Ann and Frenja, played by Marie-Lou Sellem and Lana Cooper, are older than Leila but the three starts an intensive relationship which is developing into more than friendship. In my opinion the power of the film lays in it’s image style and less in the content. There is a lot of darkness and unexplained storylines. Sometimes everything seems a bit to easy for me. The stay at the psychiatric clinic seems fun and more like a holiday camp where you share one bed with your friends, break out to go dancing and go in and out like you want. That’s my main critique for Looping. The ending is kind of easy too but fits to the looping theme. Frenja and Leila get back to their old life again, Ann decides to go another way. So even if Leila is happy in the ending scene it feels not like a happy end. The message seems to be: You can’t break out of your routine which is kind of sad and hopeless. But when I think about the notion of Looping then it’s more than an endless circle, it’s more up and down and can get you in euphoria. And that’s the main story of the film with beautiful fitting images and music and multilayered characters.

[editsuite]

15/07/2016

THE NEON DEMON, Nicolas Winding Refn (2016)

Another film by Refn, his current one which I stumbled across on a Friday night in a cozy little cinema. But to come straight to the point: This film isn’t a very cozy one. Elle Fanning, starring a young model who comes to LA and achieves success very fast, is the princess of this - let’s call it - fairytale (real genre is psychological horror). To me The Neon Demon contains some fairytale elements anyway. There is a princess with long blond hair, wearing a pastel-coloured pixie like dress, her parents are dead but she is tough and follows her dream, struggling with the “bad girls” who endanger her. Of course there is a prince character too but - and that’s where the fairytale ends - there is no happy end and no saving for her. Instead of that, a lot of blood.

Again Refn deals with a lot of night scenes or scenes which contain rarely light. He plays with coloured light and effects, especially with red and purple. This one, comparing to Drive, is way more experimental in it’s image style and crazier when it comes to the story. I found this critique by Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph which was exactly what I thought: “When the film reaches its logical end point, Refn just keeps pushing, and eventually lands on a sequence so jaw-dropping…”

In the last part of the film I just wished for it to finally end because the story was gone so wild, I was afraid what will happen next. How much worse can it become?

The cinematography which was done by Natasha Braier (http://www.natashabraier.com/html/en/) who is also working for commercials and music videos and clearly has an eye for glossy beauty. Most of the shots looked like straight out off a fashion magazine or commercial. Even the credits had their own beautiful footage instead of the plain white on black as usual. Last point - the soundtrack: Was very similar to Drive which is no wonder because it was created by Cliff Martinez again.

To conclude: I also enjoyed these Refn film even if there was this long, crazy, wild, disgusting end. Or maybe that’s the reason why I enjoyed it? It was a clear example of “show the rule, break the rule” in my opinion because the beginning was more cliche but then turned into something I had never expected, containing loads of surprises and that’s always good thing. The characters are a bit weak and flat but it fits their roles in the model industry and I like this metaphor. Refn manages again to show us extreme violence but also keeping it aesthetic all the time. Anyway, I’m not sure if I want to watch his next film, as I said: How much worse can it become?

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12/07/2016

DRIVE, Nicolas Winding Refn (2011)

Last night I watched DRIVE and yes, I admit one reason was Ryan Gosling. But for me he turned into a guarantor for good films and this one got loads of praise. In the beginning I was a bit deterred by the title design but the nice soundtrack and starting chase scene saved it.

We get introduced to the main character, unnamed “the driver”, only from behind or his look in the rearview mirror while driving through the night. Another nice surprise was Bryan Cranston starring the driver’s boss and acting (again) in a kind of paternal role. The film contains rarely dialogue but it’s not because the driver is too cool, instead it seems to strengthen his ambiguous character of being a caring, lonely romantic on the one hand and being really brutal and violent in the next moment. This is best shown in the elevator scene with his neighbour (who he is in love with) and a criminal (who is looking for him). The lighting in this scene points out the narrative really good. When the driver and Irene are kissing goodbye the light became really spare. In the next moment he kills the criminal in a very brutal way while she exits the lift and the light becomes bright again. Maybe a metaphor for her seeing him in a new light. I really like that link between characters, story and setting.

Of course driving plays a big role through the whole movie mostly at nighttime. There are several scenes, following the same structure. Intro by helicopter shot scenes of LA at night, then the driver, close ups and emphasizing music. I already mentioned the music and during the driving scenes it differs from party/excited music, to tense/expectation, then calming music to dangerous and in the end even musical like.

Last thing I’d like to mention is the editing style, really rough (fitting to the content) and sometimes with intercuts between different times often showing talk (past) and action (present). Sounds confusing but worked out quite well I think and after some research I found out that this is a “relict” of the book by James Sallis, which is were the original story comes from, containing loads of jumps in time and a non-linear narrative. Another interesting thing I read during my research (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_(2011_film)) was that Nicolas Winding Refn, cast members and screenwriter Hossein Amini lived together in LA during shooting time and used to “work on the script and film all day, then watch films, edit or drive at night.” All in all I enjoyed this film, really liked the multiple levels of times, the music and the ambiguous narrative and characters.

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my final film for this module. had a great time shooting this :)

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The Cutting edge: The Magic of Movie Editing, a great resource we watched during one of our lessons containing some important and influential filmmakers and their editors.