Laura Anschicks
 

College of DuPage 

WEEKEND STUDIES
SUMMER: FILM AND FAMILY
FILM RESPONSE AND ANALYSIS
English 135

 Name:

Unit 2

Film Title:

Director:

Actors/Actresses:

Where viewed: When:

1. Write a single sentence summarizing plot.

 

 

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 love and marriage and her career as a dancer; 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 overall "feel" of the movement of the film (stylized? conventional/natural? exaggerated - as in many Jim Carrey works?) (How does cinematography influence movement?) and...

 

 

describe one scene or shot that illustrates movement.

 

 

 

 

4. Characterize overall editing style of the film and list some of the features that contribute to its effect.

 

 

Describe the effect of editing elements in one scene.

 

 

 

 

5. What seems to be the setting (time, place, social context) in which the story is placed?

 

Discuss briefly how this impacts the film in terms of the larger historical, social, and sub-cultural events and their influence on 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 (the main vision of what life is like or what it means to be human; the final main comment the film has on the basic conflicts involved). Then explain briefly why you believe this to be the theme.
(example: Theme statement for The Red Shoes: While society is structured so that men can have both demanding careers and love in romantic and familial relationships, truly talented women seem to have to choose between the two or face impossible emotional and relational tensions. Note that this is a single statement that does not refer at all to the film itself nor to its characters but is a general statement of the idea that seems to lie behind the film's intent. A theme is the statement about what life or some aspect of it is like. 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 in relation the film's progress and conclusion.)

Theme statement for your film:

 

How does the theme address the main conflict of the film?

 

English 135 | Anschicks Home Page | COD Library
|Interdisciplinary Studies & Special Projects Programs | Weekend Studies | Weekend Summer

| Effective Essay | English Grammar | Keeping a Journal | Punctuation Guide

Copyright 1999 College of DuPage
Liberal Arts . IC2059d . (630)942-2311 
anschick@cdnet.cod.edu