Elem Klimov's Come and See (1985) by Mark Zuiderveld

Title/Year: Come and See, 1985

Director/Birth Country/Year Born: Elem Klimov, Soviet Union, b. 1933

Budget: No budget found on imdb.com or boxofficemojo.com. Perhaps this film was funded by the Soviet government, implying that the workers "own the means of production," the production being the film itself.
Gross: ?
Synopsis: A teenage Byelorussian boy, Flyora, is drafted by the Soviet Resistance to fight against the Nazis. He is told to stay behind, wanders the forest and village, eventually experiencing the pain of becoming both a soldier and victim of war. In the end, he's a lucky survivor.
Political/Social Commentary: Director Elem Klimov clearly had a vision for the more visceral horrific aspect to experiencing World War Two.
Narrative/Visual Keywords: World War Two, war, resistance, rape, genocide, audience POV, Steadicam shots, trauma, loss of innocence, experimental, horror
Camera/Lighting/Editing techniques: Natural/Available light. The use of Steadicam shots is well done, giving the sense of wandering from one place to the next, sometimes we are running after them for cover to a safe hiding spot in the ground.
Something must be written/said about the excellent sound design in Come and See. The sounds are certainly increasingly horrific, giving us the sense that we're in a horror film. The sound levels increase in volume as we hear incessant droning.
Main character/Arc: Flyora is a teenage boy who is either reluctant to join the Soviet resistance, or is hoping to honor their code. He eventually experiences the rape of his rural home life by the Nazi regime, and undergoes a psychological trauma of World War Two, scarring him for life.
Notable collaboration: Work on the film began in 1977 with screenwriters Elem Klimov and Ales Adamovich.
Historical relevance/recognition: Won the Golden Prize and the FIPRESCI prize at the Moscow International Film Festival in 1985. Audiences around the world were affected deeply by the film, needing ambulances. After one of the film's screenings, a German confessed to being a soldier there when was younger.
Roger Ebert added the film to his Great Movies list in 2010, writing, "This film is much more than allegory. I have rarely seen a film more ruthless in its depiction of human evil."
Fun Facts: Come and See supposedly influenced Steven Spielberg's films Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan in terms of cinematography and the herding of the villagers.

Some of the costume and jackets were actually used during World War Two.

The original title of the film was "Kill Hitler"

1. The "evolving group integration" is apparent in Come and See. The creative use of casting an ensemble of extras is effective in the film. The group integration of the soldiers rallying for a cause shows the perversion of war, that a clear majority is in a way it's own tyranny.

2. Self-sacrifice is apparent near the end, when the Nazi soldiers and commanders are surrounded by the Soviets. Of the group, three of them are Soviets who helped follow German orders. One of the Soviets begs for mercy and explains that he should live because he's a Soviet. But they eventually die with the Germans at gunpoint.

3. Yes, the characters' motivations are sound. Although it seems Klimov is manipulating their performance for a cinéma vérité effect (there are moments when the actors are looking straight into the camera lens), it gives this feeling that we the audience are being addressed, and that they are talking to us as victims in a world so much more horrific than ours. It's breaking the fourth wall. Jonathan Demme uses this technique of actors looking into lens in his film, The Silence of the Lambs. Oliver Stone's film JFK uses it briefly at the end of Kevin Costner's speech. Errol Morris documentaries also use this technique, using an interrotron.

4. There are moments before the herding scene at the end when Flyora is increasingly becoming vigilant and defensive, aware that the Nazi regime is nearing them. His actions here show the nuance of the performance (he was in tears in the beginning). The setting of war matures him into a militant beast; his actions are natural and sound for his character, becoming a victim (physically and psychologically) of the perversion of militarism. The decision to have a teenage boy as the protagonist going through this experience is dramatically sound, and all the more jarring and horrific for the audience.

The greatest moments in the film are when the sound design is giving us an incessant ringing in our ears, which happens after a forest and its trees are bombed by planes. The sound effects are rightfully creepy and enhances the experience of terror.
Other great moments are using the Steadicam shots, giving us the sense of urgency and movement, and thereby keeps our attention.
The scene in which Flyora and Glasha are wading through a muddy swamp, and a thick viscous layer of mud at the top is breaking it's solidity as they tread through it. The sound effects during this are eerie and incessantly droning. Reminds us of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.
The moments when characters look into the camera are well done; begs meaning to a what a dramatic film can do using a brief cinéma vérité technique. It is a wise choice for developing their characters, for example, Glasha is looking into the lens (Flyora's POV) and is mistaking him for another man. She is in this state of disarray, of mental exhaustion, and presumably raped. It's horrific yet effective.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_and_see

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100616/REVIEWS08/100619989/1023
http://www.google.com/search?num=10&hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1024&bih=897&q=come+and+see&oq=come+and+see&gs_l=img.3..0l7j0i24l3.7537.8699.0.8793.12.8.0.1.1.0.142.381.0j3.3.0...0.0...1ac.5jqNfYhk75s

Gallipoli - Benjamin Hilton

Title/Year: Gallipoli, 1981

Director/Birth Country/Year Born: Peter Weir, Australia, 1944

Budget:  AUD 2,600,000 (estimated) 

Gross: $5,732,587 (USA)

Synopsis: Two young Australians realize the true horror of war after signing up to fight in World War I.

Political/ Social Commentary: Film about the loss of innocence when the characters realize the inhumanity of war.

Narrative and Visual Keywords: World War I, war, Australia, Turkey, runners, race, loss of innocence, Light Horse, Eygpt, death, friendship, messenger, ineffective military leadership, inhumanity, glorified war

Main Character/Arc: Archy grows from being a young man with a glorified view of war to realizing the true horror of war.

Notable Collaboration: Mel Gibson co-stared in this movie with Mark Lee. This movie helped launch Gibson’s career, even though he had stared in 2 Mad Max movies prior to this one.

Historical relevance/recognition: This film is a fictional retelling of an actual battle that took place in WWI. The actual battle of Gallipoli was as devastating as it was portrayed in the movie, with Australia loosing thousands of men.

Etc.: The writer, David Williamson, stared as the tall dark haired football player from the football scene in Eygpt.

Lord Slim, a veteran of the Gallipoli campaign, stated that those who had been in charge of the campaign were the worst in the British Army.

1.  The movie shows military incompetence towards the end of the film. The first sign of this is when the watches of the bombers and the Major leading the attack are unsynchronized. This causes the Light Horse soldiers to be easily killed by the Turkish army. Then Colonel is inconvincible of how badly the Australian Light Horse regiment is being defeated, and tells them to continue fighting, despite the pleas from the Major.

2.  The film shows the soldiers as victims of war. The film portrays this by showing the injured and dead in a realistic manner. The soldiers don’t seem to be scared of war or death until they actually enter battle.

3.  The film achieves melodrama through its dramatic shifts in tone. From the light heartedness of the training camps where the men all fall down and play dead, or when they go swimming at the beach and cheer a man who got hit by shrapnel, to the gritty, bloody results of them attempting to storm the trenches of the Turks.

4.  The enemy is portrayed as being evil. The audience never sees the enemy, and when they do, they are violent and ruthless in their attack. Shooting men who are crawling back to their side, and using automatic weapons like machine guns.

(historical facts)           http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/gallipoli.htm

(movie facts)    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082432/

A Very Long Engagement (2004) by Noelle Henderson

Title/Year: A Very Long Engagement, 2004

Director/Birth Country/Year Born: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, France, b.1953

Budget: $47,000,000 (estimated)

Gross: $70,115,868 (Worldwide)

Synopsis: A young French woman sets out in search of her fiancé, whom she believes may still be alive despite being reported as killed in the line of duty during WWI.

Political/Social Commentary: Depicts the dark side of war and that it is not glamorous.  That the soldiers aren’t heroes, but rather just men trying to survive minute to minute.  Shows that soldiers aren’t invincible and experience great consequences and trauma if they have survived. 

Narrative and Visual Keywords: War, melodrama, blood, death, survival, vengeance, true love, passion, determination, mystery, closure, hope, relentlessness, countryside, battleground, trenches, France, Germany, detective, truth, commitment, disease, violence, romanticism, sacrifice, trauma, despair, conflict, heartbreak, grief, narration, multiple storylines. 

Camera/Lighting/Editing Technique: The lighting in the war scenes was very dark and eerie, and the lighting in the scenes with Mathilde had a yellow tint that was much brighter and hopeful.  There were a couple prolonged shots with Mathilde when she was trying to run and catch up to Manech after he had just left for the war.  Also the last scene when she was walking through the garden to Manech.  There weren’t many quick cuts except for in the battle scenes, because overall the movie had a slow pace to it.  

Main Character/Arc: Mathilde is a hopelessly in love heroine determined to prove her fiancé is still alive.  She continues to be hopeful despite her low chance of success and no one else believing her.  She follows her intuition to love and closure of the past. 

Notable Collaboration: Hervé Schneid is a very highly acclaimed editor and has edited all six of Jeunet’s films.  Dominique Pinon who played Mathilde’s uncle, has taken part in all of Jeunet’s films as well.  Other notable actors that Jeunet has worked with in his previous work include, Audrey Tautou (Mathilde), Ticky Holgado (Germain Pire), and Jean-Claude Dreyfus (Major François Lavrouye). 

Historical Relevance/Recognition: Nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography in the 2004 Academy Awards.  Also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film in the 2005 Golden Globe Awards. 

Random Fact, Etc: In the opening scene a soldier lights his cigarette with a lantern, but it never lights and he pretends to smoke it anyway.  Jean-Pierre Jeunet met Jodie Foster (whom he later casted in A Very Long Engagement) in Paris at the cafe which was used to shoot scenes in Amelie.  While they were talking, some tourists asked them to move so that they could take a picture of the cafe that they knew was featured in Amelie.

Sources: 

http://jpjeunet.com/ 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0344510/ 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un_long_dimanche_de_fiançailles_(film)#Cast

1. Yes, I found this particularly relevant in any scene with Major Lavrouye. The main one that sticks out is when he is delivered a list of prisoners that are to be released, and instead of carrying out the order he purposely ruins it by getting it wet in his bathtub.  In the scene he is shown as very obviously being wealthy and living extravagantly.  In scenes before this one the soldiers are shown living in mud trenches and suffering from injury and disease, meanwhile this major is shown being pampered while taking a bath.  This displays the large gap in social class and the carelessness and narcissism of the higher ranks, who lack compassion so much that a soldier is just a number to them and sparing their lives is just a burden. 

2. The film very clearly depicts soldiers as suffering victims through scenes of them bleeding out, being blown up, their brains being blown out, dying of cold and disease, and living like animals in the trenches.  I think what showed this the most was when the five prisoners were sentenced to be executed by their own men, and were completely powerless over being killed even by their own side.  

3. Yes, in this film I think it offered both romantic and war melodrama.  Through the whole Mathilde storyline it was romantic and exaggerated because it was so unlikely that she would succeed, but she was determined to because she was so in love.  There was one scene when she was hobbling to beat the car to the bend and if she did that meant Manech would come home alive.  During this scene like many others, there was very dramatic music played and very beautiful and picturesque shots of the countryside.  On the war side of things, the melodrama was mostly with the very violent and gory scenes of people being killed.  A scene that sticks out was when a man’s insides exploded onto Manech and after that moment experienced a mental break.  

4. I think the enemy is portrayed as atrocious, especially with Major Lavrouye’s character.  It is hard to fathom that a man could so carelessly rip up a paper that was to save five men’s lives, much less by a man that was supposed to be on their side and advocate for them.  It seemed a bit exaggerated in which the way he did it, by splashing it around in his bath water and getting a sense of pleasure out of it.  As far as the Germans go, they were definitely portrayed as relentless and rather heartless.  Especially when the German soldier shot the man that was surrendering and pathetically begging for his life.  As well as when the French were charging and the Germans mass murdered them so quickly and effortlessly. 

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) By Sungjin In

Title/Year: Lawrence of Arabia 1962
Director/Birth Country/Year Born: David Lean / England / 1908

Budget: $15,000,000 (estimated)
Gross: $70,000,000(Worldwide) (January 2004)

Synopsis: During the war between British and Turkey over Suez Canal, British sends Lawrence (Peter O'Toole),  to Arabia to ask for tactical support from Arabian leaders.

Narrative and Visual Keywords: Imperialism, Epic battle. WWI, Based on true story, War.

Characterization/ Dialogue: Based on true story of T.E. Lawrence. Lawrence goes to Arabia under order from British millitary, to ensure the millitary support from Arabian leaders against Turkish millitary.

Camera/lighting/editing technique: Lots of lontakes in shots from desert. Seems like they only used natural light source in desert. Some desert scenes were poorly under exposed(could been from digital remaster).

 Political/ Social Commentary: Lawrence does not agree with his Governments, but still trys to carry out order in his own way.

Historical Relevance/ Recognition:

List of award winning.
35th Academy Awards(Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)Best Picture-Sam Spiegel
Best Director-David Lean
Best Art Direction- John Box, John Stoll and Dario Simoni
Best Cinematography-Frederick A. Young
Best Substantially Original Score-Maurice Jarre
Best Film Editing-Ann V. Coates
Best Sound-John Cox
Best Actor-Peter O'Toole(nominated)
Best Supporting Actor-Omar Sharif(nominated)
Best Adapted Screenplay-Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson(Nominated)

16th British Academy Film Awards (British Academy of Film and Television Arts)
Best Film from any Source-Sam Spiegel and David Lean
Best British Film-Sam Spiegel and David Lean
Best British Actor-Peter O'Toole
Best British Screenplay-Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson
Best Foreign Actor-Anthony Quinn

20th Golden Globe Awards(Hollywood Foreign Press Association)
Best Motion Picture and Drama-David Lean and Sam Spiegel
Best Director of a Motion Picture-David Lean
Best Supporting Actor-Omar Sharif
Most Promising Newcomer: Male-Omar Sharif
Best Cinematography, Color-Frederick A. Young
Most Promising Newcomer: Male-Peter O'Toole(Nominated)

Notable Collaboration: Based on True story. This movie was made before special effect was introduced to movie. It has inspired many directors, such as Goeorge Lucas, and Steven Spielburg. Spielburg once said, it will take more than 280 million dollars in modern days to reproduce the movie the way it was done before.

Random fact, Etc : When sony pictures Digitally remastered this film, films were in bad shape. it was due to that the work was done in desert. High temperature had imprinted workers finger prints on the film which made sony pictures job harder than it is.
makeup..... it reaqlly throws me off. Lawrence pratically lives in desert for couple of month and his hair never changes his skin only has single tone. Always looks nice and combed really nice, it wouldnt be messed up by anything. Even when he takes turbon off hair is still.

Source:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056172/
http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=972236&mobile&categoryId=1391
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_of_Arabia_(film)

1. Conflict between two diffrent classes through out the movie is very obvious. Like the British club house scene. But in this movie, ineffective millitary leadership seems to be coming from imperialism not from the conflict of two different class.

2. Post trauma syndrom was illustrated very dramatically from character Lawrence's POV when he comes back from capture.

3. Not so much of melodramatic element was shown in this movie, It is not just ordinary classical story of hero, since we already know he dies at the end realizing nothing was changed.

4. Enemy was portraited as perverted and reuthless in the scene when Lawrence was captured.

Homework Week 3

  Choose one of the following films and post your analysis by class next week. Remember to include a photo, the template and answered reaction questions.

Theme One – The Unit

Paratroop Command – William Witney

Kanal – Andrzej Wajda

The Big Red One – Samuel Fuller

The Thin Red Line – Terrence Malick

Theme Two – foreign experiences of WWII

Grave of Fireflies –  Isao Takahata

Rome Open City – Roberto Rossellini

Das Boot – Wolfgang Petersen

Come and See – Elem Klimov

Reaction Questions.

1. Are they any evident elements of an evolving group integration?

2. Are there any scenes where self-sacrifice is apparent?

3.  Answer TWO of the following question on analyzing characterization: 

          *Identify the central (most important) character or characters. Which characters are static and which ones are developing? Which characters are flat and which ones are round?

          *What methods of characterization are employed and how effective are they?

          *Which of the characters are realistic and which ones are exaggerated for effect?

          *Is each character’s motivation sound? Which actions grow naturally out of the characters themselves, and where does the filmmaker seem to be manipulating them for his/her purpose?

         *What facets of the central character’s personality are revealed by what he chooses or rejects?

          *Pick out bits of dialogue, visual images, or scenes which you consider especially effective in revealing character and tell why they are effective.

 

         *Which characters function as stock characters and stereotypes and how can the presence of each be justified in the film?

         *Which minor characters function to bring out the personality traits of the major characters? What do they help reveal?

 

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) by BRYAN TOSH

Title/Year: Lawrence Of Arabia - 1962

Director/Birth Country/Year Born: David Lean - England - 1908

Budget: $15 Million

Gross: $70 Million (Worldwide)

Synopsis: Based on the story of Colonel T.E. Lawrence and his exploits during WWI in helping the Arab National Council. Lawrence is conflicted with the violence of war and with his loyalties to his native British versus his new found brothers-in-arms. 

Narrative and Visual Keywords: biography - middle east - loyalty - flashback - memoir - internal conflict - reluctant hero 

Characterization/ Dialogue: "The trick is NOT minding it hurts." Some have said that Lawrence had a sadomasochist nature about him.

Camera/lighting/editing technique: Known as THE sweeping epic that defines the epic. A variety of gorgeous establishing and landscape shots. Shot using the Super Panavision 70 format.

Political/ Social Commentary: T.E. Lawrence was a scholar and a very educated man. He is portrayed as such in this film, but also as a bumbling soldier, not considered fit for "real" military action. Lawrence is a conflicted man. He represents the conflicted nature that many people feel during war time. He struggles with his loyalties to his British military and, on a grander scale, his country. He finds he is also devoted to his new comrades in the Arab tribes that he leads in a revolt against the Turks. 

Historical Relevance/ Recognition: Nominated for 10 Academy Awards in 1963, winning 7. (Best Picture, Best Director, Art Direction, Cinematography, Score, Editing, and Sound)

Notable Collaboration: Cinematographer Freddie Young has worked with David Lean three consecutive times, winning the Oscar for Best Cinematography each time. 

Random fact, Etc: Sir Alec Guiness plays a the role of Prince Feisal. He would go on to play a pivotal role in a little sci-fi opera known as Star Wars. The role, of course, was Obi-Wan Kenobi.

1. There was indeed some evidence in ineffective military leadership depicted in this film. How much of the ineffective leadership was due to upper-class ineptitude is something that either doesn't exist in this movie or I just simply did not pick up on. Lawrence (O'Toole) is a Lieutenant in the beginning of the film. His leaders do not think he is capable of any kind of military action of importance. One meeting with Prince Faisal (Guiness), however changes things. The Prince wants to hear what Lawrence has to say and he agrees to letting him lead his tribe across the desert. One scene where social class and cultural difference is evident stuck with me. A scene between Lawrence and Ali (Omar Sharif) early on tells us all we need to know about their differences. Lawrence, as we know at this point, is very well educated and flamboyant. Ali is simply proud of the fact that he can "both read AND write."

2. I think we see a bit of both issues in Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence is a conflicted soldier. Not only is he conflicted with the violence of war, but he is conflicted in his loyalties as well. He does, however, have a code he follows during his operations. During a very long trek through a treacherous part of the desert, one of the men gets left behind during the night. Ali pleads with Lawrence not to go back and that it is too late. Lawrence does what he knows is right and without thought of his own fate, heads back to find the missing man. Later, Lawrence is forced to execute the very man he saves in order to keep peace between two rival tribes and for the greater good of the mission. 

3. This film was not about the melodrama, but more about the hero and his plight during wartime. There were no romantic scenarios played out or poses woven in. We see Lawrence as a reluctant hero who rises to the occasion, and to the surprise of his superiors, comes through in the end. 

4. The Turks are the common enemy of the Arab tribes and the British, but there side of the story is not really portrayed. We know they are the enemy, pure and simple. No exaggerations of atrocity until the second part. The train attack sequence, we do see a Turk fire on Lawrence and hit him in the shoulder. Another sequence, Lawrence is caught and tortured, then thrown out on the streets. 

References:
- www.imdb.com
- www.boxofficemojo.com
- www.wikipedia.org

Sergeant York by Kevin Fisk

Title/Year : Sergeant York (1941)
Director/Birth Country/Year Born: Howard Hawks/Goshen, Indiana/1896
Budget: $1.4 million
Gross: $4 million 
Synopsis: A true story about a Tennessee country boy (Alvin York) that finds religion in his life and tries to dodge the draft for WWI.  After denied appeals, York ends up in the war only to become one of the most decorated heroes in the war.
Political/ Social Commentary: Attitude of Australians toward the British, the importance of bringing the fight to the enemy so the fight doesn't come to them.
Narrative and Visual Keywords: Sharp-shooter, Southern hospitality, Pro-war
Main Character/Arc: Alvin York is introduced as a nice young man who takes care of his mother and siblings, but enjoys drinking and fighting when away from the house.  When he is denied a piece of land, he almost turns violent but after being struck by lightning, finds religion in his life and ultimately the errors of his ways.  When dodging the draft is unsuccessful, he joins the war, and is immediately seen as a leader on the battlefield due to his impressive marksmanship with a rifle.  An American history book wins Alvin over, and he decides fighting for his country is most important to him.
Notable Collaboration: William Keighley was scheduled to direct but took another job when shooting was postponed.
Historical relevance/recognition:  Sergeant York became the highest grossing movie of 1941, and remains one of the highest grossing when adjusted for inflation.  The huge success at the box office can be attributed by the attack on pearl harbor, which happened while the film was in theaters.
Etc.: The film helped recruit soldiers for WWII with it's patriotic theme.

1.  as far as evidence of ineffective military leadership,  there was none.  This film was created to inspire people to fight for their country.  Alvin York made his duty to his country look easy.  There was however, evidence of ineffective leadership on the German front.  Some of the soldiers calling them "dumb animals".  The first act of the film portrays York as a working class hillbilly who scrapes to get by and yearns for a piece of "bottom land".  Once York gets to military boot camp, he is treated just as one of the guys; his upbringing becomes irrelevant to the other soldiers.  When he comes back from the war as a decorated war hero,  his social status seems to be elevated.

2.  The film uses the protagonist York as a strong man who after wrestling with his morals, ultimately decides to follow the code of honor and fight for his country.  The film shows him making the right decision as he is showered with praise and adulation upon his return.

3.  All the familiar pleasures of cinema are present in this film.  When the female lead Gracie is introduced, she has a shallow depth of feel and a twinkle in her eye.  She catches Alvin York's attention along with the audience's, and there is a definite feel of romance for the viewer.  Love at first sight for the two of them.

4.  The Germans are portrayed as big dumb animals who are sloppy during war and as cowards who surrender easily.