Monday, January 30, 2017
Amarcord
This should be easy. Choose a scene in the film (any scene!) and analyze it in depth. Be sure to discuss its sociocultural influences, why you chose the scene, and how the scene relates to the film as a whole. Your response should be thoughtful and along the lines of what you'll do in January. Be thorough--at least 3 paragraphs.
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I chose to analyze the scene in which Titta is confessing to the priest. This particular scene cuts between the physical confession and the mental scenes that occur in Titta’s teenage mind that he had the opportunity to confess, but of course he didn’t. These scenes include the tobacco lady, his teacher, the festival in which he and his friends look at the women getting onto their bikes, and a scene with Volpina at a wall and finally the scene in the movie theatre with Gradisca. All of the scenes that Titta thinks of while confessing have one major theme in common: lust. Through the juxtaposition of the church shots and the lustful shots, Titta’s guilt is being equated to his lust.
ReplyDeleteThe scene opens with an interesting positioning of the props and set. Titta is surrounded and somewhat closed in by holy objects and people. The priest to his left, a statue of a saint to his right, and a portrait of a saint above him. Through the kinesis in the shots with the footage of the festival, Fellini reiterates the boys’ already apparent obsession with women as sexual objects of desire. By zooming in on the behinds of these women getting their bikes, it brings the attention of the viewer to not only the women’s asses, but also puts us in the shoes of the obsessive teenage boys. The quick pans make the viewer feel the frantic obsession, looking at all of them very quickly to assist in the jarring nature of the boys point of views. Which again makes the audience feel the same excitement that the boys are feeling. Fellini deploys a low frame rate while Titta is biking to again reinforce the frantic nature of teenage boys’ lust for women. The following shots of multiple teenage boys casually and routinely going through their confessions just reiterates the lack of passion and the overall habitual nature of religion. The casual nature in which the priest hands out the blessings is satirical to the routine nature of the church in the real world. Many people go to church on Sunday and pray simply because of routine and not because of religion. Once out of the religious setting the devout churchgoers will sin just as much as the nonreligious schmuck.
This scene is essential for the film as a whole, as it not only characterizes Titta and the theme of the objectification of women. This scene in particular is dealing with the teenage male lust for women while the movie in general just deals with teenage boys vantage points on life as a whole. While the film as a whole deals with other subjects such as school, family or joining the army, this scene in particular focuses on sex and religion.
Amarcord: a film of 1973 Italy directed by the mystical Federico Fellini manifests the culture of Italian families through the theme of unity. From 1969 to 1979 Italy was undergoing ten years of political terrorism, “black terrorists” who were associated with fascism were discovered to be the terrorists committing the mass shootings and bombing throughout Italy. It is evident that this group was hated by the large majority of Italians creating a common enemy throughout Italy's culture and making Italy a more unified state. Given consideration to the sociocultural context of this film it is plain to see the impact this unified state had on this Fellini film.
ReplyDeleteAn important scene to consider when analyzing the theme of unity throughout Amarcord is the ‘fascist rally scene’ nearing the middle of the film. Due to the sociocultural context showing that Italy was very against fascism at this time, it is obvious that Fellini was calling a mockery of the system of a fascist government. Cinematically, the viewer sees the opposition against this form of government through editing and set design, having the editing portray the unity throughout Italy, but the set design showing the blindness of individuals unified by the editing. In other words, the editing contradicts the set design by reflecting themes of unity while the set design shows divide within the country.
From the beginning of the scene we see match-cuts between what we assume is the army general blowing his whistle to the soldiers he’s ordering. This shows that there is unity and equality among ranks in the army. The film then cuts to a shot of veterans in wheelchairs- showing again that throughout the military there is equality no matter if you have the ability to fight. As the scene shifts to a running parade of the fascist party. Throughout this parade the only transitions we see are match-cut from each fascist official to the next, again these match-cuts reflect the unified front fascism presented. The last crucial match-cuts of this scene are a cut between youth soldiers to adult soldiers- this shows that the dedication to fascism transcends time and creates again a unified front. Finally, we see a very important cut between the enormous head of flowers that is supposed to be “La Duce” (Mussolini), and a young soldier. With this example we see a slow tracking shot into La Duce cut next to a slow tracking shot of the young youth, I believe this is the most important excerpt showing the central implied meaning the editing conveys in this scene because we see that a young, inexperienced soldier is completely equal to an extravagant head of flowers resembling Italy’s most famed dictator.
The mise-en-scene is extremely important element of this scene because it completely contradicts the central implied meaning of the editing and therefore calls mockery to the “unified fascist” theme the editing presents, and calls out the movement of fascism as a whole and makes it completely laughable. With the establishing shot of this scene there is complete divide present, with the set of two groups of juvenile soldiers what is ironic is that they should be equal because they are the same age and rank, however in the third third the soldier group is wearing all white and in the first third the other soldier group is wearing all black. This element of costume design within mise-en-scene shows the Fellini’s perspective on the reality of fascism- that no one was equal and Italy was completely divided not unified. The next diegetic element that is crucial to understanding the director's intent of this scene is the fog that the Fascist political leaders walk out into. This fog makes only the outlines of people on screen visible, thus making them blinded by the ideal of fascism because with this ideal and along with methods Mussolini used to rise to the position of dictator--technically everyone looks the same with this “fog of misconceptions” but in reality no one is (as seen by the costume design throughout this scene).
I truly enjoyed this scene because there were cinematic restrictions during the time of Mussolini's reign and it was truly interesting to see the real perspectives of people who were previously under his rule finally being able to express their opinions almost four decades later. (It was also a charismatic scene that was immensely entertaining.
DeleteThe scene in which Titta's uncle is stuck in the tree is important to the film because it represents the Italian countryside, and the narrator's memories, with a wistful blend of fondness and sorrow. The mysterious actions of his uncle are viewed through a humorous light on the surface level, but also carry a deeper tragedy, as they show the decaying nature of his mind. His uncle is viewed from a low angle at the top of the tree, small and distant. Just as he is separated from the other characters physically, he is not present mentally with them. His father appears large in the frame on the ground, his anger clearly telegraphed through his kinesis and position on the leftmost third. This anger is an outward expression of his grief; he cannot properly express his sadness for the loss of his brother's mind, and probably the loss of other parts of his life, such as the loss of Italy to fascism, or the loss of others in his life. The golden glow cast on the countryside is beautiful and pleasing to the eye, but the setting sun implies the end: the end of life and the impermanence of those in our lives, and the end of childhood, which left the narrator too quickly. The wide open plains depicted with long shots are free, but they are also lonely. Their emptiness also carries grief over loss. This scene carries meaning about the movie as a whole: what seems on the surface as a light-hearted ode to youth is actually Fellini's lament of his ephemeral childhood.
ReplyDeleteFellini's 1973 Amarcord harkens back to a time in Italian history of both distress and a rise from worrying. Taking place during the time of harsh dictator Mussolini's rule, Amarcord paints a picture of a town that functions not as a machine, but more as a well tuned ecosystem, in which each part feeds off the other. The people of this town, the families, laugh together, cry together, and love together. Fellini made Amarcord during the troubling period of Italian history known as the Years of Lead. The Years of Lead were a violent couple decades, with political strife all around. Terror attacks and bombings occurred from the 60s to the 80s in Italy. Fellini saw this violence and upheaval surrounding him, and thought to compare this time period to the rule of Mussolini. The scene that I will be analyzing is at the end of the film, and I believe it encapsulates the ideas that Fellini wanted to portray to his fellow Italians; family and community can get through anything by sticking together, from beginnings to endings and everything in between. This sense of community is a strong value in Italian culture, and one that Fellini found it important to remind people of.
ReplyDeleteThough simple in theory, Fellini uses this final scene as an example of his mastery in blocking, or the placement of actors within the frame. Blocking and set/costume design work together in this scene to represent the closeness present in the community, and how everyone knows and loves each other. In the first half of the scene, a funeral procession is taking place. In every separate shot, viewers are looking at groups of people involved in the same procession, but in different capacities. One shot we see the pall bearers, another a group mourning, but what remains fascinating about this scene is the beauty that comes out, and the sense of togetherness is furthered by Fellini’s attention to detail and his attention to a well composed frame and blocking that serves its purpose.
The second half of the scene is different from the first in two obvious ways. One, instead of taking place in the city in which the film has centered around, it takes place in an open field on the side of the beach. This openness brings a sense of finality to the film, a sense that all will be right, and continue to be right in this little town and this little community, and that people should not live in fear, but instead in love. The second main difference in this second half of the scene is that instead of honoring the dead, they are celebrating life, in the form of marriage. The white clothing in comparison to the dark clothing of the earlier half represents this change in events, but also that the community feels as one. Fellini illustrates the power of the small town in this scene; its power to come together and its power to act as more than a unit, as one being above oppressive forces.
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ReplyDeleteThis comedic film is one of many in the era of Federico Fellini. At the time Fellini was making a political statement making fun of Mussolini and how the Catholic Church had an impact on his and his family as a child. One of the most vital scenes to the presentation in the movie Amarcord by Federico Fellini is the scene where the population of the city gathers in the center square to commence the beginning of spring. The scene begins with the narrator who is purposefully the typical old, traditional Italian man. He begins to talk about the idea of the “snow” which is actually cotton that initiates the beginning of spring. Everyone gathers for a large bonfire in the center square. The cotton balls mark the beginning and end of the story so this scene represents the beginning and the end . This is representative of the theme that things are never ending, no matter how hard or tough things seem the world keeps moving without you or with you. Another thing that plays along with the theme is the set design. All of the buildings look like they have been there for years showing how much time has past since they were built and how time is still moving and there is still people running in and out. The the camera work shows the movement of time by never having a 100% static shot. All of Fellini’s shots are exciting and show movement. He uses a dolly effect to move from one place in the city to the next rather than cutting the shot. It makes it seem more ties together and doesn't draw from the story the way a jump cut might. Fellini also uses frames within the frame to show mini stories a part of the grand scheme of things. He even frames characters with other characters. It is to show that the town itself is living and breathing in every crack. Fellini uses lighting in an interesting way in these shots. The shot is long and doesn't break, but the lightning is used to tell us who we should be looking at. Fellini uses the city architecture to light a person's face as they walk in and out of the light whilst they talk to highlight the conversation. But, the lighting is still extremely dim in these consecutive shots giving off the feeling of sadness or solemness. It gives off a feeling of beginning that changes when the fire is lit. Shots begin moving faster and there are more cuts. The warm glow represents the birth of the town and from there on it doesn't stop moving even when the protagonist's mother dies. In most of the shots with the fire the people are obscured. All you see is the shadow of the people in the flame and that could be a political statement towards the war. I feel like this film is all about the little things and when he does this he is making the statement that the war overshadows everything and that the little things we are told to enjoy are obscured by the violence.
DeleteCostume design surprisingly plays a huge role in how you see the film. The Designer plays with colors often giving colors to the stereotypical people. Gradisca always donning the red for passion and Volpina wearing green which is associated with filth or poison. The father wearing white to symbolize the image of a man. Other than the costumes there isn’t much color in the film. It gives emphasis on the characters and their emotions.
The last shot of this sequence shows An old Lady, A middle aged man and a young woman sitting with their faces illuminated by the fire. This shot is to show that everywhere there is a story. They all have their own colors that are brought to light by the fire. They may have all seemed like they were wearing the same color before, but the illumination is the spotlight Fellini is putting on this type of life. He is making sure that the little stories are told and he uses this first scene to almost say why he is telling these stories.
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Amarcord shows us a reminiscence of Fellini’s early life. It is also a criticism on the fascist regime that he was able to do when it was gone. The scene I’m using is where they all go out on the water to see the big boat. Everyone is in a frenzy to see this ridiculously large government project, hailing it as the most beautiful thing they’ve seen and practically worshipping it. I think this scene is a playful critique of society during the fascist rule. This critique came out of Fellini’s experience in Italy under Mussolini’s rule, and now that the regime is gone, he was free to criticize it. This scene is one of the many in the film criticizing the fascist regime.
ReplyDeleteThe composition in the beginning of this scene shows all of the people flocking out to the water to see this boat. It is very crowded, and we get snippets of individual boats and families. One ridiculous example is the man who swam a very far distance to get to his boat. With the big production they’re all making, it seems that what they’re going to should be a big deal, but it’s not, it is just a big boat. When we first see the boat, it fills the entire dark frame, really not giving them much of a show since it’s hard to see. After this, we see all of the people waking up and acting all excited to see it. The composition always remains very crowded to stress how important this is to the people, even though it’s such a ridiculous thing.
The sound also shows how ridiculously they see this boat too. When the boat comes into the frame, we hear it’s deep horn followed by the people cheering it. The sound quickly becomes overwhelming, showing their overwhelming enthusiasm for the boat.
The lighting in the scene shows how insignificant their viewing of the boat really is. It’s too dark to really see anything, but they’ve travelled and waited a very long time for it. The moonlight also gives a very cool, romantic look to the expressions on the people as they stand there adoring the boat.
The film Amarcord was an Italian comedy and drama made in 1973 and directed by Federico Fellini. Memories are things that are very unique to our person, and no two people will ever have the same recollection of an event. In fact, the way a person’s mind works is that they will never exactly remember everything from the past no matter how much they try. Emotions and opinions come into play and always change up what we think is the truth. In this film, the story is somewhat biographical, in which Fellini tries to tell of a typical Italian village loosely based off his life, which plays an important role in the scene I chose to analyze. He tells a story based off what we can perceive as his memories, and the events might not always be true but we get an emotional connection from both the story and what’s in the camera frame.
ReplyDeleteThe character that the audience can infer resembles Fellini is Titta, a young man who is exploring the wonders of early adulthood with his companions, although his father is not very fond of his childish actions. The opening shot of the scene that I chose is a wide shot of the family while they are all sitting at the table for dinner. Titta and his little brother are on the right, Titta’s mother and aunt and uncle are on the left, and his father and grandfather in the center because they are at the heads of the table. The shot makes the kitchen look very closed in, which can be said to create “intimacy” between the family members, but having so many people in this tight of a space can seem a bit awkward and compacted, but this was a typical Italian kitchen hosting a typical Italian family dinner. The scene goes onward showing many different shots of the family members (the brothers together, the uncle and aunt, grandfather, etc.). The use of foreground, middle ground, and background is very important in this scene to represent the sexual barriers that were around years ago. All of the men at the table are sitting down and enjoying their meals while relaxing. They are also shown in mostly the foreground and middle ground. The women, on the other hand, are shown only in the background (until the parents start arguing) and neither one of them sit down throughout the whole scene. This can show that the women were less significant than the men in this society, or at least that’s how Fellini remembers it from his household. Later in the scene when Titta gets chased out of the house by his father, Titta is shown in the background (in the shot where the father is in the front and Titta comes from the back of the house). I feel as though this shows that Titta feels insignificant because he brings shame to his father’s name with his childish antics. This can also reflect how Fellini could have felt during a situation like this, I know I would. Later, his mother and father start arguing because the father believes the kids have been brought up the wrong way and it is all her fault, then they threaten each other and suicide and the whole scene turns into a big mess. One thing that accentuates the craziness is the one shot of Titta’s mother. She is centered in a medium shot and all you see is her bright face contorting and her eyes going cross-eyed. It was just a mess, and this could have reflected Fellini’s anger at his parents, although maybe a little exaggerated.
Again, memories are just perceptions of our past, perceptions that may or may not be true because they are misconstrued in our own mind. Although this is true, emotion can be taken from this misconstrued idea because the memory reflects our feelings. I chose this scene because not only does it reflect the standings that of the family and the “intimacy” of it, but it can be said to lay out Fellini’s memories of his family on the table, and we can see his emotion through the acting and framing.