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Tarnation

I feel that in every post I say this movie is something that I have never seen before, but Tarnation was without a doubt the craziest and most messed up film I have ever seen. I’m not sure if it’s because it was very graphic or the fact that this was Jonathan reality and he had gone through all of this his entire life. I couldn’t imagine going through all the terrible things he has gone through especially his terrible childhood. Watching him as a young boy you can tell how disturbed and messed up he is and what’s amazing is he manages to rise above his upbringing and environment and becomes a successful person for himself. I honestly don’t think if I was brought up the way he was if I could have made something for myself. One part of the film that I still can’t get out of my head is where there are four different shots at once and in one corner he’s always singing the lyrics to the song that is playing and the other shots change around throughout the song. It’s almost as if it’s a really strange music video. The whole film plays into sound and at times I feel parts of film are just there to make the audience to feel uncomfortable. For example the scene when Renée is dancing and joking around with the pumpkin, I felt that scene to be very hard to watch and for some reason I felt it was taking forever for the next scene to begin. Over all, the movie was very different then what I am used to and it definitely put me outside my comfort zone, but I don’t think I will be watching it in my spare time anytime soon.

TARNATION

What the F*$*!!! haha. This film was wild. The boy to me seemed beyond troubled. I coulnd't imagine having to grow up in a house hold like that or going through the events thats this young boy did. I feel that the events of his early child hood really created the blue print for the rest of his life. He seemed to know he was gay from a young age, which might have actually helped him growing up because he obviously wasn't hiding anything. He seemed to be infatuated with the video camera, and obviously clocked in many hours behind it. I'm sure that if he knew his father throughout child hood he might have been brought up differently. But he still couldn't have been normal with a mother like that. Throughout the film you start to feel bad for the character, because of the way he is treated by others. In one scene he is taken advantage of by a drug dealer and sent through a "trip" that has definitely scarred him for life. I felt more attached to the film in the earlier scenes because the footage that he had of himself as a child were just so interesting. He documented himself and had an unbelievable amount of footage.
The way the film was put together was pretty incredible. To be able to just throw these shots together on a normal computer is pretty amazing. I really like how the narrations were put together like slides, and were just righting on the screen. you find your self reading them in your own voice and really changes the effect of what is being said. You feel as if you are narrating the story for him.

What in TARNATION..

The film Tarnation was unlike any other film i have seen. It captured my attention from the get-co. The fact that the narration was in text form also helped with the emotional factor of this film. The way the video cuts and music played hand in hand to build up the story line was perfect. Although the film was very disturbing and left me in awe, it was a great film and did deserve to win an independent film award. Some may think this film was too long for what it was describing but this young man has gone through alot and wants to show us(the audience) what kind of life he has lived. His passion for film-making started from a young age, and sometimes the clips are confusing or disturbing. What most dont understand is that disturbing and confusing makes the audience think more into the film. At times i find myself at the end of films and curse myself for sitting through a certain movie. But with Tarnation, i sat through the whole thing, wondering what was going to happen to this young mans f***ed up life(only way i could describe his childhood). Another aspect of this film that i want to bring up is that his extreme love for his mother. A mother figure is a very important and significant character in any sort of film. A mother-son relationship will cast attention by most and to see his devotion to her makes us all think what would we do in this kids situation. The emotional aspect of Tarnation was the biggest aspect of this film. The music in my opinion didnt really play a major factor, although at times it did play sort of depressing music when it was supposed to. All in all this film, Tarnation, will be a film that i will never forget. I have discussed this film with all my friends and family this past weekend and i described it as the most interesting/brutal film i have ever seen.

tarnation

in all honesty tarnation is not a movie that i ever want to see again. it was very graphic and almost painful. does stir up a lot of emotions, questions, and thoughts but can't say they are all good. i do truely feel sorry for the life he lived, having to go through abusive foster care, a crazed mother who conjured stories. and him having to live through all of this without a stable father who could have been able to help significantly in his life.

the only positive feeling i got out of this is john's persistance and victory over life. he never let all these horrible things in his life ruin him. he kept going against everything and is a functioning part of society, and is able to tell his mothers and his own life story, and the hurdles they overcame. personally dont feel this was a documentary on a horrible life, but a success story over life. john overcame life and is in control. his mother on the other hand is still in a horrible situation but john is doing his best to controlling it.

i also find it amazing that he had all this footage to piece together his own life, put it together so professionally.

I wasn't able to blog last week, on account of the 80 foot tree that fell on my house and took out my power for almost a week, but now I can finally catch up!
Just some quick thoughts on Memento, I have to say that I really enjoyed the movie. It was very different from any movie I have seen. I really loved how the story worked backwards and kept adding on different memories. It was kind of like being in his shoes in a way. At the end of the movie I do have to say that there were definitely some open ends to the story that led you to believe one thing and than another. Up until Teddy said that the story of Sammy was actually Lenard's, i really thought i had the movie figured out. But they way he said it was so convincing that it instilled some doubt in me an that Lenard really might have killed his wife because of his memory. I'm still not 100% sure what the real story is, which i think is the point.
Tarnation was also a very different film. I'm not a person who usually watched documentaries because i just cant seem to get into them for some reason so it was a little harder for me to watch. I do have to agree that I was very shocked by some of the things i saw and that there were scenes that were very long and uncomfortable for me to watch. Especially that one scene towards the end where his mother was dancing with the pumpkin. I couldn't believe some of the things that had happened to him and his mother, it was just so sad that because of really bad advice this families lives were ruined. But I do think he was able to overcome these hardships and work around them to get where he wanted to be in life. I thought Jonathan's use of sound and the movie clips were very interesting. That one sequence where there was the four different picture, there was a lot of different movies clips. I wasn't sure what the purpose to them was, if there was any, but some of the movies clips i caught i thought were interesting choices for him to make.
I really enjoyed the section on hypertext because as you're reading you never know where the next link we'll take you. some of them were funny and others were really interesting too.

Tarnation

Well, all I can say is that I was absolutely shocked at the movie "Tarnation". You go to a movie theater at times to watch a scary movie, and yet, no movies really scare you or freak you out. But, last Tuesday was the day I saw a movie that freaked me the hell out. I liked the movie alot, I thought it was well put together. The songs went perfectly with the clips and each clip told a story within it self of this mans life. Yet, still I cannot get over the fact of how crazy that movie was. It was like a reality horror film and to be honest, I think thats why every one was so freaked out. We were freaked out because it was true, not "The texas Chainsaw BS True" but this was documented truth, it was all really happening in front of our eyes on that screen. Thats why I believe every one was a little weirded out. Any way awesome movie again.

so many feelings

i though tarnation was a very interesting movie even though it was a little disturbing. some of the scene of his mother in the end was especially disturbing. I think it was good that they would make a documentary about that what happens when you have bad advice from doctors. Also the way he used the music and the scenes in the documentary is very well put together. It makes the viewer more intrigued. This movie gave me many different feelings through out the film but definetly left an impression on me.

Tarnation

OK, well where do I start? First of all, the movie Tarnation by Jonathan Caouette, was basically a documentary of his life. The entire film consists of home made footage taken by Jonathan throughout his life. The movie used sequencial order from past to present. I personally felt Tarnation was disturbing and extremely graphic. The movie starts of with Jonathan as a child. His Father had not known that he had even existed because his Mother had never told him. Eventually later in the movie he contacts his Father and all goes well. His Mother on the other hand, was a very disturbed individual. She had fallen off of a roof when she was younger and was not mentally disabled, yet, but she did however get injured. The doctors thought shock treatment would benefit her and it did, but than she became mentally paralyzed. She took drugs and was constantly in and out of Jonathan's life. She was just a completely unstable adult figure to him. I also caught the part where he said he had bought tried either PCP or LSD that was laced. He had bought it from his Mother's drug dealer. I feel the reason that he tried the drug was to in a sense "step in his Mother's shoes". Maybe he wanted to see how she felt due to the fact that she wasn't really able to be there for him.

He was sent off to live with foster parents who had molested him. This I feel was where he met his true character. It is so unfortunate that there are these sick and twisted individuals in this world that have to ruin other people's lives and make them have to suffer for they're own demented enjoyment. Jonthan states that he knew at a very young age he was homosexual. He was not afraid or ashamed at all to share this to the world. His boyfriend David was a symbol of the complete opposite of Renee (his Mother). He was a stable loving person to Jonathan and was always there for him it seemed. David I felt was his rock to all of the mass chaos in his life. Though his Mother was not there to care for him and see him grow into a young man, you could see he loved her very much. What was ironic was that though Renee wasn't there to care for him, he in turn had ended up caring for her towards the end of the movie.

Tarnation was a great documentary of the imperfections in our society. It portrayed not only Jonathan Cauoette's life, but it also gave us a glimpse of what dark demons there are in this world.

Tarnation

This film was quite different from what i am used to watching but after i seen the film i kind of felt bad for the guy. It sad to have to come to find out that a parent of yours is sick and can't help for being that way. And the troubles he had to face growing up with a mother being absent.
I would not wish that on any one. I think it was bold of him to be able to put his life out there for everyone to see. I guess that helped him face reality and come to grip with his mother illness. Most of the images in the film were disturbing but i guess it showned the aspect of the life he had to adapted to.

weirded out

When i left class on Tuesday i have to admit i was still kind of shocked at the images that i saw on the screen. Well its been about a day and now that the shock has worn off a little i think i actually liked it. I really loved how at 11 years old Jonathan new how to set up the right lighting and new the best place to shoot his skit of the "crazy women". He is a very brave individual to actually let viewers into his reality and what he had to deal with growing up.

i really liked the part of the four images on screen with the music and the movie snippets incorporated into them. i also liked his use of light, and the dullness of the pictures when there were emotional parts. I cant believe that this movie only cost pennies to make. The shot that i found to be very endearing in a way, was the long shot of his mother at the end. To me i felt like he was trying to have us really take a good luck at her just being silly and playful like some "normal people". Its just so sad that these people are in a constant state of damnation all the time.

Tarnation

I think everyone in the class probably felt the same way about this movie. I have mixed emotions. I think its evident in Caouette's work that he is very talented, and that this is his area of expertise. The mixture of autobiography/biography was so interesting. I didn't think it could intertwine and become one solid story that actually made sense. He was clearly born with this talent, and that's evident in his home videos. I think his impersonation of the southern woman who was beaten by her husband was amazing. He was born to have star power, what eleven year old boy can impersonate a grown southern woman so good?! From watching all of the home movies, I thought that maybe in the back of his mind even at an early age he thought about making a movie. It was really original and refreshing, which is something viewers look for in the entertainment industry. There are many ways we can relate to this movie. Like the professor said, especially now we really have so much technology at our fingertips. We share so much about ourselves via Internet with people all around us. We have powerful enough tools to even make a movie. We can also relate to the character Jonathan because like him, we are influenced and are a product of our family members, and the people who have raised us. It's so sad to think that so many children have had such a hard and painful childhood. It's mind boggling to think that they gave Renee all those shock treatments. We have come so far in the medical field, and unfortunately doctors learned from the mistakes they made on patients. The must disturbing part in the movie, was the uncut long shot of Renee laughing with the pumpkin during Christmas time. It was so sad to see her look crazy. That scene was one of the few scenes that exposed her illness, and didn't try to make her seem as normal as she possibly could be. The grandfather always seemed to be the most put together one in the family, and didn't think his family had a problem. I think it really showed a fathers love when Renee is cursing him out, and he's trying to calm her down and tells her that she's too pretty to talk like that. He also denies Renee's accusations of her parents beating her, and says it's her illness and that they've tried their best. I have mixed emotions with this movie, but overall i think it's my favorite so far.

Tarnation

A few words that can help describe how Tarnation made me feel: shocked, awed, uncomfortable, moved. I thought this movie was not like any other movie i have ever seen. The begining of the movie, when john was showing a collection of home made movies of him at a young age, helped illustrate how disturbed Johns childhood really was. I mean dont get me wrong, almost all of us played around with a camera to make home movies when we were young, but not to the degree john did. I thought it was funny and really clever how john cross dressed to be able to get into 18 and over bars. I also felt that John gained a particular artistic view at a young age, could it have been from smoking pcp laced weed? Something else i really enjoyed about this film, it was an autobiography and a biography at the same time. I think John did a perfect job at exposing the mistreatment of his mother, ultimatly driving her to insanity. He helped show the audience that the people you are grown up learning to trust (Doctors, Therapists etc.) could actually be the people that can hurt you most.
I really enjoyed how John used all different clips of home made films, movies, and different music all throughout the film. I felt John used certain clips or music that may have influenced or impacted his life in some way?
But overall I really enjoyed this movie, it was a diefferent experience for me.

Tarnation Continued

Just wanted to add something to my original post that’s two posts down. Above all, I believe the film is about who we are. We’re products of our families and our past and no matter how far we may try to stray from that- it’s embedded within us. Over the years, Jonathan may have unknowingly searched for an outlet through his acting. In his teenage home movies we see him repeatedly act out different characters and storylines, perhaps as a temporary escape from his life. It’s as if he inevitably realized that there was no better story or more challenging of a role than his own. The ending interview when he describes all the places his mother is within him (“She’s behind my eyeballs.. She’s under my skin”) isn’t just to gain viewer emotion. It shows that no matter what she’s put him through, and while he can’t seem to explain why, he’ll always love her. I think that’s a feeling that can resonate with a lot of people. Tarnation is a picture perfect example of not being able to run from who you are. Jonathan could be a different character; he could find exile in New York; but he couldn’t change where he came from. Instead, he showcased it, subsequently OWNING it- flaws and all.

Tarnation

Wow! where do I begin?, I think I enjoyed this film the most so far out of all the films, in a weird way lol. John has definitly had a harsh, wrecked life, and the way he put his life into a film was awesome. I can't believe it was done with just $300.00. One of the scenes I liked was the imaging cut out in 4 boxes format and then at the same time it had different colors, it reminded me of the artist andy warhol and how he did his art work, John might of been inspired by him?? Another one of my favorite scenes is when you hear johns voice over images. I believe john starts talking about what he's been through sort of in a whispering voice? Some of the images in this film were a little to daring for people to see, but i guess john wanted to just really get into people's minds with certain images. One line that struck through my head was when the grandpa said, " You knew of heaven before you were born, and god put that mark above your lip so you could forget heaven once you were born" that could've meant so many things, maybe possibly referring to renee that she was in heaven before she was born, and when she was brought into this world she knew nothing of heaven, because she was put through so much pain through most of her life.

Tarnation

I had to cut out early for work so I missed the class's discussion but here's my two cents (so far.) I didn't really get into the film until the midpoint/ending. Although I got the point that it was supposed to be biographical, I felt the beginning seemed like self-promotion... more about who Jonathan was rather than WHY he was that way. I definitely was wanting to see more of Renee and how her presence in his life affected him. However, after letting the movie sink in, I realized that might be the exact point Jonathan was trying to make- her lack of presence. He had to establish the influence this had on the way he spent his childhood/teenage years. His theatrics and creativity definitely were a product of his surroundings, an escape. As the film went on, I loved that Jonathan's boyfriend David was included. Aside from the fact that I'm sure he is a huge part of Jonathan's life and therefore a necessity to the storyline, his "character" serves as such a contrasting figure to Renee's. He appears to be the stabilizing "rock" in Jonathan's life. The scene of the two of them in their new apartment, with the absence of any acting or dramatics, was so heart-warming. In fact, the film, as a whole, succeeded mostly due to how raw and real the home videos are. It really taps into the viewers emotions and makes them feel invested in the story. One of my favorite scenes had to be near the ending, when Adolph tells Renee that "she's too pretty to talk like that" when she swears. She responds with "Fuck you." It doesn't get more authentic than that.

Memento/Tarnation

Memento and Tarnation both were very interested to watch and both deal with psychological problems. In Memento, Leo character deals with anterograde amnesia and it's very fascinating how he spent his life searching for the killer of his wife. And it is very interesting how the movie was set chronologically everything was backwards. In Tarnation Jon mother became mentally ill because of the shock therapy she had after her accident. It's incredible how a person can change in a instinct because of accident. And Jon also encountered a very challenge life because he was put in a foster home and was abused. Both films deals with challenges of life and how people try to overcome them even if problems come their ways.

I didn't post anything last week I forgot but I wanted to mention 99 ways to tell a story was very entertaining. Even though it was in French it was still interesting to watch. It's cool how many different genres and music selection there is in one short film. My favorite one was the last scene, when everything was scary and gory.

momento

I really liked the film, it definately keeps the audience intrigued. I loved the way Christopher Nolan started the movied from the end, and backtracked to the beginning...coming together full circle...its very hard to understand some parts of the film while your watching it, but once its over, it all kind of comes together. The black and white scenes where he's on the phone telling his story, and sammy's case for instance was confusing to me, i didn't understand who he was talking to, and why he would be so open about his own condition, knowing people could, and would use it against him for their own advantages, but it makes sense at the end when we find out it was teddy he was talking to, and his tattoo of "never answer the phone."

The reason why I enjoyed this movie so much is because of the way it was made to not really have closure. Films like this leave it up to the viewer to analyze the sequence of events and everything else given by the film for your interpretation of what you believe happened. It's fun, because their are so many possibilites!

momento!

i love thinking movies where you aren't sure who to trust and what to believe, truly breaks conventions of a pure trustworthy protagonist. although like his memory the movie was choppy and unclear but that's what made it fun. not a movie you can sit and fall asleep watching you want to understand what happened.

sort of reminded me of the show N.C.I.S. how each time they come back from commercial they start the section off with what is going to be the last frame of the section, and then start the show and how they get there. adds suspense. in the movie they showed many things before they happened sort of doing things nearly completely in reverse chronology.

I've heard of the movie before but didn't know what it was about, I'm glad we got to watch it it really was a masterpiece, anyone can make a movie with a protagonist, an antagonist, and a straight forward plot, but to do a piece like this takes skill, and Mr. Nolan did a great job on this one.

and as i said in class i think the movie was designed so that there is no trust, there is no straight answers. his mind works in a way he can not be absolutely be sure of, and it shows us a thing about memory, how we remember things we want, and sometime fuse memories and stories together and cannot distinguish what is real, and what isn't

i've been wanting to write a comic similar to this idea of either memory or time travel, with the main character not knowing if he is doing the right thing or being used. this gives more fuel for my idea!

great movie

Momento

I have never seen Momento before but I have heard of the movie. I found this movie to be very interesting. I have never seen a movie before that started from the end and ended in the beginning I thought that whole concept was awesome. I was confused at points of the movie but after sitting and thinking about the whole movie and trying to remember everything I am pretty sure I understood it all except one part, DID HIS WIFE DIE OR NOT lol... I was just sooo confused by that, I guess its up to the viewer to decide how he or she really wants it to end in there mind. I definitely will watch this movie again because now that i saw the beginning of the movie, which is really the end, I am intrigued on how I will feel when I watch it again.

Over the summer I watched Memento and thought it was a great movie seeing it the second time was even better then the first. I thought the main character was well played and the story line was great. It really maid you think! The ending was a bit confusion but i thought it really maid the the viewers think.

Memento

I remember in last years English class, you read the memento mori short story with us, and i thought it was really good. Now you show me the movie and the second I got out of class I called one of my friends that is majoring in film and movies and told him that he should see memento. I really liked the movie and told everyone how amazing it was. The story being told backwards gets the audience confused and leaves them with so many possibilities of how the movie began. I think that in a conventional movie you can probably figure out who did what or a majority of what has happened around the middle of the movie, but since memento was filmed backwards you really had no idea of what was to come because you didn't know how, who, or what did anything. I mean you couldn't really go any where because you didn't see the beginning. I know that might sound confusing but Any way awesome movie, Just awesome.

Memento!

I can not stop thinking about Memento! I think Christopher Nolan does an awsome job with leaving the viewer with no sense of closure. The movie seems to be perfectly balanced with clues on each side, whether or not Lenny killed his wife and is lying to himself about sammy and teddy is using Lenny for dirty work (killing drug dealers etc.); or if Teddy did in fact kill Lennys wife. There are also subliminal clues in the film as well, such as : when the image of Lenny flashes on the screen of him taking sammys place in the institution, or when Lenny has the tattoo of "I've done It" on his chest giving the hint that he achieved his goal of ultimatly killing his wifes murderer.Im torn!! I enjoyed how Lenny used photographs to in a sense, create his own memories. But what i dont understand, is how will Lenny ever have a feeling of self satisfaction if he will not remember if he had killed his wifes murderer? (I know that sounded a bit wordy)
Either way I felt Teddy got what he deserved, whether he was only taking advantage of Lennys condition or if he really was the murderer of his wife. I also enjoyed how the movie played backwards, with the opening scene of Lenny killing Teddy. I found that to be very interesting, and how the idea of how the movie is based on memory.
Overall i enjoyed this movie most out of all the films we have watched so far.

I enjoyed watching the film memento. And was unconventional film i have seen in a while because if i turly did watch a trailer of this movie before class i would be lost. The only reason i say that because it was a nonlinear film it did not have a regular sequence of order but i guess every film can't be the same. It was quite interesting to know that a killing took place first before the actual events that lead up to that tragic event.

Memento

I really enjoyed this film. I felt this movie had one of the most amazing opening scenes I have ever seen. It was definantly not what i was used too, and it took a little paying attention to. This movie had a main character, and many others to compliment him. I felt it pulling me in many different directions. I didn't know who to believe and you really didn't know what was goining to happen next, even though it probably already took place. I found my self really not trust Teddy ab "his lies" because i went by what the pictures said as did Lenny. I found that to be the biggest twist of the movie, and that is what definitely threw me off the most. I like how the two sequences of scenes met in the middle.(the actual movie, and his black and white flash backs) The scenes seemed to give you clues to the truth of the story, but it was really up to your gut to choose who to believe. Like I said I really dictated the whole movie by what was written on his pictures, which really seemed to throw me off in the end. I like Lenny and his role as the main character, and the way the movie portrayed him. The movie made him seem Innocent. He wanted revenge for his wife's murder, which is totally understandable in my book. But the truth was he was being used like an assassin and didn't even know it. The way teddy and the people around him toyed with him and used his disability to take advantage of him really intrigued me. Because i felt that not only was he easy to use and abuse, he was doing their jobs very well.
I really enjoyed this movie, because it made you think. It was definitely not a normal film that i was used to, but the way that it was shot with the scenes bouncing all over the place but still leading you to the true facts really intrigued me. i enjoyed the movie memento and look forward to writing about it again.

Memento, a decade later

I had seen this when it came out to dvd near a decade ago and I enjoyed it. Long enough to forget beyond the premise. The reverse chronology is a very novel approach on a Noir story. This is another story where memory is the fundamental focus, and the reverse chronology puts the viewer in the same position as the protagonist. This gives the viewer an emotional anchor that was somewhat lacking in "Distant Voices..." That is a much more familiar concept and more comfortable.

Again I think this movie addresses the idea that Distant Voices did, does truth matter? It is Leonards version of reality that we see the movie through. Truths are revealed to each of us simultaniously. The irony is that Leonards "facts" are largely manufactored and false. But that is the world he lives in. In the end (and beginning) he chooses to live this lie based in ignorance over one in facts. His attatchment to a aingle memory sustains him, much as in La Jetee.

The last thing I'll mention is how much attention should be paid to much of Guy Pearce's body language in this part. How he acts when he's waking up, his reaction to a strange bed (not the one he last remembers) or when he reaches for his wife beside him. There were other instances I noticed during the film, but I can't remember at the moment.

Somewhat off topic, the reason I tend to speak more harshly of this movie than is deserved is this, http://www.imdb.com/chart/top (#27). This list tends to make me angry.

Memento

Unfortunately I was unable to attend class last week. I did however, go and find this film online and watch it in order to stay up to date with the class. At first I did not realize that the film had started at the end with what would traditionally be the beginning in most movies. In this case I was lost. But I than noticed how the film progressed toward what was the beginning and "ended". The use of reverse chronology was very creative and I very much enjoyed that because it kept my mind guessing on what had happened in order to come to that specific scenario.

Lenny, who was for the most part the main character of the film, was very disturbed I believe. What I got out of from the film was he had schizophrenia or some type of mental illness. Something in his mind was missing in order for him to not realize that he had written all of these notes. I noticed how he would do something, and than completely forget he had done it just moments later. This film was meant to be a mystery and not really have a closer. It is left wide open for your mind to still question certain things even after the movie has ended.

I would also like to add the I very much so enjoy these blogs. I would have never used a blog before this class, and now I can't get enough. I find them to be extremely helpful when I do not understand something.

I LOVE STUDENT BLOGS // MOMENTO!!!

MOMENTO!! I just got home from class, and all I've been thinking about is this movie. Im completely confused, and I dont care. Im planning on watching it again hopefully over the weekend. This movie had me constantly thinking, and guessing. There were so many elements regarding this movie that I have never seen done before. The only movie I have ever seen, prior to this class, which did not use a linear narration was Pulp Fiction. I ended up turning it off, and told myself I would never watch a movie like that ever again.

The reverse chronology, as well as the foward chronology worked together comming to the killing of Jimmy. The film starting at the end, and ending in the begining really showed cyclical narration at its best. It kept going back and forth, changing from color scenese to black and white scenes. At first, it threw me off completely. I soon realized that the black and white sequences were working chronologically forward, and the color scenes were working in reverse. The point of view of Lennys character was trully expressed in multi dimensions. We got to see all of Lenny. The man who loved his wife, the man who seeks revenge, the man whose been manipulated, the man who cant remember what he did three minutes ago, the man who seemed to have gone crazy. The point of view was all through Lenny as the main character, but theres soo much more to this because he was manipulated from almost every other character in the story. Its almost as if the point of view is changed because Lenny being manipulated, it changes the actual POV. I think this film was not meant to have any sense of closure, simply because that was the purpose.

I absolutely love these blogs. I wish i had them for all my classes. Its soooooooooooooooo helpful.
I also have another paper due next week for my 20th century genocide class, and im so lost and confused, so having that to deal with makes me very appreciative to have this tool that i can refreshen my memory, seeing what other people have written, as well as all the wonderful info you leave for us on the blogs.

Momento

We just finished watching this film in class, I didn't know what to except of it. As of now i believe it is a little confusing and it keeps you thinking, it was nice to hear everyones point of view as to what might have happened. From the beginning of the film, it makes your mind to start questioning and thinking as to what is happening in that instant moment, and then everything starts to rewind or go backwards and then your mind automatically wants to try and put these pieces together. I like how in the beginning he's drying the picture and at first i thought he was drying it to be able to see it clearly then i realized it was the reverse. The whole time i thought the cop was the murderer because the first scene in the film, is the cop being shot, then as the film progressed i thought the murderer was the husband himself. The movie makes me feel like im left in question and mystery...

Memento

This story has been the most interesting one so far, even though its another confusing story. i feel like in the story the man has two personalities. Himself who had a wife and now apparently lost his mind and the one who wrote all the notes that he reads everyday and if maybe his other personality is the one actually making him have amnesia. when you first start reading, it makes you believe that theses notes are supposed to be there to help him since he forgets everything in a matter of minutes, but later on the more notes he read, the more it seems like it someone speaking to him and the tone of how they write the letters, it seems like if its himself writing them. Also when it meantion that he has " i raped and killed your wife" tattooed on himself, was the biggest clue of why i though this was why he has a double personality. Also they always talking about in the momment and how time restricts everyones life and since he forgets everything including time he is not restricted and lives on in just the momments of life instead of the future, which is wear am guessing the title comes from Memento.

I know I'm alittle last minute, but the student logs are really helpful. I didnt think I would like the blog, and i didnt realize how helpful it would be. It's good because we always have the work up and can go back to it if we need it, and its helpful reading what others write. I did my paper already on Distant Voices/Still Lives, and i couldn't have done it without the blog. It was so helpful and neat :) I'm also exciited about the movie we will be wacthing today in class!

Before this class i have never used a blog before and I always find myself unsure on what to write or how to start out but now that I have read the topic on class blogs it's given me a better idea on what to write about. i really like the whole idea of the class blog and it really takes understanding and learning to another level then just the class room. I am usually a quite person in class and I'm sure there are other students in class who are also and the blog helps us learn every ones view and idea even if they don't want to talk about them in class. I like how the blog lets us see each others interpretations and views we might never have had the chance of knowing if we only had time in class to talk about it.
I’m excited to watch Memento I have never seen it but have been told it’s a really good movie and by reading the interview the storyline on a man with short term memory trying to avenge his wife death is definitely a movie I would go see in the theater. Can't wait to watch it and I'll see you guys tonight!

bit late

i just finished going over the classes main page and read through the movie we about to watch tonite. Momento seems like its gona be a good movie to watch. I followed the link on Christopher Nolan and read up on him... i had nooo idea he directed, wrote,and produced The Dark Knight. i happened to think that was a great movie so i cant wait to see some of his earlier work. I was also wondering what i might have missed last class. Had car problems and wasen't able to make it to class. is their some how i can make up the work we did last week?
David T

Always late of these blogs..

I was just going over the main class page and catching up on new posts that I have missed. The film Memento seems to be very interesting. I have not got around to reading the short story of Christopher Nolan's film, but i look forward to comparing the two after class today. I plan to read Nolan's brothers rendition of it on break today. I enjoyed the website iteration of the story, Otnemem was very cool i liked how the story branched out of the single news article and really gave a sense of what happened to and who Lenard Shelby was. I look forward to watching the film version in class today, seems very interesting and love the fact of multiple iterations. I enjoy watching thrillers, my favorite genre behind comedies. I do find myself a little worried about the upcoming paper that is due, I feel like I am not going to be able to bang out three and a half to four pages on basic narrative conventions of a single movie. But I have yet to try so who knows it could be easier then i think. I plan on describing the narrative conventions of Distant Voice, Still Lives as off the top of my head i can think of a couple examples. Now that I am actually typing about it and thinking about it for the first time, it probably won't be bad at all ha. Ill just have to do it to find out.
P.S - I hope its ok to post the day of class i kinda like it as my mind comes in fresh to class

Distant Voices

Overall, I found Distant Voices.. Still Lives to be confusing and hard to follow. Although the out of order scenes created a unique aspect to the film, I would have preferred if the scenes were chronologically placed. It was clear that the music played a major importance to the emotions of the scenes and the overall message of the film. Because the music was so different than what I am accustomed to hearing, I didn't exactly find it enjoyable. I felt that in many times throughout the film, the music strongly contrasted to the events which were playing out on the screen. For example, in one scene, the husband/father was brutally attacking the wife/mother as calm and soothing music played. It was very ironic and emphasized the horror of the images.

In addition to the music playing in the background, the scenes where all the family members sang together unified them and in a way, showed the connection between the family and the memories they were recollecting towards the father. The funeral scene which showed the family mourning over the death contrasted with the unfavorable memories and images of the father. I had to try and remember that beatings and other brutalities were common and accepted in that time period and that it was a much different time than today. It was shocking to watch that happened and that those were the most popular memories.

Le Jetee & Distant Voices...Still lives

Ok so I am FINALLY here!! My first post! I really liked Le Jetee, I loved the black and white still photos and the way it became alive after a few minutes into the film. I had never seen a film like this, and to be honest I thought I wouldn't be able to focus, that all definately changed. I wasn't too fond of the story line, but I loved the way the still photos came to life with just the narration. It was also a great film to show linear narrative in it's simpliest form. Distant voices, still lives was a different story. I honestly watched it 3 times. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I did have the chance to read a few of my classmate's postings regarding the film and I did read parts of the script so i expected something complex and different but as I watched the film it was really hard for me to understand. I'm not sure who the story is being told by but I do realize the equality and importance each of the character's memories were given. In the very beginning Eileen crys for her father at her wedding...I'm not sure why???????? At the end the son cries after he gets married...again I don't know why? I did like the way the film was made in a non-linear narrative, and kept me watching and trying to tie the memories together.

I read over the posting of the next film we will be watching "momento" and am really excited to see it! Although, when I clicked on the "electronic" website I wasn't quite sure what was supposed to happen? Nothing happened. I followed the rest of the links and read the interviews and can't wait to see it!

The film Distant Lives, Still Lives was interesting the singing set the tone for the different scenes in the movie. I thought the distant voices was the memories of the families past life and the still lives is when the current actions takes place. The father seemed to be the center of many things even though his passing had big affect on the characters I believe. He was physically and verbally abusive not only to the mother but the children as well and it was kept quiet. The importance of the father in the film was quite obvious.

Distant Voices, Still Lives

I thought Distant Voices; Still Lives was a very fascinating movie. Although I wasn’t thrilled about all the singing I did feel it was very important to the content in the move. The singing made the watcher get a feel of the time and how important singing was to the people of that era. In modern society we are very lucky to have axes to music whether it’s on the radio, CD or an i-pod anything like that. I have to say I like how the film showed us the family’s point of view. In most movies the film focuses on one individual character; by doing that sometimes the movie can be dry and predictable.

just stopping by to share thoughts

Personally i am excited to watch Memento. I have never seen this film before but i hear from friends that it is great. Im also excited to watch this film because it was nominated for a golden globe AND an academy award. I also enjoyed the idea that Christopher Nolan based the movie off Johnathan Nolans (his brother) book Memento Mori.
I cant wait to watch how the movie is shot using 2 separate narratives. According to wikipedia the narrative that is shot in chronological order is in black and white, while the color scenes are reverse chronological order, and having each narrative "meet" at the end.
This definatly sound like a film that I will enjoy very much. See you in class!

distant voices

I thought the movie, Distant Voices Still Lives was great at depicting narrative structure. This movie, was very differfent from most movies I have seen. It created a very interesting, and as well, unusual sense of telling a story. At first, it was hard to tie certain scenes together. It was shot and put together in a sort of way that really emphasized how memory works in our minds. After a few minutes of viewing this movie, you start to realize that the importance of what actually happend first or after, didnt actually matter anymore. This non-linear form of narrative worked very well, showing just the importance of how the families memories worked together. There wasn't one main character which was also very difficult at first, because you focused on each character as a whole, as a family together. It showed point of view very well through each character, and their feelings and emotions towards other members in the family.

The setting of the movie, was very simple, and yet precise to what was being viewed. As a viewer many things come to mind when thinking about how important the music was in this film. In the dramatic emotional parts of the movie, a very upbeat tone of music was played rather than an expected dark and omnious tone.

Student logs and Momento

I've never done anything like the student logs, so I think that its a really cool thing to try. But at the same time, I find myself not know what to write and while I was reading what professor Estevez was looking for on the logs I found it helpful the way she described it and a place to put down thoughts to help further develop them. I'm still not sure if I was or am writing what you're looking for.


In class on Tuesday when we were talking about the basic narrative elements, I missed what the definitions of story and disclosure were, so I was wondering if someone could let me know. Also about the paper, I'm having a hard time writing about the conventions of the film Distant Voices, Still lives, I'm not sure if it's just because I'm over thinking it, but I was wondering if you could just give me an example of one type of convention.



I started reading the information about Memento and I really like the concept of the story. How he wants to solve his wife's murder, but because of his short term memory he has to leave himself notes, and he take pictures, and he even tattoos himself with clues. As I was reading the interview with Chi rs Nolan on the indiewire website I thought it was really funny how he said "Think of Groundhog Day, but with a gun". The concept also reminds me of 50 first date too. I also looked at the website Chris Nolan's brother made and I thought the website was really cool, especially how different words in the newspaper clipping showed you different things from the movie, like the polaroids, and the different things the main character writes down on post-its to remind him of the things he has found. Also while reading the interview they talked about how the story goes backwards I think, and how its a puzzle structure. I'm really looking forward to watching Memento not only to see what they are talking about, but what happens in the movie as well.

PROFESSOR ESTEVEZ HERE AGAIN

Lots and lots and lots of stuff over on the main class blog to look at in reference to Memento. Don't miss the interviews with Nolan and his discussion of the film's genesis alongside his brother's short story, "Memento Mori." Don't forget to read the short story, as well.

I've also written up a bit on the motif of the "memento mori" since memory/death are central to both brother's narratives.

I've also posted on well known genre "film noir," since Memento clearly riffs on its narrative conventions, fatalism and handling of character.

Hope you are thinking about that first paper! See you next week.

recap of the both movies

unfortunately i didnt get to post last week about la jette.
i like the concept of the movie, the circular nature, how it it ends where it started, kind of like notoroious lol
but the movie itself although only lasting a few minutes felt like it took forever, very slow moving. but the concept was very cool and would love to have see it be elaborated.

distant voices, still lives. this film was much more difficult to understand, but i feel that may be part of its purpose. how it does act like memories and does not have to make perfect sense. everything being jumbled around made it confusing and them speaking faster with their accents made it difficult to understand as well. i think i understand the points the movie portrayed

Distant Voices, Still Lives

The film "Distant Voices, Still Lives" used a very interesting way of organizing itself and depicting meanings throughout the film. This film was the first time I saw something shot in a cyclical way instead of in a chronological way. This aspect of the movie was very rivetting as my attention could not leave the screen. It was as if i were bounced between experiences to lead me to one end result. This aspect of the movie used more in the Distant Voice part really showed the Father's personality and how the kids themselves viewed him. I felt like i understood Eileen's scene of her wedding day and why she wanted her father there just by the way the cyclical order depicted it. The way the music was set-up throughout the film i felt really added a great sense of capturing peoples character and expressing their feelings. I did have a little trouble making out the characters and who they where as it jumped around a lot their images seemed to blend in a way. But by the end I knew who was who. Though i did feel myself lost at some points in the film, like i said earlier i could not keep my attention of it. I really enjoyed the way the film was shot and put together. It most definitely captured the characters and meaning of the film. I am more interested in the way the movie was sequenced and shot and would like to see more films this way.

Distant Voices...

This film was clearly very well constructed and shot just as was planned. It captures the non-sequential human brain fairly well. There seemed to be logic behind the scenes transitions, but as with a human mind, might not make obvious sense to the viewer. Davies utilizes contrast in several different ways. As was mentioned in class, he exploited an erie effect by playing serene music during high tension or violent scenes. He also demonstrated that one character could be recalling a particularly devistating memory, while another remembers a fond recolection. At other times a terrible scene will shift immediatly to a joyous period.

The downside to all this is a difficulty in following anything beyond simple plot. That knowledge isn't necessary to enjoy the movie, but might frustrate an audience. I found myself never truly seperating many of the characters. I just foudn myself generalizing a majority of the characters as "abuser" and "victim." For a film that seems to demonstrate alternative perspectives, it does fail to give many characters extra dimension. A character is a hatefilled ass (usually directed at the typically weaker women behind closed doors.) or a repressed and innocent victim (putting on a brave face in public, defying through song.) There is very little variance, barring Micky and Red.

This is my opinion based on viewing it two decades after release. That might be a factor, but I can't say. It was definitly worth the time to watch and I would recomend it for it's style if nothing else. I would recomend the British never use the word "Ciggie" ever again.

Distant Voices, Still Lives

I personally really enjoyed Distant Voices, Still Lives. It was different from most movies I’ve seen before in the fact that the story wasn’t linear. I found that because the movie wasn’t linear it made me pay real close attention so I could understand what was going on with each character. I feel the music was such a huge part of the movie and I liked how the characters expressed their selves in song. It was like everyone had a song that was their own that the friends and family liked to hear them sing, but there were also songs that everyone had fun at the pub and sang together. The only thing I found weird was it seemed that even though the father was terrible to the family they still missed him. For example even though Eileen was slapped around she still cried on her wedding day wanting her father. I like how when each seen ended it would fade out to black or white. I thought Terence Davies did a good job representing how memories actually are how they fade in and out and thought it was a nice touch when going back and forth from past to present. I also found interesting that a lot of the film was just shots of the window, door way, or stair case. Over all it was an enjoyable movie, but I think if I watch it again I will get more out of it.

Distant Voices/ Still Lives

The film Distant Voices/Still Lives can be interpreted in many ways. Something that stood out to me was the importance of characters throughout this film. The father is probably the most important character in the film. He is mentioned throughout the whole film. They speak about him sporadically or mention him to get our emotions going. When movies focus on important things, such as family in this film, that is to emotionally get the audience connected. When the movie refers back to the father, it usually showed dark and/or distracting memories which were used to capture our attention. This exemplifies the impact of the fathers life on his own family and to the film. The graphic scenes of the father beating his daughter and wife work hand in hand with attention grabber. Most "sane" people can not sit through those scenes without cringing or feeling somewhat wrong for what he was doing.

Another point that i would like to bring up about this film is the time frame of this movie. This film described a time period with a working father supporting his whole family. One thing that our generation doesn't experience as much is the strictness of the father/mother in the household. At this time, it was socially acceptable to beat your children. It was definitely frowned upon sometimes, but i have heard stories from grandparents and family that can support the idea of strictness at that time.

Jason mentioned how the singing in a way was to express themselves, or to relieve a tense situation. I noticed that the singing at times did relieve some sort of awkward and tense situation. Someone would say "Well why dont you sing us a song?"--This happened in times when people would be upset, and it would alter the mood.

Overall, i enjoyed this film and it did show many things such as the importance of lighting and music in this film. The way the film is lit up, can set moods just like music can. Another thing i also enjoyed was the message that was drawn out for us about this time period in Liverpool, England. They illustrated the importance of family and their communities. This was showed in scenes such as the ones in the pub while they were all singing along.

Distant Voices/Still Lives was a very different film from what I have ever seen. At first it did not make any sense, but than I started to realize the way this film was meant to play out. The way that the movie was constantly fading into random memories pertaining to the moments in the movie was skillful. The use of flashbacks was great. The movie was generally based on the cold-hearted Father. Every moment of his presence in this film was dark and lifeless. I could feel right away that the Father was a cruel man. Emotions were all over the place in DV/SL. One moment I could see how happiness was expressed, and the next I would see anger and sadness.

I knew this film was not one that was chronologically in order, it wasn't supposed to be that way. It was meant to jump around to moments that pertained to that specific scene. This film was a definite attention grabber and kept me guessing and intrigued. DV/SL was filled with alot of unfortunate events and cruelness. The scene where the daughter is scrubbing the floor after doing a laundry-list of endless chores, just to be able to go to the dance was unforgetable. I could not believe or understand why her Father would beat her like a dog with a broomstick just because she had asked him if she could go to the dance. He threw change at her as if she was a poor good for nothing human being. Once the Father had died, it was as if the weight of the world was lifted off of the shoulders of the family. Suddenly the fades to memories turned from black to white, reflecting on the change is mood. Over all, the film was great a guessing game and had kept me hooked until the end.

Distant Voices/Still Lives was better than i thought it would be. It was alittle harder to follow than La Jatee because it jumped from memory to memory. I liked it because i think we can relate to the movie. I liked the way Davies spoke about the film structure, he said
" I knew the film would be cyclical because memory is not linear and it's triggered by time which then triggers other things. It's an emotional journey that you go on. "
That is so true. The most random thing will make me think about an event or something that happened in the past. And when you think about the past and your memories, you focus on the people that were significant during that time and in your life, that might not be in your life now like the father. This movie reminded me of "The Time Travelers Wife" because it wasnt supposed to make sense, it just shows times and events in the characters life in no order or relationship to eachother, eventhough they are two completely different story lines and situations. I liked the clips where they were in the pub, it was happier and some parts were funny. I think the meaning behind this film is a powerful one because our past plays a big part in who we are and who we become. The directors past clearly impacted him enough to inspire the creation of this film.