Amadeus

Amadeus follows loosely the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but despite the title the movie is really about Antonio Salieri. Salieri's viewpoint, motivations, and story are really the focus, and are interestingly entwined with the life of the famous composer.

The movie starts at the end, where we see Salieri attempt suicide and watch as he is carried to the insane asylum. There he meets with a young priest who has come to take his confession. Salieri's complicated life is shown in flashbacks, with the older Salieri providing insight in his feelings and motivations. This is a great technique for this particular story because his motivations about serving God and giving of his life and talents are much more historical accurate to the time period of the film than they are to 1984.

Salieri has been anxious to meet Mozart, whose music and talent he has admired from afar. When he meets the young Wolfgang, he is amazed and unhappy at the foolish, small-minded young man. Thus begins a mostly one-sided rivalry. Tom Hulce does an amazing job with the character of Mozart, but the acting by F. Murray Abraham (Antonio Salieri) was the highlight for me. Scenes which showed the younger Salieri showed a composed, serious, and dignified man. When the older Salieri was shown, the changes to his character were obvious. Here he was beyond caring for appearances, and had lost his great composure and restraint. It was almost difficult at first to relate the younger man with the transformed end-of-life man, which is an amazing feat for an actor.

His dramatic change from religious man to enemy of God (and of Mozart) is moving. When he discovers that Mozart has had an affair with a woman he has admired from afar, he speaks the following to a crucifix: "From now on we are enemies, You and I. Because You choose for Your instrument a boastful, lustful, smutty, infantile boy and give me for reward only the ability to recognize the incarnation. Because You are unjust, unfair, unkind, I will block You, I swear it. I will hinder and harm Your creature on earth as far as I am able." This marks his transformation in motivation and character that propels the rest of the movie.

Set design and mise en scene are incredibly well done. The time period was portrayed well through costume, and in the interactions between the characters. The deference to royalty was evident, and other elements of life in the 1790s were interesting to see. The actual burial of Mozart is historically unclear, but the representation of it in the movie was certainly historically accurate for many burials of the time.

Amadeus is long, (nearly three hours) but worth the time.

The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner is an adaptation of a young adult bestseller. I haven't read the book yet, but I hope it's better than the movie.

The movie seemed to be a compilation of Lord of the Flies and Hunger Games, with the combination of young boys living on their own and the survival of the fittest world. However, both of these movies are much better than this one. The premise is a group of adolescent boys that are put into a clearing. Walls around the area make up a giant maze that doesn't seem to have a way out. The boys have no memories, and are given no direction about where they are or why they're there. The maze was the most interesting part of the plot, but there seemed to be too much build up to the maze, and too little action inside of it. Mise en scene was good, with the greivers special effects and the walls of the maze the most visually compelling parts. The boys seemed to do a lot of talking around the subject of what was going on in their world, and very little exploring it or trying to make sense of it.

The effects of the greiver sting were intriguing, but again not developed well. There was a hint that the stings were bringing memories back, but really not enough memories to be compelling, and in the end this seemed to be another dead end.

The characters weren't well developed, but seemed more like caricatures -- the bully and his lackeys, the lovable chubby kid, and the smart, strong leader. All were predictable, and with the death of Chuck (Blake Cooper) at the end, all charm was gone. There were good performances by Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) and Minho (Ki Hong Lee), but other than that the boys of the glade were forgettable.

The story had to include the aspects of brotherhood brought on by the group's confinement and isolation, which is where the Lord of the Flies comparisons are most valid. They didn't seem to have a solid group, but seemed to be somewhat loyal to their leader, Alby. The addition of Theresa brought an element of surprise into the relationships that could have been interesting, but didn't ever fully develop.

The beginning and the end were the most entertaining aspects of the film. In the beginning, there was a lot of curiosity about where they were, how they got there, and how this world operated. The answers to those questions seemed to come slower than they should, with most of them never answered at all. The lack of a real defined goal or path to that goal hampered the middle part of the movie. Sure, they wanted to get out, but they didn't really know why. Without any memory of what was outside of the glade, true motivation to leave it was hard to explain. 

The end finally felt like the characters were doing something, and working together against a clear antagonist. The surprise where the WICKED scientist Ava Paige faked her own suicide was interesting, and finally brought attention back to the questions from the beginning. The end was an obvious set up for the next movie, but this movie does not stand on its own well.

Life is Beautiful

Life is Beautiful can be divided easily into two very different halves. The first half is comedy and character development, the second more serious. They were almost like two different movies for me.

The characters were lovable, especially Guido. Roberto Benigni does an amazing job with this role, and rightly earned an Oscar. The romance with Dora was well-developed and entertaining, with the necessary touch of suspense and conflict (her engagement to another man principally). By the time she makes the choice to love Guido, the audience has long fallen for him.

The small hints of racial persecution were almost a side note, and didn't appear to affect Guido in the least. That gave his character a bit of a one-dimensional factor. His carefree humor was fun to watch, but in the end gave him a lack of depth.

Before I watched the movie I read a very short synopsis about it and was expecting something about a small boy and the holocaust. I actually had the thought that maybe I had read it wrong, or I had read something about a completely different movie. Then the second half began, and that's when the movie started to get to the point.

The character development of the first half really paid off in the second half, when we understood the relationship between Guido and his son almost immediately because of what we already knew about Guido.

The "game" in the camp was an interesting irony, but this is where the movie went off track for me. Life in the death camps under Nazi reign was too horrific to lighten up, and attempts to treat the soldiers as unaware and ineffective were all too unreal. The reality of the efficiency of the German army at killing human beings is too much a part of my consciousness. The suspense of disbelief was hard to achieve with all we know about the holocaust. 

There were a few times the humor was over the top for me, and situations too unbelievable. The scene in the school where Guido impersonated the school official became slapstick and went a little too long and too far. When Guido "translated" the camp rules it was clever and funny, but the sense that it was far out of the realm of what could really have happened overwhelmed the scene.

One of the downsides of the movie was Nicoletta Braschi. Her character was flat and her acting fell short of expressing emotional depth and suffering.

The movie seemed to be making a point that I really agree with -- to find the best in life, and make the most of whatever situation you may be in. It seemed to say that you can find beauty, love, and even humor in life's darkness. But for me it went a little too far, and it must be acknowledged that there are some situations that defy "lightening up".

The Cove

The Cove has all the elements that make a good documentary, combined with the great storytelling techniques of a regular movie. Even those who are not fans of the genre will enjoy watching this award-winning film.

The Cove is a cinema verite piece, and the point of view of the director is easily ascertained. There are pieces that are left directly for observation  purposes, but most of the action is set up in a way that it's obvious which characters are on the right side, and which are shown to be misled, manipulative, and evil.

Ric O'Barry is set up from the beginning to be our protagonist, and it is easy to sympathize with his dramatic story of Kathy. In one moving scene, he talks about her death:

Ric: they can end their life whenever life becomes too unbearable by not taking the next breath. And it's in that context I use the word suicide. She did that. She swam into my arms, looked me right in the eye, and took a breath ... and didn't take another one.

As we are lead through his personal change of heart in regards to dolphin captivity, we gain an understanding of his drive as well as an increase in empathy for the dolphins. Because dolphins are already a beloved animal, the filmmakers start out with an advantage. They don't have to do much convincing that dolphins are worthy of saving, and that their mistreatment is a terrible injustice. But one of the great techniques in this film is that they don't make any assumptions, but take the time to strengthen their position. Ric comes across in the film as sincere, emotionally invested, and very deeply troubled by the wrongs committed in Taiji.

In many documentaries, suspense is a very difficult thing to accomplish. I think that's one of the areas this movie excels at. The clandestine operation to film the barbaric hunting is suspenseful and entertaining. From the construction of the hidden cameras to the late-night plants, suspense about whether the team will be successful is built up and maintained.

The diplomatic struggle within the IWC was intriguing. The role of Joji Morishita as the story's villain didn't even require him to speak. The intrigue with the alleged vote-buying was an interesting side story to the main interest.

Another strongly related side-note was the mercury poisoning aspect of the dolphin meat. The movie took the time to explain the risks, showing the damage to children in Minamata. Those images were powerful, especially when placed side-by-side with healthy children eating dolphin meat in their school lunch. This was an instance of well-done editing telling the story better than words.

Sometimes in documentaries, after talking about a certain event for the length of the film, when you get around to actually seeing what they've been talking about you're bored with it, and it doesn't quite meet up to built up expectations. This didn't happen here. The actual images of the dolphin "hunt" were emotionally disturbing. After all the times the slaughter was talked about and around, the actual video was still as bad as expected -- maybe worse.

Chariots of Fire

Chariots of Fire at first glance looks like another sports film about running. There are elements of that genre, but also many variations and layers that make it worth watching.

The movie is about the Olympic games, and about the hard work, dedication, and intensity of competing at that level. But it's also about what drives different people to succeed. The characters of Harold Abraham and Eric Liddell had such different motivations for their athletic achievements, and the movie explored them well.

Ian Charleston played the role of Eric Liddell, a strongly principled christian missionary. The sincerity, conviction, and faith of the character came across in every scene. He was soft-spoken, kind, and confident in his beliefs. Many times in movies strongly principled characters come across as very one-dimensional, but this role was acted so well that Eric came across as real and someone the audience could root for. This range for the character wasn't done with his lines, because most of them were about faith and strength of character. The dimension of the character came more from expressions and non-verbal cues. Ian Charleston truly understood the man he was portraying, and acted it well.

The role of Harold Abraham was played by Ben Cross. Harold's motivation for his success in running was to escape the prejudice against him as a Jewish man in England. From the beginning, it was understood that Harold had a chip on his shoulder about his heritage, and an expectation of being the victim of prejudice. When those expectations were fulfilled, as in the meeting with the leaders of Cambridge, Harold's part was acted well.  On his face were mixed emotions of anger and hurt, but also somehow a thrill of being right all along, and met expectations. This scene in particular was acted so well, and the nuances of what the character may have been thinking and feeling came across in his mannerisms and facial expressions better than any delivered lines. This character required an intensity that could easily have been overacted, but wasn't.

The supporting cast was well played, it seemed that every actor portrayed their role well. Some worth mentioning are Dennis Christopher as Paddock, who did a great job with almost no actual lines, and Cheryl Campbell as Jennie Liddell who made her small role into an important part of the plot. Ian Holmes' role as trainer was interesting and his portrayal moving. The scene where he finds out that Harold has won the medal was especially well done.

I don't think I can talk about this movie without mentioning the score. It is truly iconic, and has been rattling around in my head since I saw the movie. The scenes at the beginning and end on the beach with what I would call the "theme" of the music just couldn't be better.

Set and costume design were a great part of the movie as well, I truly felt transported to the 1920s. The running gear, the Olympic ceremonies, even the small details of the hats they all wore, were parts of the transformation to an earlier era.

The Conversation

Not only had I never seen The Conversation before, but I'd never heard of it before last week. I was surprised that it is a Francis Ford Coppola film, that it is so unknown, and that it is so good.

I've been learning about sound design and sound editing, and so I paid particular attention to those aspects of the film as I was watching. I think even if I hadn't paid particular attention, the sound editing of the film would have gotten my attention. The mixing of the voices of the young couple being spied on was suspenseful.  As you heard the tape over and over, different things were amplified and clarified. When things were unclear or the voices were inaudible, they were often fixed in a later scene and more of the conversation was understood. This was a great way to build up suspense through the film using dialogue and sound.

Another interesting part of the sound was the use of music. Harry Caul, the main character, was an introverted and solitary man. This was expressed in many ways, but the music was one of the most compelling. Whenever it seemed that Harry had a lot to think about, the sounds of the world around would diminish and the music would increase in volume. It was an interesting tool to get the audience to think about what's in Harry's head.

One of the conversation pieces that was repeated many times was the young woman talking about the man sleeping on the park bench. 

Ann: I always think that he was once somebody's baby boy. Really, I do. I think he was once somebody's baby boy, and he had a mother and a father who loved him, and now there he is, half dead on a park bench, and where are his mother or his father, all his uncles now?

This part of the conversation seemed to compel Henry to think of the young couple, and want to protect the woman. That ended up to be irony in the end.

There was one particular line of the man to the woman that was harder for Henry to bring out, and ended up being, "He'd kill us if he got the chance." The first time you hear that line, you are worried for the couple and it increases empathy and suspense. It's not until after the couple was found out to be the murderers that you understand the subtle emphasis of "he'd kill us if he got the chance," which changes the entire meaning of the sentence.

The character of Henry Caul was complex, and the effects of his demons were obvious, even before we understood what they were. One of his most telling lines was "I'm not afraid of death, but I am afraid of murder." This fear compels many aspects of his solitary and complicated life.

The story line was interesting and the ending a complete surprise. The pace was slower than current movies, but if you are willing to sit through the ending is worth the wait.

Jaws

My best friend still won't go into the water without fear because of this movie she saw in 1975. Jaws is consistently in the top of scariest movie lists. What is it that makes it so terrifying?

The opening scene with the death of Chrissie is one of the most iconic in film history. The camera sees the girl from the shark's viewpoint. The music starts. A tug under the water. Her cries aren't heard by the boy on the beach. The brutality of the attack is obvious, but not spelled out.  This is a case of all the elements -- story, point of view, lighting, music, set -- coming together to accomplish perfectly the director's goal to terrify the viewer.

The next surprise in the story is the death of a child, generally a movie taboo. This scene, where Police chief Brody is on the beach worried about the swimmers, is particularly tense. With each pan of the camera to a new swimmer, we wonder if they're going to be the one who gets attacked. You sense that the shark is coming, but the tension continues to build until the music and the attack come together in perfect timing. When the boy is actually pulled under, the quiet is as frightening as the music was.

The characters in the story are well developed and interesting. In Brody we see humanity (especially in his relationships with his family), compassion as he tries to save lives and protect the townspeople, and courage as he goes to battle with the enormous beast. Hooper's neurotic intellectualism provides some of the comedic relief. Quint comes across first as opportunistic and gruff, but as he relates his war tale we are introduced to an underlying source for his rough exterior. We see him then as frightened, determined, and deeply touched by the deaths of those around him. The shark itself feels like a developed character -- intelligent, driven, brutal, and even vengeful.

An interesting sub plot is Mayor Vaughn's role. The mayor is more concerned about profits than lives, and continues to put people at risk. Brody is intimidated and coerced into keeping the beaches open against his better judgment, and lives are lost due to their combined negligence. Brody carries a weight with him for the rest of the film, adding to our empathy for his character.

The special effects with the shark are not quite up to today's standards, but for 1975 are well done. The mechanical shark is believable, and the views of the shark from the top down as he goes under the boat are impressive. It's well known that the mechanical shark wasn't working well for much of the time, and that does seem to be a gift to the film as often what we imagine is scarier than reality. 

The story's exploitation of a very natural fear of the water gives it an advantage from the start. Good directing, good acting, and attention to all the details of film making make Jaws stand out as one of the better films of its genre.