The Screen Analysis

The moving image is the integration of motion and emotion.

[screenanalysis]

306 Hollywood

What constitutes a documentary? In the words of Scottish documentary filmmaker and critic John Grierson, documentaries are “the creative treatment of actuality.” Elan and Jonathan Bogarin’s documentary 306 Hollywood completely embodies this definition. The film guides us through the home of the filmmakers’ late grandmother after her passing—showing the house and the objects inside it under a different light. In its form, the documentary consists of archival footage from when the grandmother was alive, to new footage in the house, to old recordings, and re-enactments of those recordings. The juxtapositioning of VHS footage of the grandmother versus the modern, high resolution, cinematic footage in the home after her passing gives the documentary a surreal feel. With that said, the mise-en-scene of the film in its use of performances, colorful shots, shadows and silhouettes of the grandmother, and even choice of music adds a fantastical element to the documentary. This allows the documentary to branch out from the traditional expository, talking-heads, Ken Burns style and tread into a more narrative-esque style of documentary filmmaking. 

With the use of these techniques, the filmmakers of 306 Hollywood are able to bring life into a morbid subject—literal death. By adding modern elements to the old footage, as well as filming new footage of old objects, including close-ups of the grandmother’s junk, they are able to keep her alive in a way. In addition, the filmmakers’ choice to use a smaller model of their grandmother’s home and place it in the modern world with people walking behind it allows for this item of the past, a house that has long been associated with someone who is no longer alive, to blend into the present. By showing the people walking behind the model of the house it calls attention to the fact that although a person may die, the rest of the world does not stop. The house may literally be a tangible structure but throughout the film, it acts as a symbol for death.

This documentary is classified as a magical-realist one, but also dabbles into the territory of the hybrid-fiction genre. With its usage of actors re-enacting the audio recordings of the grandmother, it brings performative elements into the non-fiction piece. Often times when we watch documentaries we are under the impression that we are being objectively informed with  strictly factual and unbiased content. Nonetheless, as seen in 306 Hollywood, documentaries take many forms and can serve solely for the purpose of conducting a narrative. By choosing a certain shot over another or by choosing the order in which the events in the documentary unravel, it can create the filmmaker’s intended narrative. As we tend to categorize this form of media under the nonfiction genre, it is very easy to forget that it is one of the most biased mediums. Because of this, along with the fact that the moving image is generally a highly influential medium, documentaries have the power to persuade the masses. With that said, the form that 306 Hollywood takes is able to transcend documentary conventions and redefine our understanding of documentaries.

[screenanalysis]

Parasite

This week, I watched Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. The South Korean film revolves around a low-class family, the Kims, as they con their way into working for the wealthy Parks. The main element that distinguishes this film from American cinema is its development of genre. Typically when we see an unconventional mixture of genres such as comedy and thriller, it is carefully integrated, often creating satirical humor and maintaining that tone throughout. Nevertheless, Parasite breaks this boundary by altering the genres as the plot develops rather than keeping elements of all of the genres throughout. For instance, the beginning of the film leans heavily on the comedy side with moments such as Ki-woo and Ki-jeong climbing on top of their toilet in attempts to obtain a wifi signal. We also get more humor when Ki-woo asks if the painting Da-Song made was of a chimpanzee and Yeon-gyo responds that it’s a self-portrait. However, exactly halfway into the movie at 1:05:00 when the old housekeeper turns around and asks “want to come down with me?” the film’s tone changes drastically and becomes a dark-thriller. From this point forward, the film becomes increasingly more terrifying, ultimately resulting in a more dramatic and intense ending. With this said, while incorporating elements from multiple genres including comedy, dark-comedy, thriller, horror, satire, mystery, and drama, it doesn’t bind all of them throughout the course of the film, but rather evolves into different genres throughout. This makes Parasite in the beginning and end of the film feel like two completely different movies in its tone alone.

Parasite also doesn’t fail to make socio-cultural references to life in Korea. For instance, they point out that most Korean homes have bunkers to protect them from potential attacks from North Korea and also satirically reference Kim Jong Un. The film also relies on themes of capitalism in a different way from American films. For instance, when the Parks pleasure each other while role-playing as poor, it is the film’s way of showing wealthy people’s fetishizing poverty. In addition, the film is very direct in what is happening in its dialogue, whereas American films tend to rely more on subtext. Throughout the film, the situations were very clearly stated and nothing was left for the audience to gather through clues. 

Finally, another element that distinguishes this film from many traditional American films is its failure to establish a clear hero and villain. Although it is evident that the protagonists that the story follows are the Kim family, due to their moral ambiguity, it is often difficult for the viewer to root for them. For instance, although the Kims are the poor family in the film, they are not portrayed as victims given that they scammed and manipulated their way into the Parks’ home. By lying, making the previous driver appear as a rapist, and intentionally making the housekeeper have an allergic reaction, the Kims obtained jobs at the expense of others. In addition, later in the film we see the family tie up the old housekeeper and her husband in the basement and even push her down the stairs. Because of this, it is difficult for the viewer to fully empathize with the protagonists. On the other hand, the antagonists of the films are not actually villainous. They do not do anything evil or immoral besides be classist due to ignorance and lack of awareness. As a predominantly American film watcher this is interesting to see because my mind has been trained to root for one side in a movie, however, in Parasite I found myself switching sides multiple times, until finally I rooted for nobody. This truly represented the idea that they are all, in fact, parasites. They are all feeding off of each other at the other’s expense. Because of this, all of the characters are ethically gray, which gives the film a more realistic and believable characteristic. Often in traditional American films, the protagonist, although mildly flawed, is often the hero with good morals and intentions which tends to come off as unrealistic. With that said, Parasite incorporates many symbolic and metaphorical cinematic elements that greatly contrast those of American films.

[screenanalysis]

Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation tells the story of Bob and Charlotte as they find comfort in one another, share struggles in their individual marriages, and try to navigate the foreign city of Tokyo. Through its visual language, the film touches on themes of loneliness, emptiness, and not belonging. The first scene introduces us to Bob as he arrives in Tokyo and is clearly overwhelmed by the lights of the city. This scene embodies culture shock given that the shots of the city are shaky and those of Bob strategically place him behind the glass window to show the disconnect between him and the city. By constantly cutting back and forth between shots of Bob and of the city, it creates an interaction, thus subconsciously making the city its own character. This is useful as the entire premise of the film relies on the two protagonists seeking belongment in this new world. 

It is important to compare the composition and design of the shots before and after Bob and Charlotte meet. Before their first meeting, the film makes use of negative space which show an unbalance that represents something is missing. The shots of Bob show him off to one side of the screen. For instance, when Bob is sitting on his hotel bed, he is placed off to the right rather than the center. This shows isolation and emptiness in his character. In addition, the city is placed in the background of the shot, once again behind glass to show how distant he feels from the city. 

Charlotte, on the other hand, also has unbalanced shots but more importantly, the design of her shots represent her internal struggles. For instance, Charlotte’s hotel room always seems to be messy. This shows that something is off in Charlotte’s life. In addition, most of the shots in which she is alone or with John, her husband, she is visibly not wearing pants. This symbolizes that her life feels as if it is falling apart and she is unable to control it. There is one shot specifically that shows how distant she feels from her husband. At 26:41, when John is talking to Kelly, they are both in the foreground while Charlotte is in the background. This gives us a sense of feeling left out and even being a third wheel. Furthermore, all of these shots are composed with dark and cool tints which further represent sadness and isolation. 

The balance in the shots is not restored until Bob and Charlotte first interact. When Charlotte sits at the bar directly next to Bob, the shot is finally perfectly symmetrical. This establishes the sense that everything has fallen into place and balance has been restored. This helps guide the narrative as it gives the audience the feeling that this is the way things are meant to be in this universe: Bob alongside Charlotte. 

Finally, another noteworthy moment is in the final scene when Bob whispers something to Charlotte right before taking off. It is inaudible which means that as the audience we are left out of the loop in this interaction. This not only engages the audience by forcing us to make our own assumptions of what could have been said, but it also makes the relationship between Bob and Charlotte feel more intimate and private to them. As the narrative does not carry the weight of this film, Lost in Translation undoubtedly relies on its mise-en-scene to induce emotion and relatability with the viewer.

[screenanalysis]

Moonlight

It is undeniable that Moonlight heavily relies on narrative form to explore the life of Chiron Harris as he encounters various obstacles within himself and those around him. In this film, we see Chiron go through three different phases of his life labeled Little, Chiron, and Black, respectively, to represent the different versions of him as he struggles with his drug-abusing mother, school bullies, and own sexuality. The film makes it a point to explicitly signify these differences through the use of title screens and different actors. This further strengthens the viewer’s impression that something within Chiron has changed. It is also important to note what the names themselves represent. The first label he receives is Little, which embodies a diminutive, scared, insecure connotation. Young Chiron is unsure of who he is and feels like he does not belong. The second label is his actual name. During this time in his life we see Chiron have major moments where he uncovers and explores his sexuality. During this phase of his life, he was the truest version of himself. Finally, he is labeled Black. This label has undertones of being tough and hardened, and presents itself after Chiron returns from jail. At this point in his life, Chiron is a buff drug dealer who wears gold fronts. This represents the show that Chiron is putting on—he has masked his inner self with this hardened exterior because of society’s standards of black males. In addition, the filmmaker’s choice to showcase these phases in this form also reveals the 3-act plot structure to the viewers in an obvious way. Although most movies have the 3-act plot, it is typically done so subtly that the viewer does not realize it is happening. Moonlight, however, challenges this convention by distinguishing the acts and specifically directing the viewers to notice it, ultimately changing our expectations of how stories are told.

One noteworthy moment in the film is the scene when Paula is at the end of the hall and inaudibly, yet blatantly angrily, yells at (Little) Chiron. The filmmakers make it a point to highlight this as an important moment in Chiron’s life in a variety of ways. Firstly, the scene is shot in slow motion which naturally causes us to pay attention to every detail of the action. In addition, the fact that the dialogue is inaudible makes the viewer try to figure out what was said and thus makes us an active participant. Given that in the scene immediately before we find out that Paula knows more about Chiron’s sexuality than she lets on and is clearly unhappy about it, we assume that what she yells in the scene has something to do with that subject matter. Nonetheless, we cannot be sure of what was said until the succeeding scene when Chiron asks Juan what a “faggot” is. At this point, although not explicitly revealed, the viewer recalls the previous scene and assumes that was what Paula had yelled at Chiron. The score of this scene, with its dramatic, build-up tones, also provides the sense that this moment in Chiron’s life is quite impactful for who he will become. Finally, the significance of this scene is solidified in its repetition in the film. Later in the film, the scene resurfaces when older Chiron (Black) wakes up from a nightmare remembering this moment in his life. This time, the scene is played in reverse, uncovering the real events of this moment. At this point it is revealed that Paula’s actual words were “Don’t look at me.” This plays with the viewer’s expectations by showing us that our assumptions were wrong, but also reveals a different side of both of the characters present in the scene. It reveals that both Paula and Chiron are dealing with shame and resentment towards themselves—Paula, by angrily telling Chiron not to look at her shows that she feels shame and judgement from her own son, perhaps because of her drug abuse, and Chiron, by not listening to his mother’s words, he only sees the anger that she projects onto him, perhaps because he himself feels angry with the way he is. These elements subconsciously guide the viewer to pay attention to this moment which, if done in any other way, would have seemed like a minor, insignificant interaction between a mother and son. To conclude, Moonlight takes full advantage of its narrative form and clearly provides the intention behind every scene of the film.