Dave's Movie Industry Blog

"It came from my depths. It was my answer to make a Dogme film. If you had asked me to shoot a romantic comedy, I would have refused. That would be out of place. By me to sign the contract Dogma, I lie not fixed to one genre and write the moment the main role instead of the film as a whole."  (Translated from German) 

- Lone Scherfig

The above quote, if translated correctly is an interesting insight into how non-dogme films are written and produced.  The write and director have to take into consideration the entire film as one whole instead of focusing on the characters and their story.  Dogme at first seems like it would restrict the creative process of film making but the rules of Dogme simply force a unique way of thinking about how the film is made.  Scherfig instead of making a film with the intent to fit a genre made a film with the intent to fit the rules of Dogme and the product is whatever it may become.  The product was Italian for Beginners.

Scherfig says that she would turn down job of shooting a romantic comedy, yet Italian for Beginners has both romantic and comedic elements throughout.  Even though many views and fans of the film forget that within the first 20 minutes there are numerous deaths and funerals.  I see more truth in this film relative to relationships between people than other films classified from the title page as being a romantic comedy.  Scherfig did not have to write in a certain number of jokes or dramatize an event to make it resonate with a broader audience killing what was written in the original script before Hollywood turns it upside down.

My biggest issue with Dogme is that all sound must be on location during filming, including music, sound effects and the actors.  I love music and audio and dream of being a sound designer or foley artist for films one day.  With movies like Wall-E, Star Wars, Kill Bill, Oldboy, and Apocalypse Now it is hard for me to sit through a long film with no underscore.  Despite lack of sound effects Scherfig took the rules of Dogme and created a film I am sure many people can relate.  Nothing extreme happens, there are no explosions but none-the-less a story worth telling is shown.



References:
-http://film.fluter.de/de/3/film/352/

"My inspiration came when I visited Ellis Island and saw close-ups of people looking into the camera as though it was a strange instrument. These intimate images made me fantasize about their past, their culture. I started researching and never stopped for five years."

- Emanuele Crialese 

I really enjoyed this film and for numerous reasons.  Crialese became fascinated with Ellis Island when he visited and it truly shows through the cinematography of the film.  The last few scenes when they are on the island capture the atmosphere of being there very well.  You never see the full island, or the full layout of the building.  It seems to go on forever and you have no idea where any of the rooms are because there are never any shots of people walking between locations.  Just shots of standing in line, sitting with your group, and waiting.  It seems like the process is going to last forever.  Crialese does a great job at transmitting the emotions of those going through the immigration process to the viewers.

I enjoyed how everyone's view of America was this mystical place where all the plants are huge and it rains money.  It is a shame no American's have that same vision of America.  We are hopelessly mean to each other trying to get a head in a corporate world where those in power will do anything fiscally to keep it that way.  The film honestly shows and explains the mentality of those who come here, the land of opportunities.  Where you can make life whatever you want it to be.

I understand why Crialese could not stop researching for five years.  My ancestors at one point waited in the lines at Ellis Island.  I am fascinated by my family history.  If I have the opportunity I will most definitely watch this film again.  There are many parts that relate to the culture of those in the film that I want to revisit.  I do not fully understand why they did certain things or why things were the way they were and seeing these on film only made me desire more.



References:
-http://awfj.org/2007/05/29/emanuele-crialese-talks-with-jennifer-merin-about-golden-door/

"The film is really a love/hate letter about the mechanics of filmmaking. I love this business but at times it really does feel that the entire process of making a film is designed to drive you into an insane asylum. Just when some miraculous moment is blossoming to life in front of you the camera screws up and that fragile, fleeting glimmer of beauty is gone. Of course the opposite is also true. But on a no-budget film the 'unhappy accidents' can drop you to your knees."

- Tom DiCillo

The entire film is based off of DiCillo's own nightmarish experience as an independent film maker.  Many of the scenarios DiCillo depicts are hilarious from a third party standpoint but I can only image how trying it would of been to experience even one of the numerous mishaps that take place on the set within Living In Oblivion let alone back to back.

It seems right that a film about a no-budget film would have no budget.  If it is the feel and look of a no-budget film you are going after you have to deal with the constraints of not having any money.  I wonder since this is a meta-film about making a film if it got confusing on set when 2 different people are saying action for two different crews.  That must of been an issue DiCillo did not foresee in pre-production.

I have been on the screw for two shorts films at Rowan University and in some ways can relate to this film.  Specifically the sound guy.  That is my job and what I love to do.  But one take someone's phone goes off, another someone sneezes and the worst thing of all is being quiet for room tone.  What a great scene when the cast and crew are standing there being quiet for tone.  DiCillo did a perfect job at portraying what goes on inside everyone's head.  Each person wonders off for thirty seconds or more in complete silence, or air conditioning hum.  Someone is holding in a sneeze as someone else shuffles their foot and the sound guy shoots a stabbing glare their way.  "Don't you dare make a sound!" gets communicated in less time then it takes to blink an eye.  DiCillo loves film but at times can also hate it.  Buscemi's character represents DiCillo and when he drifts off to the award ceremony the audience and every knows that deep inside DiCillo really loves the films.  It is an art form where the beauty of something can sometimes be crafted but does not shine until it is on screen for the world to see... if the camera guy caught it on film.  If not the "fleeting glimmer of beauty is gone" forever.



References:
-http://www.kamera.co.uk/interviews/a_quick_chat_with_tom_dicillo.php
-http://www.tomdicillo.com/blog/trivia/living-in-oblivion-2/

"For a long time I wanted to do a comedy about Hollywood. ... Instead it became a tragedy of a silent-picture actress, still rich, but fallen down into the abyss after talkies. 'I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.' I had that line early on. Someplace else I had the idea for a writer who is down on his luck. It didn’t quite fall into place until we got Gloria Swanson."

- Billy Wilder 

Sunset Boulevard has its comical elements but it truly is a dark tragedy about the fall of a once famous silent movie star.  And not just a regular star, one of the most famous of all, Gloria Swanson.  She was once in command of an entire studio and was the queen of silver screen.  Wilder mentions that Sunset Boulevard did not quite fall into place until Swanson agreed to join the cast.  Her exact words were "I must do this".  Her enthusiasm exemplifies what the film is poking fun at: the Hollywood system and the people in it.  I feel as though this must of been Swanson's easiest role to play in her life, herself in every shape and unstable reminiscent form.

The aesthetic of being in black and white works in the films favor since all of Swanson's silent pictures were in black and white.  Sunset Boulevard looks like a noir crime film despite only two scenes involving the police, the opening scene and the last.  The combination of the use of lighting and the gaudiness of the house make up the feel of the film.  Even the pacing is similar to a crime film where there seems to be a pause at the end of each key sentence where the characters just stare and contemplate the horrors that will inevitably occur but they cannot pin point what they will be.  Joe Gillis knows from the start of entering that house that something bad is going to happen to him, but he waits it out anyway.  He even lowers himself to emptying ashtrays at a bridge game filled with forgotten silent movie stars.  The entire film is shot and cut to give the sense like something is about to happen without building too much suspense on purpose.

Now Wilder initially wanted to make a comedy about Hollywood but any comedic elements of Sunset Boulevard warranted a mere chuckle which was quickly followed by a bit of pity for both Swanson's character and Holden's.  They were both desperate and lost in a changing world.  There is a scene when they visit the studio that illustrates this.  Swanson is recognized by the older workers and actors but is not by the new.  Even her car is older and stands out in this new time.  I enjoyed the film for its historical weight.  I feel it is a film all film majors and enthusiasts should see but does not come close to my top film list.  Wilder's line "I am big.  It is the pictures that got small" sums up the tragedy of the film.



References:
-http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1432/the-art-of-screenwriting-no-1-billy-wilder