National Cinema - Film 101 Assignment #3

National Cinema is difficult to define, but can be read in may ways in a text, it can be read in the way a Film is produced, with the director, actors, producers and language all being a contributing force. However, when these things are used together all with once major national influence it becomes apparent as to what is national cinema and what is not. Using the examples of Volver, The Orphanage and Pans Labryinth this will be shown. There are many types of national cimena and they all influence each other, with Hollywood influencing and the most dominant of them all.

National Cinema is, according to many, hard to define, however it is predominately used to define the movies and cinema produced by a single country (O'Regan) & (Triana-Toribio). The most widely known and easily recognizable examples of National cinema are Hollywood and India’s Bollywood. While it can be argued that Hollywood Cinema is not directly America’s national cinema it is a major contributor to all other forms of National Cinema, with many trying to replicate it. National cinema’s by replicating the way Hollywood Cinema is created try and fight the success it has on their market, by creating a piece of Cinema in a country that replicates Hollywood it streams the revenue back into the Nation and not into the large companies that produce Hollywood films.

A Domestic based or National cinema film-maker’s career will often be hinged on the success of getting their film into a Film festival like Sundance, Cannes or the other major international Film Festivals while also gaining entry into the Film festivals based in their own nation. For instance, a New Zealand Director may try to get his movie into the New Zealand Film Festival, while also trying to get it into Cannes or Sundance. The New Zealand Movie ‘Boy’, which was written and directed by Taika Waititi, and funded by the New Zealand Film commission, had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and another release at the Berlin Film Festival, there were both before its eventual theatrical release in New Zealand. What this shows is that the director’s aim was not only to have the film shown on a National level, but an international level. So while it can be argued that ‘Boy’ is an example of New Zealand national cinema, it has also been aimed for international release.

To gain commercial success, and also to break the international market, film makers will often outsource some of the production and acting responsibilities to foreigners, as this often helps them crack the international market and gain overseas distribution deals, big names will often pull bigger crowds (Pavlovic, Inmaculada and Blanc). This has happened with Spanish cinema, with movies like, The Others, and The machinist all staring big names, but remaining Spanish in origin. This idea can be translated into movies like Vantage Point and The Boy Who Stole a Million which are example’s of Films that have a Spanish setting but are a product of foreign cinema, with Vantage Point being an American production and The Boy Who Stole a Million being a British production. Having big budget movies filmed on location, is good for tourism but can also create the illusion that the film is National Cinema, when it is only a product of ‘location filming’. Over the years these movies and other co-productions have added to the outside influence on Spanish cinema (Triana-Toribio). Hollywood and other film industries looks to film on location because it presents a more authentic feel then a sound stage or creating a set does.

Volver is a 2006 Spanish film directed by Spaniard Pedro Almodovar. It was Co-produced by Pedro’s brother Agustin and another Spanish producer Esther Garcia, who had previously funded Pedro’s films. While he was filming Volver, Pedro kept a short diary as to what the movie was about, in an attempt to explain its origin, he explains how it is about death, but not just death itself, it also is about the culture surrounding death in the area where he grew up (Almodóvar). It also brings up the topic of Sex abuse, and how the character, Paula, finally dealt with the struggle that it caused her when the character of Paco, tried to rape her, which then resulted in his death while she is defending herself. Towards the conclusion of the film, the protaganist, Raimunda, played by Penelope Cruz, also finds out that Paula is not only her Daughter, but also sister, due to her fathers sexual abuse on her. This film deals with many issues facing families. Pedro cited his upbringing as a major influence on his ideas for this Film, with many of the Characters and plot segments based loosely on parts of his childhood surroundings. This reference to his childhood helps to create a more authentic feel to the movie, as he is drawing from experiance, but is not re-creating it.

Volver can be seen as an example of national cinema because in a few different ways. Firstly, the setting, it is set in the La Mancha region of Spain, just south of Madrid, which is also the birthplace of the Films director. Another reason is the production; the director, Pedro Almodovar, the producers, Agustin Almodovar, Esther Garcia and Toni Novella are all Spanish, The music was scored originally by Alberto Iglesias, and the editing, casting, cinematography were Spaniards. Another example is the title of the film its self, Volver, which is Spanish for ‘Return’ or ‘To come back’, is a theme in the film, the characters begin by returning to a village in memory of the mother who died in a house fire years previously. This mother then later, through a series of events, returns to reveal that she was never in fact diseased. Finally, the language, the main language of the film is Spanish. All these things are examples then when used together show that Volver is an example of Spanish National cinema and not a product of Hollywood or any other national cinema made to look Spanish.

The Orphanage (2007) is the debut film of Spanish film maker Jaun Antionio Bayona, and was written eleven years previously by Sergio Sanchez. It is a Spanish/Mexican co-production but it has a primary Spanish influence, with its Director, writer, actors and language being Spanish. The Orphanage once again deals with death as a revoling theme, the dissaperance and eventual death of the character Simon, the search by and eventual death of Laura, as well as dealing with the deaths of Thomas and the other orphans. Another theme is also childhood, with the movie revolving around a game created by Simon and the ghost, or memory, or Thomas. These two main themes eventually mix, with the Game leading to the discovery of the deseased orphans in the furnace.

We can read The Orphanage as an example of spanish national cinema because of the heavy Spanish influence. The three main actors in the film are Spanish, giving the film a feel and look of a Spanish production, the effect of doing this familiarizes the viewer with the nation, it clearly identifies the protagonist’s as Spanish as they look more natural and the accents are natural. Also the setting of this movie was set in the Asturias region of Spain, as Bayona felt that this gave the best representation of his vision of Spain and how well it would work for the film (New Line Cinema). However, there were certain restrictions to this area, aspects of filming that Bayona wanted to achieve could not be achieved in the house its self so filming of these took place in sound stages in Barcelona. Jaun Antionio took inspiration from other Spanish films La residencia and The Innocents and showed both to the Director of Photography, as he wanted to re-create or imitate the scope lensing used in these films (New Line Cinema). However, the producers behind it, including Guillermo Del Toro, are a mix of Spaniards and Mexican’s, which can lead to questions about the films nationality, however, the primary reason for turning to the Mexican producers was to double the budget and the filming duration, as to create the movie how the directer wanted.

El laberinto del fauno (2006), the Spanish title of the Mexican/Spanish co-production ‘Pans Labyrinth’ is an example at how a film can be a co-production with a setting in a country different to that of it’s production unit. Written, directed and produced by Mexican, Guillermo del Toro, Pans Labyrinth is set 5 years after the Spanish civil war (1944) and follows one girl, Ofelia’s, travels into a mystical world with the aid of a Faun, who helps her challenge her identity as human and get released into the mystical world as Princess Moanna. This film can be read as a product of Spanish national cinema because of its setting, 1940’s war torn Spain, its language, Spanish, and its primary actors, with the exception of one, being of Spanish origin. However, its producers range from Spanish and Mexican origin, leading to question as to what National cinema this film represents. The Music production was also created and Scored by Javier Navarrete, who originates from the Spanish region of Teruel. However the Cinematography and editing was done by Mexicans. This Once again calls into question the nationality of the film.

In both The Orphanage and Pans Labyrinth there is continued used of blue, the use of this, at times, highlights the sadness of the characters. All three movies highly feature Children, and also death as themes. While these things are not unique to Spanish cinema, with film makers from all over the world using them, they are useful in these films to help portray the message of the film across to the viewer.By seeing this color it helps veiwers to come to terms with what they are seeing on the screen, as they are seeing a familiar color in a time of emotion. When mixed with other cinematography techniques and the films score it can create a representation to the viewer of their own country (Insdorf). As in Volver, the soundtrack for the Orphanage was composed and scored by a Spanish man, Fernando Velazquez. This is another way we can read this text as a product of Spanish national cinema. Having a person of Spanish origin score the movie allowed for a more personalized background for the movie, in doing this the composer can use unique sounds that would be relevant for Spanish viewers in turn representing their own country back to them. Part of how we can view a film as national cinema is the way it is created for example, the production unit behind it.

The differences in nationality of the production unit involved in creating a film doesn’t nessacarialy show that the film is a product of that national cinema. As the term national cinema is hard to define, it is open to interpretation. Movies like Pans Labyrinth which is a co-production between two nations, but is so heavily set in and features one particular nation, can be perceived as national cinema. Movies like Volver, which is not a co-production can be percived to be Spanish national cinema because of the heavy involvement of Spain, in setting, directing, casting, acting and language. Movies that clearly are not Spanish national cinema but still have a spanish influence in some respect, for example Vantage Point and The Boy Who Stole a Million, are examples of big budget corporations taking advantage of the pituresque Spanish area.

All three of these movies first premiered at Film festivals, Pans Labyrinth at the 2006 Cannes film festival Volver also premiered at this festival, and won two awards, One for best screenplay, and the other for best actress. The Orphanage opened a year later at Cannes in 2007, where it received a 10 minute standing ovation (thinkSPAIN). However, their Spanish Debut’s came later, with Pan’s Labyrinth being released in October of 2006, Volver’s premier being in March 2006 in Puertollano, where it was filmed. The Orphanage opened the Sitges Film Festival, and had its Spanish release in October of 2007. Together the box office receipts from these movies total $245,155,439 (USD) (Box office Mojo), with $57,037,080 (USD) being domestic. What this shows is that through these movies Spanish cinema is starting to crack the international market, while there is still the art house productions for the Spanish audiences, more and more productions are being created with the international viewership in mind.

With these major influences from outside markets and the Spanish influence on outside markets, some actors, actresses, directors and other players in Spanish cinema have gained international recognition. Such actors being Antonio Banderas, who had previously worked on a number of Spanish productions, including many with Pedro Almodovar, before gaining international success in American blockbusters. Penelope Cruz is another example, having worked on numerous Spanish productions before international Success. Directors have become international stars thanks to their work on Spanish cinema, Pedro Almodovar has gained worldwide recognition for his Film making, as well as many of the pioneers of Spanish cinema, Segundo de Chomon and Luis Bunuel are other examples. This international success has also highlighted Spain as an attractive destination for American blockbusters and in part tourism, much like Lord of the Rings did for New Zealand. With many Big budget American movies being shot in Spain since the late 1960’s. Jaun Antonio Bayona’s movie, The Orphanage, which is currently undergoing a rewrite for an American remake, has stated that while a remake of his movie is an honour, Americans have money to produce and make anything they want, but, as with his own movie, they choose to mostly re-create successful movies (Sitges Film Festival). 

Although the first Spanish films are argued, it is believed that they were released in 1897, two years after the first Spanish film exhibition, the early term for film festival, these movies were among the first of motion picture, but were still silent. Over the years Spain has created many great silent films, which reached international success. However, the Civil war in 1936 caused a divide in the way people viewed and thought about Spanish cinema, it began to contain heavy Political messages, either for or against Francisco Franco. However, by the 1950’s the emergence of neo-realism and co-productions with France and Italy revitalized the Spanish national cinema, and moved it away from the heavily political fuelled industry it had been since the outbreak of Civil war (Hopewell). However, it can be in turn argued that today’s National cinema in Spain isn’t solely of Spanish influence, the artistic outlook of the French and Italian cinema’s during the times of Co-production lead to many directors starting to use more artistic elements of cinematography. Also around this time, the emergence of big American financed productions in Spain began to arrive, leading to yet more influence on the Spanish cinema. However, with these productions came work, giving the local cinema industry workers to practice their skills and become better allowed them to then transfer their skills back to the national cinema.

National cinema can be shown in a text by the way it is presented and produced, if the production unit, acting base, music, language and setting are all of one nation it is much easier to determine what is national cinema, the example given, Volver, is evidence of this. This is also true for when there is a mixed base for the production unit but still hase a primary influence with all other aspects of the film, as in the example The Orphanage. It becomes more difficult to determine what is national cinema when the production unit is od a different nationiaity than that of the actors, setting, language and music as in Pans Labryinth. While the definition of national cinema is still difficult to define, the way it is shown in a text is much easier, which also makes spotting imitations, and location filming as not national cinema. The exapmle given, Spanish national cinema, as well as all other major national cinemas, is influenced by others, no one nation can simple say that their cinema is unique.

Bibliography

 

Almodóvar, Pedro. Pedro Almodóvar, Official Site. 1st January 2006. 25th October 2011 <http://www.clubcultura.com/clubcine/clubcineastas/almodovar/eng/diario01.htm>.

Anderson, B. “Introduction.” Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London & new York: Verso, 1983. 1-8.

Babington, B. “Introduction: The New Zealand Fiction Feature Film: History, Theory, Practice.” A History of the New Zealand Fiction Feature Film. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2009. 1-12.

Box office Mojo. Foreign Language. 25th October 2011. 25th October 2011 <http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=foreign.htm>.

Hopewell, John. Out Of the Past: Spanish Cinema After Franco. London: BFI Books, 1986.

Insdorf, A. “Three Colors: White.” Double Life, Second Chances (1999): 153-164.

New Line Cinema. The Orphanage. 1st January 2007. 23rd October 2011 <http://newline.com/cm_downloads/pr/orphanagethe_productionnotes_1.pdf>.

O'Regan, T. “A National Cinema.” Australian National Cinema (1996): 45-76.

Pavlovic, Tatjana, Inmaculada Inmaculada and Rasana Blanc. 100 Years of Spanish Cinema. John Wiley and Sons Ltd: Blackwell, 2008.

Sitges Film Festival. J.A. Bayona: 'The important things are emotions, not awards' . 9th October 2008. 26th October 2011 <http://sitgesfilmfestival.com/eng/noticies/?id=1002893>.

thinkSPAIN. 'El Orfanato' left off Oscar shortlist . 16th January 2008. 26th October 2011 <http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/13815/el-orfanato-left-off-oscar-shortlist>.

Triana-Toribio, Nuria. Spanish National Cinema. London: Taylor Francis Ltd, 2002.

Film101 - Assignment #2 - Back To The Future

Back To The Future Clip.

Through this two minute clip of Robert Zemeckis, Back to the Future there are many filmic elements used to keep them watching. The Mise-en-Scene elements of setting, staging, sound, colour and the use of the space mixed with cinematography, editing all add to the Audience expectations and build the suspense of the scene.

During this 2 minute sequence there are many Mise-en-Scene elements for example setting, which is implied as a car park outside a convenience store of some nature, later on in the clip the audience are shown “J C Penny” (Back in Time Scene - Back to the Future Movie (1985) – HD, 2011) and are thus to confirm this suspicion they are also able to tell that it is a car park by the white lines that are very recognizable on many other car parks.  The Costume is also very clear in this scene; the persons in the van are dressed in terrorist costume identifying them in the mind of the viewer as potential people of evil and entice them to side with the other character that is depicted in the scene. The use of this type of character and costume is playing on the stereotyping tendencies of the audience. The costume of the other character depicted here is a boiler suit of some sort, maybe suggesting that he is working with a hazardous material, but due the length of the clip, it is never shown to the audience directly.

When ‘Marty’ First encounters the terrorists he is fearful for his life, which is shown by the image of him standing in the light with his eyes shut, almost willing for luck to be on his side, the music in the background is also building up hinting that something important is about to happen. He also looks back the motionless figure in on the ground and moves to assist them; however when both he and the audience hear the engine of the fan roar into life, he closes the door and makes to move drive off. What this does is builds up the suspense and gets the audience asking themselves questions, what has happened to the motionless figure or can ‘Marty’ escape.

Another aspect of sound that in the clip is the sound of bullets, the audience continually hear the sounds of a gun being fired, reminding them of the situation. During this time ‘Marty’ is also willing the car on, pushing it to try to reach the goal of 88 miles per hour. He finally manages to achieve this after the terrorist pulls out what appears to be a Rocket. ‘Marty’ urging of the car, entices the audience to also will the car on as he is the protagonist of the film.

With the scene taking place during the night, the vehicles being driven both have their headlights on, at the beginning of the clip, the lights from the terrorists van are used to illuminate the character ‘Marty’ to add to the suspense of the scene. While Marty is driving, his face is light up by the reflection of a light shining into the wing mirror. What this shows us is the sweat, from the stress of the position he is in, this is shown even more after the terrorists are shown as aiming an RPG at his car. While there is the use of Street lamps and headlights, natural light is not enough to illuminate as much of the scene area as needed, so the use of spotlights may have been used to illuminate this area for the director with the help of the available lighting.

The staging and movement in this scene includes a lot of driving. Although it begins with the character of Marty running then jumping into the car, the primary movement in this scene is based around driving, this is shown to us by the use of many different camera angles and edits, these camera angles and edits add to the suspense of the scene. For example, the cuts in the editing when Marty is starting the car shows the keys being turned, the gear being selected, then the accelerator pedal being applied, and with the addition of the tyres screeching into life at the end of this sequence the audience is able to tell that the car has been started and is ready to aid in the escape. The cuts in this scene are straight cuts, which are all done to achieve continuity editing. It cuts from one aspect of the scene into another aspect in the same scene.

The Editing in this scene is done to create the illusion of ‘real time’ where the filming may have taken place over many hours. This condensing of film is achieved by using the many different cuts that are in the clip.  The effect of this is to build the suspense, the cuts between the Terrorists and ‘Marty’ adds to their conflict and builds the audience expectations. As the pace of the edits get faster the audience is drawn in by the increasing music up until ‘Marty’ finally hits 88 Miles per hour and travels back in time when the music reaches its climax and the sounds of its time travel takes over.

This scene utilizes screen space to keep the audience guessing as to how close the vehicles are from each other at any one point, as well as keeping the audience guessing as to how much room each of the vehicles has to work with for example, when ‘Marty’ first drives off, the Van is unseen apart from the few seconds where we see it finally come to life and begin to move off. However, this is followed by a cut into the car with ‘Marty’. While the audience can guess that the van is heading towards him, we are not directly shown this until ‘Marty’ begins to drive himself. At which point there is another cut and the camera uses a crane shot and pans out so we can see the van approaching with the ‘Terrorists’

There is only a few spoken words in this sequence, at the beginning of the clip the ‘Terrorists’ are clearly identified as foreign by the language used when the gun jams. This helps the audience identify the threat to ‘Marty’ and also amplifies the frustration at the gun jamming therefore allowing ‘Marty’ to escape as they have reverted to using the natural language. During this period the music the audience can hear, Non-diegetic music holds to one single note played continuously which is used in enticing the audience to hold their breath and hope for the best situation for the protagonist.  

Being only a two minute clip, there is slight hints at a motif for the movie. For example, The Car, which plays a pivotal point through the clip, as it is the entity in which ‘Marty’ travels back in time, which is shown by the date board which flashes the date of ‘November 5, 1955”, by showing this the director is giving the audience the clues needed for them to conclude that after the bright lights and arriving in the field, that he has indeed travelled back in time. Once back in time the audience can hear the sounds of a car bumping over grass and no longer the smooth tar Mac, which is another indication that he has travelled back in time, this change is also clearly visible through the windscreen also when shown to us in the long shot later in the clip. The car also hits a scarecrow causing ‘Marty’ to yell and turn the car which then causes him to drive into a barn like building. Through this scene the colour blue, which is another hint at a motif through continued use, is used partly to signify the sadness ‘Marty’ is feeling toward the person who the audience sees laying facedown. Also, it is used when the car hits the target speed and travel back in time it illuminates the whole car. While being a hint at a motif, its continued use before this, in the shading of the shots and the lighting that illuminates the face of ‘Marty’ on occasion, could be an attempt at foreshadowing this moment. The sound of his yelling is muffled as a hazmat suit covers his head after a nasty bump, proving to the audience that what they are hearing and seeing is taking place at the same time, after which the sounds of the car are also muffled when he drives through the doors of the barn.

As the car crashes or comes to a stop in the building, which the audience is able to see as a far shot but never close up, there is a crash and the sounds of wood snapping and breaking, then from what aooears to be a hole in the roof there is dust or smoke emanating. The use of this far shot and the sound leads the audience to imagine that the car has been crashed and wonder if after all the trouble of getting away, that it might have all been in vain. The use of the far shot here keeps the audience guessing as to what actually happened in the barn.

The first camera shot of the scene is a pan shot while ‘Marty’ runs across the van, this makes the audience follow his vision. From this shot is cuts into a mid close up of ‘Marty’ then in a shot reverse shot action it switches between him and the ‘terrorist’, what the use of this shot does is shows the emotion that both parties are feeling about the situation they find themselves in before cutting back to the ‘terrorist’ clearly agitated that the gun has jammed. From this it cuts to a shot of ‘Marty’ diving into his car, showing the urgency to which he is trying to get away. It then cuts into another shot reverse shot, between ‘Marty’, the unknown figure laying face down and the ‘terrorist’ with the time between these individual shots speeding up to add to the suspense and increase the heart rates of the audience. During the car chase sequence there is different shot types used, with the first a tracking shot taken in front of the vehicles, switching to the perspective of each person involved to show what they are doing, getting the audience involved. All of these shots follow the 180 degree rule allowing the audience to keep up with the unseen movements, for example, that the van is always on one side of the car during the chase.

The use of the different filmic elements in this scene of Back to the Future, work together to add to the audiences experience of watching the film, this is achieved by using, mise-en-scene, cinematography and editing together to created a scene high in energy and high on emotion. In doing this the Director has created a scene where the audience find themselves willing the protagonist on to his escape and when he finally achieves it they can see their expectations fulfilled and can move onto the next scene of the film and once again build up these expectations from that scene and from the movie as a whole.  

Works Cited

Back in Time Scene - Back to the Future Movie (1985) – HD. YouTube. May 26, 2011 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPeHFDxKUP4&feature=relmfu>