Jules et Jim Film Review

Jules and Jim is a 1962 French film directed by François Truffaut based on Henri-Pierre Roché's semi-autobiographical novel; the film is aimed at younger audiences. Set between 1912 – 1933, the film follows the friendship and lives of Jules, an Austrian writer and Jim, a French writer. The film has various different time settings, before, during and after the war, and also various different countries, France, Austria and Germany.

During a holiday they are shown a statue and are immediately infatuated by its beauty. When they arrive back in Paris they meet Catherine, her beauty equals that of the sculpture and they both fall in love. The three become inseparable and try to keep positive; ignoring the effects the war is having around them. When Jim finds out about Jules’ feelings he decides not to stand in his friend’s way.

It’s shy Jules that settles down with Catherine rather than womanising Jim.  When war is announced both Jules and Jim are called to fight, but both for different countries. They are constantly paranoid that they will kill each other unknowingly. Both men write to Catherine, and she replies back to both.

The opening scenes have quite lively background music, this highlights the frantic quality the film has. The way that Catherine is flicking from one man to another at the drop of a hat and her inability to choose between the two men is her downfall and leads to devastating and irreversible events.

Because of the variation in time, I found it very interesting to watch the costumes change and develop as the time period progresses.  The sets interested me and gave me an idea of the sort of objects they had in that time period.

I also like the use of black and white in this film; it highlighted the feelings between each of the characters. There was lots of colour to distract away from their facial expressions.

Unlike many films that involve war; this film keeps quite a light-hearted approach focussing on more what’s going on at home rather than the battle fields. This light hearted, care free attitude soon disappears at the end of the film and is replaced by jealousy and revenge.
I also like the way that the war part of the film was kept completely separate. It was filmed in an older effect film; it was grainier. This kept the two worlds separate, a clear divide between the love and conflict.

Although the strength of Jules, Jim and Catherine’s love for each other was strong, their situation was doomed to fail. Marriage and motherhood don’t really fit in with Catherine’s split personalities and soon she becomes jealous that Jim is planning to ask another woman to marry him. She then drives off a broken bridge with Jim in the car killing them both. These tragic deaths finally break the twisted love triangle that was taking over their lives.

All Quiet on the Western Front Film Review

All quiet on the western (1930) front is an Americanised war film based on the book of the same name, by Erich Maria Remarque. The film follows the lives right through to the deaths of many of the school boys from the first scene.  The film starts at a German high school, where the teacher is encouraging his class to enlist for the army by giving a speech about the glory for fighting in the army. The boys are all enthusiastic to start off with; being a part of the army would mean different things to each of them.

I like the scene where the son shows his mum his uniform. She gets upset and orders him to take it off; when his dad sees him he is overcome with pride. To me this reflects that the men didn’t really look at war seriously, they saw it as something they could boast about and enjoy, the women could see the dangerous side of it.

The war appeals to each of the boys for a different reason but they all decide to join. They think the war will be easy as they didn’t think it would last very long. In the scene where they all first arrive at the training camp, you can see clearly that they are not taking it seriously, they are running around trying to carry all their equipment in their arms when all the soldiers are marching in lines with their kit on their backs. They are also proud of their new titles and like to use them whenever they can. When the men are walking, one of them jokingly says to the other ‘keep in line there soldier’ he replies ‘anything you say general’. This is the light hearted part of the war that they are enjoying and what they expected, but from then on things got tougher.
They are really eager to join the frontline, but when their training starts they start to see that it’s not what they thought it would be. Before they know it they are on the frontline.

This film is quite realistic and a disturbing account of what the war would actually be like. I like the scene in the village, they are focused in on what is supposed to be happening but you get to see the devastation and the effect that the war is having on the lives of everyday people. The aspect of realism is highlighted by the fact that there is no music. In parts such as the battle scene this is very effective as you can just hear the gunfire and the explosions of bombs and grenades in the background.

The scene where everyone is in the bunker in the trenches is symbolic. The room is infested with rats; so many that the soldiers start to beat them with a spade. These soldiers, by this scene are starting to show signs of the stress the war is causing. Uncontrollable shaking, nightmares and screaming about the relentless bombs are just some of the symptoms. One of the soldiers loses control and runs out the bunker and is injured. 

I like the story of the boots that progresses with the story, at the beginning Kemmerich is telling them about his new boots and they are all jealous. He is injured and they go to visit him in the hospital and they discover that he has had his right leg amputated. Kemmerich doesn’t know and complains about a pain in his right foot, they tell him what has happened and he gets upset. They disrespectfully go on to say that he won’t need his boots anymore, now he only has one foot. They try to get the attention of the doctor to help ease Kemmerich’s pain; the doctor just says there is nothing he can do about it.  Mueller takes the boots from Kemmerich and then he dies. The boots are passed on, he dies and the boots are passed on again. I believe it is very representative view of the way that soldiers are seen, insignificant within the masses of soldiers that are dying for their country, you can just move from one to the next.

I like the way that there are a lot of camera shots from behind windows. This maybe represents the scared feeling that the civilians would be feeling. They would be hiding inside looking out of their windows to see what was happening outside, not really knowing what’s going on.  This use of camera angle also makes the film more realistic, you feel as if you were actually there; more because this is the angle you would actually see what is happening in person.

I like the ending where one of the surviving soldiers from the original group of school children goes back to his school and gives a talk on his experiences of the war. His teacher is expecting it to be an enthusiastic account of heroic events and excitement, but what he hears is the opposite. All of what the soldier is saying is tinged with regret and sadness.

Overall, I thought this film was useful  for researching props and scenery as it was set in more working class locations, such as the village, the people didn’t come from such luxurious environments, it was more make do and mend and pass on.

Oh, What a Lovely War film review

Oh, what a lovely war by Richard Attenborough is set on a theatre production about World War 1 with the same name. The whole film has an upbeat, cheery appearance which disguises the terrible events that are really going on.

The first scene is a big white room with ornate arches, tables and chairs which are all white. To me this room looks unfinished and too much like a set. The use of white makes the room look spacious and bright which adds to an aspect of mystery, you never really know what function the room has - it seems quite multi-functional.  This room is quite symbolic as you keep returning to it throughout the film, its where all the big discussions and the most important decisions are made. 

There is a world map as a big rug in the centre of the ball room part of the white room, This is where all the men are discussing war and whether they should go or not. The way they are talking about the war is quite naive, they don’t really sound like they are taking it seriously and that it’s just a game. They thought the war would be won by Christmas. This childish view of the war is reflected throughout the film, especially through the use of the amusements on the pier.

The next thing you see is Brighton seafront. The band is playing and everyone is happy. When the lights are turned on the name of the pier is ‘World War One’ everyone cheers and hurries to get in the queue. The way the name of the pier is lit up is almost glamorising the war. Everyone’s excited and can’t wait to get into the funfair but when they get there it’s not as they first thought. The man giving out tickets is a British senior officer. The main focuses on the crowd of people are the Smith family, the film ends up following their journey through the trenches. Each funfair attraction represents an aspect of war. The shooting range where they originally start out shooting cardboard cut outs, morphs into the battlefield where there is real fighting going on. Same with the carousel, as it slows down it gets shot at and destroyed. The prize for the shooting game is an army uniform.

The constant comparison to the funfair keeps the upbeat feel going throughout the film but it also carries the naivety. It is also a representation that maybe they think the war is childish and just a game.

I like the scene in the theatre. The curtains open to show young women dressed in frilly yellow dresses, they are affectively recruiting a volunteer army. They are appealing to the national loyalty within men, ‘We don’t want to lose you, but we think you ought to go.’ Another woman comes on and tries to persuade the reluctant men to join, I think this is symbolic because she looks nice and appealing to the audience, especially to the men, but when examined up close, she’s not what they expected, and she is plastered in make-up and not particularly attractive. This represents the men all signing up for a shift on the front, it might look attractive to start with (because the war wasn’t meant to last that long) and it’s not what they thought when they get there, and they start to regret their decision.
The men are all hurried off stage and then the film cuts to them on the battlefield; they went to see a production and ended up soldiers.

There is a constant comparison between the rich and the soldiers. The rich have the impression that the soldiers are enjoying the war; one of them said that she was told in a letter ‘It’s like a picnic but no one tells you off for getting muddy.’ Life is still the same for the rich, they haven’t really felt the effects of the war yet so i think they assume that the soldiers are just having a sort of holiday.

The clothes of the rich are a harsh comparison to the uniforms of the soldiers. The rich are wearing posh and regal dresses, suits, lots of jewels and they all look very glamorous. In comparison, the soldiers whose uniforms clearly reflect the surroundings they are in,  are covered in mud and their clothes are frayed, their hats are all chipped around the edges where they are knocked and scrapped. They enhance the difference between the rich and the soldiers by the light. The rich live in homes that have brightly lit rooms; the soldiers are shown huddled around one flickering candle.

There is still an aspect of ignorance as to how dangerous the war is. When the soldiers are all together they sing ‘we’re ill because we’re ill’. They are not taking their injuries as seriously as they should be as some of their fellow soldiers are being carried past on stretchers. This ignorance is also represented in the white room from the start. There is a big board with statistics showing how many men have been lost and how much land has been gained. There are a lot of men lost before any land has been gained. They are being naive and trying to ignore what is right in front of them. 

Poppies play quite a symbolic part in this film. At the start of the film, the photographer hands out two poppies to the central characters of the photo, once the photo has been taken they drop dead, he then pronounces them assassinated. The poppy is a symbol of death, once someone is given a poppy they are usually killed within that scene. Some of the only colour on the battlefield comes from the random patches of poppies; they are representing the unnecessary bloodshed.

I really like the end scene where you see the soldiers walking past their families and going to sit with each other on the grass. The camera then pans out and the men morph into white crosses, as the camera zooms out you can see the whole field is covered in white crosses, a graveyard. I like the way that they showed the men lying in the grass before they changed into crosses; it initially conveyed the impression that they had survived the war.
Overall I liked the way the film continually contrasted the war with something that other people would understand. It also highlights that they didn’t really consider what they were getting themselves into, and for how long when they went to war. This film has helped me gain a better understanding of people’s emotions and views of the war, and what they really thought.

The White Ribbon film Review

The White Ribbon by Michael Haneke (2009) is a film set in a remote German village in the year leading up to World War 1. The story depicts the lives of the villagers and the mysterious events that occur. Haneke originally said that the film is about the ‘origins of terrorism’ but, to me, the film is more about the fear of the unknown.

The use of black and white is very effective in this film it helps to intensify the mood as there is no soundtrack that will manipulate your emotions. Most of the mysterious events that occur usually happen under the cover of darkness; the black and white highlights this and increases the sombre mood, and the extremes between the light and dark subtly let you know when something bad is going to occur. The main source for light is candlelight, the way the candle flickers creating shadows adds to the mysterious almost ghost like quality of this film.
The snow in the last part of the film is extra bright, this almost symbolises the last happy event that the village (& country) have before the war starts. The black and white contrasts also highlight the differences in classes. The richer homes such as the Pastor and Baron homes are lighter, with big windows allowing the light to come through, whereas the poorer homes are darker with less decoration.

The poor homes are smaller and more basically furnished. Such as the farmers home, there are lots of people cramped into a small space. The cramped unhygienic conditions are intensified with the subtle use of flies. The living conditions are also determined by the use of camera angle. For the poorer home the shots are closer and appear to be more cramped, the richer homes are shot from an angle that creates space.

A main theme throughout the film is the treatment of children. The conversation in the first half of the film between the doctors children about death is very haunting. The conversation is very mature for children of their age. The little boy is being very direct with his questions, it makes you wonder what he needs to know the answers for? The colour white usually represents purity, but in the film the Pastor ties white ribbons onto his children to remind them of their actions which are challenging this image. At the end of the film the school teacher suggests that it is the children that are committing these offences. It adds a twist to the story that you wouldn’t expect.

The structure of all the families is very patriarchal. The Baron, the Pastor and the Doctor are superior to the women in this film.   Even from a young age it is clear to see that girls are discriminated against. In the shot where they are walking home after school, the boys run ahead while the girls walk behind. This structure is easy to see in the way that Baron is not very popular but is very powerful and owns the land which in return gains the peoples respect. The doctor is taking advantage of both the housekeeper and his teenage daughter. This is a good example of a conspiracy of silence, most people know that the doctor is sexually abusing his daughter but no one says a word. Even the film only hints at the fact.

I like the way that realism is captured in this film. The long/static camera shots are really effective when it come to building tension and suspense. There isn’t much editing within each section so you see people walk from one room to the next, but with it being chopped around, it all occurs in real time. This causes conversations to be heard behind closed doors and a lot is left to the imagination. Realism is also captured with the background noise. There are lots of birds in the background of outside shots and this makes it more believable.

The scene where the camera shots are used to the best effect is where the doctor’s son is looking for his sister. You see the boy wandering around looking and you know that the doctor is in the room with his daughter. The long camera shots and the use of silence make it really uncomfortable to watch as you predict what the boy will find when he goes into the room.

There are hints of morality throughout the film. The romance between the narrator/school teacher and Eva gives a welcome break to all the mysterious goings on within the village. Also when the boy asks his dad if he can look after the injured bird shows kindness, this brings a lighter side to the film.

Overall, this film is not what I expected it to be. At the end of the film you are left with no answers to the mysteries and this causes us as the audience to come to our own conclusions, which is good because all of the events can be seen in different ways. This film is very powerful but also dark and disturbing, from all that is suggested and seen, not everyone is as they appear to each other. All the talking behind closed doors gives the impression of a door being closed; maybe the door is being closed on the era where no one has ever heard of war.