Final Part 3 - Reflection

I think that Zhang Yimou, the director of The Road Home, chose to incorporate fairytales and myth in the plot because it was a way of showing the innocence of Zhao Di’s love when she was younger, and was also a way of having Zhao Di express her feelings when she was older – so we as an audience understood why she was experiencing so much grief at the loss of Luo Changyu. The fairytale is demonstrated by showing the present time at the beginning of the film in black and white, but then making the transition to color with Zhao Di’s memories of how she fell in love with Luo Changyu, and then back to black and white when she finishes telling the story. I thought the transition between black and white and color in the film effectively demonstrated their love story and how their fairytale both began and came to an end when he passed away. Using this strategy added to the emotional journey that we, as an audience, felt while watching the film; seeing their fairytale journey allowed us to view their struggles and hardships, as well as gain insight as to why Zhao Di and Luo Changyu fell in love with each other. It was extremely enjoyable to watch overall.

Final Part 2 - Visual Style Analysis

Enchanted and The Road Home have many similarities including the characters love story, and the symbolism throughout each film.
 

Symbolism is relevant in both films through the use of the color red - it represents the hope each of the protagonists has that they will get to be with the person they love. In The Road Home, Zhao Di falls in love with the new school teacher, Luo Changyu, and wears a red scarf each time she goes to visit him at the school. Her red scarf symbolizes the hope she has that he will notice her. Later on in the film, Luo Changyu gives Zhao Di a red barrette before he has to return to the city. The red barrette demonstrates that Luo Changyu reciprocates her love for him and that he hopes she will wait for him to return. In Enchanted, Giselle is tempted with a red apple before she gets married to Prince Edward. She’d been having doubts about getting married to Prince Edward and the apple represents the life she wishes and hopes she will have with him. As the film progresses and she develops feelings for Robert Philip, the apple later comes to represent the hope that they will be together and that he will reciprocate the feelings she has for him.

The characters behavior is also similar between both films. In The Road Home, Zhao Di and Luo Changyu develop a close and intimate relationship with each other, but when Luo Changyu is summoned to return to the city she becomes sickly distraught at him not being around anymore. This despair causes her to fall ill until he returns to her. In Enchanted, Giselle focuses her efforts on helping Robert with his relationship with Nancy by showing him small ways he can demonstrate his love for her. As she spends more time with him she realizes that its Robert she has feelings for, not Prince Edward, and when she attends the ball she becomes distraught when she realizes that they won’t be together. Queen Narissa takes advantage of her vulnerability and convinces her that everything will turn out okay if she eats the apple. Once she does, Giselle falls into a deep sleep from which she can only be awoken by her true love. These two love stories are similar to each other because both protagonists’ fall ill when they realize they can’t be with the person they love most. It’s only when their love interest returns to them that they can wake up.

 

Visual Style:

The visual style is similar in the way the directors portray each film. In The Road Home, the director uses black and white to represent the present time, and color to represent the memories and flashbacks Zhao Di is having as she recalls the life she had with Luo Changyu. In Enchanted, the director uses animation to represent Giselle’s past life, the life she will soon leave behind, and the use of real people to represent her new life and the one in which she’ll find the person she truly belongs with.

The color scheme in The Road Home and in the animated scenes in Enchanted is vibrant and full of life (warm color palette), which demonstrates the desires and good feelings they once had. To demonstrate the present time, the director of The Road Home showed the scenes in black and white, and in Enchanted the director portrays the real world (when she first appears in New York) as dull and lifeless so it was almost bordering on a black and white color palette.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The visual style between both films is also similar in the way the characters are viewed by others, specifically by their love interests. Both Robert and Luo Changyu look at the protagonists with affection, which is demonstrated in the shots below. Both Giselle and Zhao Di are looking away from their love interest, whereas their love interest is completely focused on them. The directors choice of a close up for these scenes allows the viewer to see the expressions and emotions on each characters face; this demonstrates the love story between both characters.

 

 

 

Pan's Labyrinth Featured Blogger Question

Prior to entering the Pale Man’s room, the faun warns Ofelia not to eat or drink anything off the table, no matter how tempting it may be. Despite successfully collecting the knife from the cupboard, and the warning not to eat or drink anything on the Pale Man’s table, Ofelia decided to eat a lush red grape anyways - blatantly ignoring the faun’s warning.

1. Why do you think Ofelia chose to eat something off the table?

2. What do you think would have happened if she hadn’t eaten something off the table; was this action critical towards her completion of the three tasks?

 

Final Presentation Proposal - Enchanted and The Road Home

Enchanted and The Road Home have many similarities that I’d like to explore further. Zhao Di falls in love with the new school teacher and follows him on the way home after school hours so they’ll meet.

In Enchanted, Giselle reminds Robert that the best way to show his girlfriend he loves her is to bring her flowers or sing to her. The similarity here is in how both protagonists have simplistic ways of getting their love interest to notice them.

The color red is also a symbol in both films, in that in each it represents hope (through the scarf and banners in The Road Home and in the apple in Enchanted).

Interesting Use of Music

An interesting use of music occurs in The Polar Express (2004) when the kids are about to receive hot chocolate on the train. The music incorporates the sounds of the waiters footsteps/dancing, the chairs revolving, and the tablecloths being put down. Each of the waiters movements are also emphasized by an instrument being played in the background. I thought it was interesting to incorporate sounds as a part of the music, rather than just having them be left as background noise. The music also conveys the mood of the kids in the scene (they are in awe and excited) and the waiters, as the instruments are very light and bouncy to match their dancing.

Water: Cultural Perspective

 

The film, Water, portrays the livelihood of women widows in India during that time period. Widows were not allowed to remarry because it was considered a sin, although many of them wanted to. Widows also faced poor treatment and suffering. A comment is made in the film when the older widow dies; they hoped she’d be reborn as a man. This comment demonstrates the unhappiness the women found at becoming widows and the treatment they faced because of that status. Alongside the treatment widows faced, the film also included brief scenes that focused on messages from Gandhi’s movement. These scenes demonstrated how public views on the treatment of widows were in the process of changing, including the views from the widows themselves.

Tsotsi: Sound and Music

 

I thought the opening scene’s sound and music worked perfectly together. The scene shows Tsotsi and his friends at Tsotsi’s house when one of the friends ask Tsotsi what they’d be doing that night. An upbeat and almost powerful song begins playing when the camera focuses on a close-up of Tsotsi’s face. The scene then cuts to them leaving the house and walking along the street towards the city.

I thought the scene’s action and song combination worked well together because the song seemed to give us an insight into how others viewed Tsotsi. As the song plays, Tsotsi’s movements are very controlled and purposeful, like he knows how to handle himself and what he needs to do in order to survive in that environment. He also seems to be very focused during this scene and the music seems to emphasize that since the music was also very controlled and had a very direct beat to it. Tsotsi’s friends also walk slightly behind Tsotsi which shows that they view him as the leader of their group.

As the scene progresses, the sound of train tracks and a train whistle are heard in the background. These sounds being used in addition to the song seem to direct where the scene is going. It’s almost like a preview of what’s to come is being shown because their robbery at the train station is what started Tsotsi off on his journey to find value in his life.

Interesting Special Effect

I chose a special effect from The Mummy (1999) which shows Imhotep (played by Arnold Vosloo) chewing on a scarab that comes out of the side of his neck. This is one of my favorite films, and I thought it was interesting to see the process of this special effect being made. The clip above shows the CGI (computer generated image) process in which they made this effect. It describes how they first began with a computer model of Vosloo's face, to create the decayed area, before adding a scarab to run from a hole in his neck to the side of his face. Below I've included the clip from the movie that shows the completed process.

Interesting Transition

 

I chose an interesting transition from the TV show, Steampunk’d (2015). The show divides its participants into two teams with the task of creating a room with an original steampunk design. At the end of each episode, before eliminations take place, the final room is shown in comparison to what the room first looked like. To do this, the show uses a dissolve transition (an overlapping transition). The previous shot of the original room dissolves into the shot of what the room looks like completed and a few seconds of each of these shots is seen as they are overlapping. The use of the dissolve transition in the show is used to show how much time has passed between what the room had looked like before it was completed.

The Whale Rider: Historical Framework

While viewing The Whale Rider, I made sure to consider the historical context of the film. The Whale Rider focused on the traditions and life of the Maori people in New Zealand, including the gender roles within their community. Prior to watching the film we were informed of some of the traits of their gender roles, which included that men would perform the more laborious tasks (such as carving) because they viewed as stronger, which also coincided with the tradition of them fulfilling the leadership roles (such as the role of chief). Women generally performed household work and were valued for their childbearing abilities. These roles were verbally demonstrated when Pai's grandmother commented during a family dinner that, although Koro was in charge of everything outside, she was in charge of the kitchen.

I thought it was interesting to view these traditional roles in the film, and also view how they were altered throughout the film by Pai. Pai was portrayed as a strong young woman who constantly pushed the limitations of women’s roles in the film. When she wanted to listen to the Maori lessons from Koro she decided to sit in the front row, and even when Koro told her to move she didn’t move to the back row; she left entirely. I really enjoyed watching Pai’s character become stronger and more confident throughout the film, since she stretched how women’s roles were being portrayed as she pursued the role of chief.

Interesting Camera Movement

The interesting camera movement I chose appears in the film Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011) in the scene in which Tom Cruise is going to scale the outside of a building. 

 

 

As Tom Cruise approaches the edge of the window the camera zooms in and pans up to show the distant skyline in comparison to his silhouette, showing multiple buildings that are shorter in comparison to the one he’s in, in order to demonstrate to the viewers the height of the building he’s currently in and to emphasize the extremity of what he’s about to do. The camera then pans up and shifts to focus on the ground below him in a high angle shot, giving another view of how high up he really is. As he prepares to climb it, camera tracking is used to follow him in a high angle shot as he shifts his body to place his gloved hand on the glass. Through the use of camera panning and tracking, the viewers are able to fully understand what is at stake in the scenes and experience just how fearful the task is.

I wasn't able to get TubeChop to work, but I've attached a short clip that shows the scene I've described within the first 30 seconds.

The Road Home: Symbolism

An important symbol I found after viewing the film was the banner that was placed in the school house. Di made the banner early in the film, and by placing it in the school, it was supposed to bring good luck. The banner was made with red yarn and she dedicated much of her time to making sure the banner was tightly woven so that it would last longer.

In the beginning of the film, after she finishes the banner, it represents Di’s feelings towards the teacher and her hope that they may be together. The symbolism of the banner changes towards the middle of the film when the teacher becomes aware of her feelings towards him. He then treasures the banner and refuses to have the banner taken down, not even for repairs. The symbolism changes again at the end of the film when it becomes a symbol of their love for each other.

The banner is a constant object in the film, since once it is placed in the school house, it remains untouched. This represents the constant growth of Di and her lover’s feelings for each other, and how a long lasting love is worth holding on to.

The 400 Blows - Visual Style

A scene in The 400 Blows that I found to have interesting visual style was the shot in which Antoine was stealing a typewriter from his stepfather’s work place. The shot is a close-up of Antoine holding the typewriter as he’s leaving the room, with his face half turned away from the camera. In this shot the viewers can see that Antoine is focused on the task at hand, with his eyes focused on the floor and each step he must take to exit the building without being caught. 

A follow-up shot is then shown with Antoine holding the typewriter, except this time he is caught by security after trying to return it. This shot again shows Antoine, but his face is half obscured by shadows. These are important shots to the plot of the film as they show Antoine’s transition from one path in his life to another. Originally he was going to continue on with his theft, but he changed his mind and decided to do the right thing by returning it.

 

 

Interesting Camera Angle or Shot

The interesting camera angle I chose is an extreme close-up from the film Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016). This camera angle was interesting to me because the shot shows the victim from the zombie’s point of view. In this scene the zombie’s vision is blurred, which distorts their view of the victim, and allows the viewers to see from the zombie’s perspective. The shot also captures the fear and surprise on the victim’s face as the zombie approaches her, using a dark color palette to emphasize her fear, as well as strike fear in the viewer.

About Me

Hello everyone! 

My name is Natalie Trzcinko and I am a junior at Alverno College. I'm a Math major with supports in Film Studies and Business Analytics. Some of my current TV show obsessions include "New Girl", "The Flash", and "The Office".