Coming Home (2014) directed by Zhang Yimou, follows the story of a family of three in China during and after the Cultural revolution. The father, Lu Yanshi, a professor, is a political prisoner and at the outset of the film escapes from a Xining labor camp to meet his wife, Feng Wanyu, and only daughter Dandan. Driven by estrangement from her father and a desire of a leading role, Dandan revealed her parents' secret meeting to the police after his father's first attempt at reconciling with his wife did not end well. By the end of the Cultural Revolution, Lu was released from rehabilitation to discover that his daughter had quit dancing and started a job at a textile factory, and his wife now suffering from psychogenic amnesia, …show more content…
Despite having made a film before of the same era and genre, To Live (1994), Zhang maintains that it is his personal endeavor as a director to explore all possible angles to a narrative. He believes that a story is never not been told before, and it is up to the director to present it in such a way that it is novel and uniquely interesting to an audience as a film. True enough, as opposed to his indiscreet usage of primary colors and more eventful scenes in the To Live, Coming Home is more subdued and visceral. In his own words, Zhang describes the political setting as something that underlies in the background as opposed to enveloping the whole story. The film aims to equip the viewer with the experiences of a particular institution during this era, and from this they are expected to draw inferences of what it was like during the Cultural Revolution. Sure enough, it succeeded in doing so. The film took a very meditative route in presenting the narrative. The pacing was very slow but never dragging; just enough to bring out a sense of pensiveness from its audience, provoking them to they themselves to do some introspection in between silent moments between the
...t have an ultimate goal to express something they care about on film. They must not only express this in their script, but carry through on it by directing, producing and pulling together many other aspects of the film by themselves. Three filmmakers that fit this description to a “t” are Kevin Smith, Spike Lee and Alfred Hitchcock. These three men all went out with the same goal: To express their views of life in extraordinary films. They all went above and beyond their call of duty and are now ranked among the top filmmakers of history, the rank of film auteurs.
Although it may been seen partly as a historical accident forced by budgetary constraints, part of the mystique of the film is in how different it was to the horror audience of the day. Romero and the Image Ten team, working with black-and-white in a day in which most mainstream films were released in color, were able to use the black-and-white film to lend a certain documentary feel that evoked feelings of newsreels of the day, which were still shot in black-and-white (Hervey 26). This certain credibility evoked is one that is likely lost on contemporary audiences that grew up in a time in which the news and documentaries are delivered in color, but modern audiences should see parallels in the way The Blair Witch Project co-opted the use of VHS cameras to produce a low-cost horror film with a realistic feel to it.
An important aspect of Dana Sach’s “if you lived here” is the trauma and recovery that characters like Xuan Mai go through. Trauma results from an event that is overwhelming to the person and causes symptoms that are a response to the trauma. Recovery is when the life narrative is pieced back together so that the trauma is, “part of the learning curve of the life narrative.” (Herman) The trauma and recovery of characters like Xuan Mai is important because the stage that the character is undergoing impacts their actions and attitudes toward key events in the novel. This is evident in how Xuan Mai’s attitude toward Shelley’s adoption of Hai Au changes based on what stage of trauma and recovery that she is in.
take care of his siblings after her departure. After a fight with his father, Edgard
The film’s story does not simply shines forth, but is also the foundation of the plot. The film’s plot makes the traditional guidelines applicable...
It is important to vary the way that the narrative is told in a film
Everywhere there is a political climate that is noticed by the people surrounding that specific area.
.../producer. He didn’t over look the little things and I feel like this makes his films feel more alive almost as if you were there experiencing the action with the characters. We also see the use of extreme long shots where Shane is riding into the distance. As he gets smaller we see the wide-open desert terrain grow larger. We also see some use of low-key lighting when he gets into a shoot out with two men. I believe at the time George Stevens was one of the best director/producers in his era and his films will stay known for years to come.
simply: “A genre film, like virtually any story, can be examined in terms of its fundamental
Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) 2006, DVD, Buena Vista Pictures, Burbank, California, United States of America. Written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
As an audience, we become involved in the plot not through learning about characters’ backgrounds and traits. Instead, we learn information at the same time through the mechanics of the plot and editing. We are made to work to understand the workings of the plot. As we watch the film unfold, the editing takes the along for the ride rather than watching from a distance. the audience and characters sweat together as surprises arise in the well-thought out plan and the way the movie ...
context of the piece and the society in which the characters are living in. Everything
that the novel is a log of events and a tale of what might be in the
...verything around us is made by our actions. Positive or negative they cause an effect that will ultimately lead to a different story base on how we interpret life. Narrative elements are used as a bridge by the directors in their film to create any master plot that is currently known. Any modification at any narrative element used by the director at important moments inside the story can help you portray a different master plot. This used of narrative elements can be best described as an ever changing process that takes place inside an individual’s head. Depending on the individual that may be exposed to those narrative elements can create different meanings. This new interpretation can be different for everyone. We have to be aware that one change in the surface scenery can lead to many ideal outcomes in our minds and that is the main power the audience has.
In this article, Jones discusses the marginalization of motion pictures, yet touches on the great aspects of film, and how these aspects can expect to survive in the future. Major topics that Jones addresses are: developments in video narrative through flawless storytelling, the use of digital tools for film restoration and preservation, and an audience shift from film to digital. These points detail the love and appreciation that goes into filmmaking, and how the narratives, despite having changed formats throughout the years, have been able to survive and appear to be timeless. Jones also further discusses the idea of using audiovisual material to create narratives appealing. He details how the stylistic approach of a film, and the techniques like cinematography and editing, can enhance and provide for a greater narrative. In summary, the sum of the parts of a film are what make the entire experience, which not only makes for a great film, but for a lasting story as