|
WEEKEND STUDIES Name:
SUMMER: FILM AND FAMILY (Fill
out 2, one for each film)
FILM RESPONSE AND ANALYSIS
Unit 1
Film Title:
Director:
Actors/Actresses:
Where viewed: When:
1. Write a single sentence summarizing plot. If
possible, write no more than two.
|
Example: A woman is torn between career achievement
and romantic love in marriage in a story that parallels the fairy
tale of the title, but without its fairy tale escape ending.
(Basic plot of The Red Shoes) |
b.
What do you believe to be the most underlying conflict or
question of the film? Explain in one sentence why you think
this.
|
(Example
Red Shoes): The central conflict is the main character's
choice between commitment to career or to marriage; the conflict
arises both because of her role as a woman in her time and as
an artist in an all-consuming world of prima ballerina dance. |
2.
List the main characters in the film and identify them
with a phrase or two.
3. Characterize the cinematography (camera angles/position/movements,
shot composition, lighting)
- and describe one scene or shot that
illustrates this.
4. Characterize overall mise en scene of the film
and list the elements that contribute to its effect.
- Describe the effect of mise en scene
elements in one scene.
5. What seems to be the time period in which the story is placed?
How does this impact the film? (The
larger historical, social, and sub-cultural events will influence
characters and their choices and decisions. )
6. In
one sentence, state what you believe is a good candidate for
the main theme of the film. Avoid clichés such
as "To err is human" or "True love conquers all,"
or "To thine own self be true."
(example: Theme statement for The
Red Shoes: Society allows men to have both demanding careers
and love in romantic and familial relationships, while truly
talented women seem to have to choose between the two or face
impossible emotional and relational tensions.)
Simply stated, a theme is the point
of the film. It is
- the main vision of what life
is like or what it means to be human;
- the final comment the film has
on the basic conflicts involved;
- an assertion of what life is like or
what some part of it is like.
Note in the example a theme statement does not refer at all
to its film; rather, it offers an insight into some truth about
life. It should reflect the filmmaker's response to the central
conflict you described on the first page.
You do not have to agree or disagree with the statement to see
it and to write it. The point is what the film seems to be saying,
the position it seems to be taking based upon all the elements
contributing to the progress and conclusion.
Theme statement for your film (Do not refer to plot or character):
How does this theme relate to the convlict you identified
on the reverse side of the page?
|