Luc Besson: One of the Best French Directors
Thesis: Luc Besson is one of the best French Directors of this century. His works can either be viewed as mere action packed thrillers or the viewer can go in depth and question society and morality. Besson wishes to make the viewer question the importance of individualism, the role of each individual in society and whether the individual should follow the norms of society or follow his heart. Besson’s humor, sense of pathos and his reflections on life deserve credit. Besson draws on his own life in some movies. Besson lacks presence of family and religion and in his movies the protagonist has to sacrifice one love so as to attain another, which he feels to be of greater importance to his life.
Introduction
Luc Besson was born in Paris on March 18, 1959, and spent most of his childhood living in the idyllic settings of various Mediterranean hideaways between Yugoslavia and Greece where his parents worked as diving instructors. A tragic diving accident when seventeen, put an end to his dreams of a career in marine biology and he diverted his interest to films and directing. He dropped out of school and moved to Hollywood at the age of nineteen where he spent three years working on and learning about American films. There was a time when he used to watch a dozen films a week so as to understand filmmaking.
Considered the French equivalent of Steven Spielberg, Besson is popular for creating fast–paced stylish and hugely budgeted films. What are noticeable in Besson’s movies are the visual style, humor, pathos, and sense of direction, reflections on life and declination of modern society. (Susan Hayward, 1998)
The Movies
Luc Besson’s movies can all be viewed not just as movies but movies with a meaning. One of his major themes in all his movies is social existentialism - the decline of society and morality. The protagonist develops his own sense of morality and what is right and wrong in relation to their decline in society as a whole.
What are noticeable in his movies are the absence of family and the demise of the community, which he brings out with great sophistication. His childhood spent near the sea and his passion for it and diving also had a profound effect even on his work as can be seen from his movie – The Big Blue.
-1. How could the Federal Reserve prevent and solve financial crisis? – The function of Federal Reserve.
Film Noir, as Paul Schrader integrates in his essay ‘Notes on Film Noir,’ reflects a marked phase in the history of films denoting a peculiar style observed during that period. More specifically, Film Noir is defined by intricate qualities like tone and mood, rather than generic compositions, settings and presentation. Just as ‘genre’ categorizes films on the basis of common occurrences of iconographic elements in a certain way, ‘style’ acts as the paradox that exemplifies the generality and singularity at the same time, in Film Noir, through the notion of morality. In other words, Film Noir is a genre that exquisitely entwines theme and style, and henceforth sheds light on individual difference in perception of a common phenomenon. Pertaining
Perhaps an even stronger testament to the deepness of cinema is Darren Aronofsky’s stark, somber Requiem for a Dream. Centering on the drug-induced debasement of four individuals searching for the abstract concept known as happiness, Requiem for a Dream brims with verisimilitude and intensity. The picture’s harrowing depiction of the characters’ precipitous fall into the abyss has, in turn, fascinated and appalled, yet its frank, uncompromising approach leaves an indelible imprint in the minds of young and old alike.
Canadian filmmaker and cinephile, Guy Maddin once said, “I do feel a bit like Dracula in Winnipeg. I’m safe, but can travel abroad and suck up all sorts of ideas from other filmmakers… Then I can come back here and hoard these tropes and cinematic devices.” Here, Maddin addresses his filmmaking saying that he takes aspects from different film styles and appropriates them into his own work. In The Saddest Music in the World (2003), Maddin uses a combination of French Surrealist filmmaking and classical American Hollywood cinema, specifically melodrama, to create his own style. In an article by William Beard, Steven Shaviro talks about Maddin’s filmmaking, and he links Surrealism and melodrama together saying, “Maddin’s films are driven by a tension between romantic excess [melodrama] on the one hand and absurdist humour [Surrealism] on the other.” In regards to The Saddest Music in the World, the relationship between Surrealism and melodrama is not one of tension, as Shaviro suggests, but one of cooperation. This paper will analyze two films by filmmakers Maddin was familiar with —Un Chien Andalou (1929) by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali on the Surrealist side, and All That Heaven Allows (1955) by Douglas Sirk on the melodrama side—to showcase the important elements of each, concluding with an analysis of The Saddest Music in the World in conjunction with both film styles. Ultimately, it will be shown how Guy Maddin combines French Surrealist cinema and Hollywood melodrama in The Saddest Music in the World, to create his own unique film style.
Prior to the attack on 9/11, the United States was rebounding from a recession. For seven months before the attack, there had been a minor recession due to the effects of the dot-com crash of 2000 (Greenspan 5). The recession stemmed from a bursting bubble, coupled with declining consumer confidence and predatory lending (New). The bursting bubble referred to the
Think about your favorite movie. When watching that movie, was there anything about the style of the movie that makes it your favorite? Have you ever thought about why that movie is just so darn good? The answer is because of the the Auteur. An Auteur is the artists behind the movie. They have and individual style and control over all elements of production, which make their movies exclusively unique. If you could put a finger on who the director of a movie is without even seeing the whole film, then the person that made the movie is most likely an auteur director. They have a unique stamp on each of their movies. This essay will be covering Martin Scorsese, you will soon find out that he is one of the best auteur directors in the film industry. This paper will include, but is not limited to two of his movies, Good Fellas, and The Wolf of Wall Street. We will also cover the details on what makes Martin Scorsese's movies unique, such as the common themes, recurring motifs, and filming practices found in their work. Then on
In the early 2000’s the housing market boomed, real estate was a hot investment and everyone was looking to buy a home. However not everyone can afford a home and a majority of people were forced to take out a mortgage to purchase real estate. During the housing boom banks were supplying subprime loans and upping the risk in the real estate market. These loans were not only risky but irresponsible on the part of the banks’ lending them, and although individuals receiving the loans thought they were being helped at the time, these loans were a major reason why so many people their homes, almost crippling toe U.S economy as a whole.
What caused the Great Recession that lasted from December 2007 to June 2009 in the United States? The United States a country with abundance of resources from jobs, education, money and power went from one day of economic balance to the next suffering major dimensions crisis. According to the Economic Policy Institute, it all began in 2007 from the credit crisis, which resulted in an 8 trillion dollar housing bubble (n.d.). This said by Economist analysts to attributed to the collapse in the United States. Even today, strong debates continue over major issues caused by the Great Recession in part over the accommodative federal monetary and fiscal policy (Economic Policy Institute, 2013). The Great Recession of 2007 – 2009 enlarges the longest financial crisis since the Great Depression of 1929 – 1932 that damaged the economy.
The United States is a country focused on bettering an opponent, but some people aren’t cut out for the constant competition. Those members of society seem to be left in the dust and expected to fend for themselves. Because of the pressures being placed on Americans, it is almost natural to constantly search for a sense of comfort and relaxation. A variety of coping methods have been published in books and articles by psychiatrists, but the audience in which they are written for is rapidly expanding to younger generations. People too often make the assumption that damaging amounts of stress do not surface until college and early adulthood, but studies over the past five years show that stress takes an overwhelming toll on high school students.
Gallagher, T. 2002. Senses of Cinema – Max Ophuls: A New Art – But Who Notices?. [online] Available at: http://sensesofcinema.com/2002/feature-articles/ophuls/ [Accessed: 8 Apr 2014].
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It is no doubt that Martin Scorsese has heavily influenced the emulating of American film making from European influences. He is a prime example of a ‘New Hollywood Cinema’ director, not only from his ethnicity and background, but from his sheer interest in this form
despite him being my favorite director and I just watched it few weeks ago. By watching that film you can see his unique style and the technique he used to shot that film which is amazing.
Earth’s climate is determined by the physics and chemistry of its atmosphere. Earth’s atmosphere consists of four layers; troposphere which is closest to earth, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. Hardy says, “During the past 100 years we humans, as a result of burning coal, oil, and gas and clearing forests, have greatly changed the chemical composition of the thin atmospheric layer.” There is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to burning fossil fuels. The atmosphere is made up of many gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. It also consists of trace gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, chlorofluorocarbons and, ozone. The trace gases have the greatest effect on our climate (Hardy 5). Up to a certain level, these gases help to keep the planet warm by absorbing certain infrared wavelengths, so that there can be life on the planet. Thus, they trap heat in the troposphere and stop it from escaping to space (Hardy 7). Therefore, the greater amount of greenhouse gases, the more heat trapped in the atmosphere. Earth’s temperature is increasing due to increased levels of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide released into the air from burning fossil fuels. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2001 report projects “global average surface temperature increases ranging from 1.4 to 5.8 degrees
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