Norwegian cinema has been a staple in Scandinavian culture for decades now. The film’s seek to provide a sense of reality but also excitement to the lives of the everyday Scandinavian. The altered sense of presence in the films creates an environment where the audience can experience the symbolism of life in their own unique way. O’Hort en is a Norwegian film that seeks to explore the life of a sixty-seven year old named O’Horten, his past retirement, and the realizations that come with retirement. The opening scene is of a train passing by a blue apartment in Oslo, which we later come to understand that Odd Horten’s home. The opening scene is fast paced compared to the next scene where we are first introduced to Odd in his small apartment getting ready for his last day of work. This scene in particular sets a melancholic tone. The beginning tones of Scandinavian motion pictures set the rest of the movie up for the audience. In these specific works, it is all about how the audience views the movie and what they take away from it. These tones set them up for their own experience and lead them on the right path to what the director is trying to convey.
Upon the previous scene, Odd’s coworkers invite him over to celebrate his work and retirement. Everyone in this scene is dressed up in all white button up shirts, whereas Odd stays in his regular clothes that he normally wears. While sitting around the table, they all stand up to applaud Odd. The camera moves closely into Odd’s character who continues to sit without saying anything. This close up shows more of the character and the depth that the director is trying to reach within human lives.
The director, Bent Hamer, covers several themes throughout the film: loneline...
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...m gave the film 4 out 5 stars, stating that the film “is what one might call dry”(Seaver). Although both reviewers point flaws on the film they do however admire the unique style used by Hamer.
Reviews from abroad are more optimistic and supportive of the film. Critic Frederic Brussat of Spititualityandpractice state that “in the end, this slow moving and eccentric Norwegian movie turns into a drama about the adventure of the last stage of life”(Hammer). Alissa Simon of Variety refers to the film as “warm and gently humorous that should be appreciated worldwide” scoring the film 4 out of 5 stars (Simon). Although the film received good reviews it did not do as well as they expected in the box office. The film was ranked 55 on the week it was released making about $41,000.
Works Cited
http://classes.dma.ucla.edu/Fall10/161A/projects/molly/portfolio/ohorten.pdf
Braff himself has a warm, easy-to-watch screen presence. He can say nothing during the lull in a conversation, while the camera remains focused on his face, and it feels right. Portman and Sarsgaard are also genuine, each wonderfully relaxed in their roles. Production design is superb: details in every scene are arranged well, and the photography, by Lawrence Sher, is - like the story and the acting – unpretentious, never distracting, tricky or cute. This film never seems to manipulate us; instead it engages us, arouses our curiosity and amusement, bids us gently to care about Andrew and Sam and even Mark, leaving us entertained in the best sense. This movie is as confident, as secure in itself, as comforting, as a well worn pair of house slippers or your favorite reading chair. A splendid film. Grade: A- (09/04)
Criticisms (Favourable): Very original, intelligent plot. Well-written characters that aren’t two dimensional and who make human decisions (David’s father, who may seem like a cruel man but who is really just doing what he was brought up to believe is right).
When thinking of the word resistance, one gets a picture of a small, weak group of people using guns to fight against a powerful evil. Although this is a correct interpretation of resistance, there are more forms, such as spiritual and cultural resistance, that can be equally devastating to the cause of the powerful evil. A major example of all of these forms of resistance is the Bielski Otraid, subject of the 2008 film Defiance, as they actively resisted the Germans in these ways, become the physical embodiment of Jewish resistance as they drew parallels with the resistance shown by the Jewish people. The Jewish people demonstrated all of the forms of resistance, from the physical resistance seen in the armed revolts seen in multiple ghettos and some death camps, and the spiritual resistance through the attempted continuation of normal life in the ghettos and the acceptance of faith while at the death camps.
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On a scale from one to ten, I give this movie a seven. This film was well written and directed; the he plot was confusing at first, once I figured out that Christopher Nolan was trying to do, the rest of the story line was fairly easy to follow.
November 1998, written for FILM 220: Aspects of Criticism. This is a 24-week course for second-year students, examining methods of critical analysis, interpretation and evaluation. The final assignment was simply to write a 1000-word critical essay on a film seen in class during the final six-weeks of the course. Students were expected to draw on concepts they had studied over the length of the course.
The Three Here’s for Cooking The romantic comedy, Today’s Special, expressed the worries of Indian parents becoming at ease. Also, expressed the struggles a parent faces in search of a better life, the passion and dedication going unnoticed in the work field, and the connection between friends, a lover, and family. However, the film centered its attention more on the development of Samir’s “cold” cooking within the Indian food, with the help of Akbar. In addition, the main actors in the film looked the part and associated with the main idea of the culture of an Indian family. For instance, Samir’s appearance showed he had drifted away from his family’s culture and developed a professional understanding and love for the cooking industry.
The movie was mainly about which group was more superior over the other. I thought the imagery was pretty good. I thought this because I liked the scenery of the movie and the storms but none of the camera angles helped us viewers interpret different situations and what was going to happen. Overall I would give the movie a 3.5 out of
With all things above considered, this an awesome movie definetly worth watching. Out of a 1-10 rating scale, one being the worst, and ten being the best, I give this a movie an 8. This was a movie that will get your heart pumping and leave you thirsting for more.
was a spectacular film there were some things that I did not enjoy like, the
Director Max Ophüls is known for his distinctive smooth camera movements (Liang, 2011, p. 2). Frame mobility keeps the audience focused on the subject (Bordwell and Thompson, 2008, p. 203), and this can be seen in this shot. Due to the camera tracking Lisa and Lieutenant Leopold after they enter the frame, the audience’s attention stays focused on Lisa and Lieutenant Leopold, even thoug...
...r, this movie is lack of depth of storyline. The audiences can even predict what will happen in the next scenes. Moreover, the ending of this movie is too cheesy and irrational according to me. If only they change the ending to become more interesting and rational, I will give a four or five stars out of five. In spite of a lame twist ending, this movie is a perfect example to show that managers should be able to motivate and challenge their employee. It is important to remember that a happy employee means a productive employee.
Oliver Parker's film interpretation of Shakespeare's Othello uses cinematic techniques to express to the audience two major themes that are present in the original play. Appearance verses reality and racial discrimination are both significant themes that Parker focuses on throughout the film. Through the use of camera angles, language, tone, symbols, costuming and voice-overs, Parker conveys clarity of the themes for the audience to interpret.
In my own opinion I think this film is great. I think this because it