Comparing the Narrative and Formal Devices of ChungKing Express and A Bout de Souffle
Wong Kar Wai’s movie ‘ChungKing Express’ bears many similarities to
Godard’s ‘A Bout de Souffle’. To start with, Wai employs a number of
cinematic techniques, obviously derived from the French New Wave, such
as for example the jump-cut which is evidently taken from Godard’s
film. His use of the Godard-ian jump cut seamlessly blends
temporally-exclusive scenes together, making the passage of time
unnoticeable. Other Godard-ian touches include the many shots of
clocks, which remind the viewer that despite the protagonist’s
fixation on the past, time continues to move on and that moments in
the present are fleeting. Another interesting technique, seen in
"ChungKing Express", clearly represents the protagonist's detachment
from reality-- the film is sped up, but the actors move very slowly.
The resulting visual effect then conveys that while the rest of the
world blurs by like the flapping of a hummingbird's wings, the
protagonist is in a stagnant state of existence, lost within his own
nostalgic thoughts. In ‘A Bout de Souffle’, the audience are also
constantly reminded of the fact that they are watching a film by
Michel. In the opening sequence of this movie, Michel is driving
through the country when suddenly he turns and addresses the camera.
Once the illusion of being a real character, and not merely an actor
has been violated there is no way back. Our suspension of disbelief
has been shattered and so we always have the thought in the back of
our minds that Belmondo is merely play acting.
The character of Faye who only appears in the second...
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... Souffle’, such as lightweight handheld cameras, and portable
lighting. This gave ‘ChungKing Express’ a feel of spontaneity and
improvisation.
The theme of unrequited love which flows through the whole of
‘ChungKing Express’ strongly correlates to the themes of Godard’s ‘A
Bout de Souffle’. Both films take after some aspects of film noir, in
that Jean Seaberg and Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia both share some common
characteristics of the conventional role of the femme fatal.
In conclusion, Wong Kar-Wai has taken on many of the ideas and
stylistic choices which Godard made in his creation of ‘A Bout de
Souffle’ during the French New Wave. However he has also managed to
develop his personal approach to film making, and included new subject
material which is relevant to the time and place of the film’s
creation.
member of the family to admit to the fact she did wrong and is willing
During the opening six minutes of Nicholas Roeg’s film Don’t Look Now, the viewer experiences a dynamic mixture of film techniques that form the first part of the narrative. Using metaphor and imagery, Roeg constructs a vivid and unique portrayal of his parallel storyline. The opening six minutes help set up a distinct stylistic premise. In contrast to a novel or play, the sequence in Don’t Look Now is only accessible through cinema because it allows the viewer to interact with the medium and follow along with the different camera angles. The cinematography and music also guide the viewer along, and help project the characters’ emotions onto the audience because they change frequently. The film techniques and choppy editing style used in Don’t Look Now convey a sense of control of the director over the audience and put us entirely at his mercy, because we have to experience time and space as he wants us to as opposed to in an entirely serial manner.
Arnheim’s body of theory suggests that the necessity of human intervention to implement plot, tropes, and culturally legible symbols raises a film to a higher level than a mere copy of reality, and that this interpretation and expression of meaning is “a question of feeling” or intuition on the part of the filmmaker. (“Film Theory and Criticism” 283) One consequence of effective directorial intervention is that differences in speed, stops and starts, and what would otherwise be jarring gaps in continuity can be accepted by viewers, because if the essentials of reality are present, th...
This analysis draws focus on the differences between Hua’s novel and Zhang’s film by juxtaposing two key themes and dual-symbolism that had changed from one format to another. The paper is broken up into two parts and begins with an introduction and analysis of Yu Hua’s novel and Zhang’s film. Finally, the second part analyzes the film and novel’s representations of two themes and symbolism that tie in with the GPCR. This paper posits that while Zhang’s film does contain many adjustments based on its adaptation, those changes were not simply a means by which he would meet the status quo, rather they were a means by which the film could become more realistic and exploits the true nature of the GPCR.
Literary; associated with literary works or other formal writing; having a marked style intended to create a particular emotional effect. Term; a word or phrase used to describe a thing or to express a concept, especially in a particular kind of language or branch of study. Device; a thing made or adapted for a particular purpose. Literary terms/devices is defined as the typical structures used by writers in their works to convey his or her messages in a simple manner to the readers. When employed properly, the different literary devices help readers to appreciate, interpret and analyze a literary work. Hello, I am Miya Cole and today I will explain to you my four literary terms/devices.
adds to the tension which is building up, but this time it was just a
The constant changing of technology and social norms makes difficult for different generations to understand one another and fully relate to each other. Diction and slang change as years pass and what is socially acceptable may have been prohibited in the previous generations.
Have you heard of the book Maniac Magee? Maniac Magee becomes an orphan at the age of three. His parents died in a trolley accident and ran away after living with his aunt and uncle for 8 years. Maniac’s real name is Jeffrey. He is a kind hearted person who is athletic and he’s always thinking about others. Maniac has trouble finding a permanent home and being accepted in the black community even though he’s white. In both the movie and book they have similarities and differences.
Since the very first actualities from the Lumière brothers and the fantastical shorts of Maries Georges Jean Méliès, cinema has continually fulfilled its fundamental purpose of artistic reflection on societal contexts throughout the evolution of film. Two French cinematic movements, Poetic Realism (1934-1940) and French New Wave (1950-1970), serve as historical bookends to World War II, one of the most traumatic events in world history. The Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir, 1939) is a classic example of French Poetic realism that depicts the disillusionment in society and government politics by a generation already traumatized by the monumental loss of human life during the First World War. Breathless (Jean Luc Godard, 1960), one of Jean Luc Godard’s most iconic films, portrays the next generation’s consequential feelings of loss and struggle. Both Rules of the Game and Breathless embody the spirit of their respective movements while exploring realism and redefining the purpose of cinema. However, while Rules of the Game contrasts the formative and realistic traditions through long takes and deep focus, Breathless breaks cinematic conventions through distanciation techniques and disjunctive editing to convey disillusionment and cinematic realism. Though these techniques and definitions of realism are seemingly oppositional, Godard and Renoir both hold to the same cinematic purpose of communicating their feelings of disillusionment towards society with the audience.
... checks himself). As well the whole of act one is ironic as Eva Smith's
Li-Young Lee’s poem, A Story, explores a complex relationship between a father and his five year old son. Although the poem’s purpose is to elaborate on the complexity of the relationship and the father’s fear of disappointing his son, the main conflict that the father is faced with is not uncommon among parents. Lee is able to successfully portray the father’s paranoia and son’s innocence through the use of alternating point of view, stanza structure, and Biblical symbolism.
The Effect of Dual Narration by Michael Frayn on the Readers Understanding of the Text
In this essay, I will examine and discuss how academic film critics and scholars such as Stephen Teo, David Bordwell and others have talked about his visual style, in relation to one of his many award-winning films, Chungking Express (1994). Chungking Express marked Wong Kar-wai's major break onto the international film scene and remains one of his most memorable work, if not the best, in his filmmaking career. American director and filmmaker, Quentin Tarantino, convinced his distributor, Miramax, to buy over the rights to Chungking Express for distribution of the film in the United States under his production label, Rolling Thunder.... ... middle of paper ...
In Breathless, Michel is portrayed as a dastardly yet sympathetic character whose fat death seems tragic and fitting all at the same time. The way the film is edited makes it so the audience feels some sympathy for him. He morality is unclear and slightly confusing, but that makes him cool. The way the camera focuses on him, the way he acts, the way he handles his cigarettes, the way he casually walks through life void of rules, and the fact that his actions are almost always accompanied by smooth jazz on the soundtrack, help elevate him. Michel Poiccard might not have much substance, but he has a lot of style.
Moreover, Scorsese adopted a disjunctive editing style in contrast to the classical continuity editing, exploited jump shots and fragmented scenes to generate a mix of engagement and disorientation between the audience and Travis’ split personality. In terms of visual literacy, Scorsese is known for his fluent shift between subjective and objective shots to reinforce the effect. (Rodríguez 2011, p. 181) The frequent use of first-person perspective voiceover and insertion of self-conscious viewpoint shots (Berliner 2010, p. 158) violate the norms of classical Hollywood objective story telling. Instead of relying on motions and conversations to portray the character state of mind, Taxi Driver employed stylized tableau and infiltrated music to