The Compositions of Vertigo and Sans Soleil - Movie Review Example

Vertigo and Sans Soleil Introduction There are very many themes that form the compositions of the films Vertigo and Sans Soleil. The themes form a rich film aura for viewers who enjoy classic thoughts and feelings acted out in unique retrospect to bring out one rich element. This paper will concentrate on the comparisons of the two films. This is in relation to the themes that make up the two films. They include the themes of love, memory, death and betrayal. The two films Vertigo of 1958 and Sans Soleil of 1983 may be from two different periods but, they definitely have various themes that cut across both of them. It is essential to look at some of them and how they relate to each other. Theme of Love In Vertigo, the theme of love clearly comes out from the beginning of the film. The character Galvin is seen to truly love his wife. He is troubled by the fact that she has been acting in a very strange manner for some time now. He requests his friend to take time to trail his wife and find out why she is behaving the way that she does. This is with the sole aim of helping her with the issues that she may be faced with. Scottie, the main character who is tasked with the responsibility of trailing Galvin’s wife does so reluctantly because of the fact that he wants to help out his friend. On the other hand, has been receiving a lot of help from his ex-fiancée in relation to his acrophobia. In digging up the unique elements of Madeline and her grandmother, Midge also helps out. This shows a unique element of love between past partners. As he takes up Galvin’s task, Midge his ex-fiancée encourages him to do so to relieve himself of tension and the boredom that he experiences after his retirement. As Scottie continues to trail Madeline, he falls in love with her. This is seen in the fact that she can actually tell him things that she does not tell her husband. This includes nightmares and other troubles. They share quality time when they go to the movies, art galleries and to the cinema. Their proclamation about the love that they feel for each other is evident as the film rolls on. In many instances, Madeline spends the night at Scotties place despite the fact that she is married. This is under the auspices that she might commit suicide (Leitch and Poague, p. 577). In Sans Soleil, the theme of love can be analyzed from two critical angles. The love for travel is one aspect that has punctuated the documentary. The film revolves around the experiences of a person who loves to travel. He has taken the time to travel to very many places all with different cultural set ups. The unique experiences of each and every place he has been to can be seen in the narrations. This is because there are unique cultural elements that make up Guinea Bissau, Japan and Cape Verde. The documentary relays the love of this narrator in the way that the film eventually maps out. The love of photography and narrative exposure is also another way of explaining the theme of love. From time to time, the author is seen to use the lens to explain what goes on in all places that he has visited in the world. It is practically possible to understand the culture, people and the intrinsic elements of the people in Japan, Guinea and Cape Verde. The photographs are used to highlight the beauty and the unique features of the region. The emotions that the narrator went through as he experienced what he did are also seen and heard in the narrator’s voice. In summary, the theme of love in the documentary is seen in the extents that the narrator went through to produce the exhilarating masterpiece on nature and culture (Leitch and Poague, p. 577). Theme of Memory The theme of memory is also seen clearly in the two films. Sans Soleil concentrates on aspects of memory which are used to communicate certain feelings and ideologies. It is crucial to realize that it would be impossible if the film did not rely on aspects of memory to communicate its findings and experiences in these different parts of the world. Time travel has contributed significantly to the eventual outcome of the film. This has been carefully mapped out by images that are used to denote what was witnessed prior to the filming and presentation of the documentary. Vertigo, on the other hand, uses memory to deal with certain aspects and outcomes already experienced. The aspect of Galvin’s wife and the element of possession can be interlinked with the memory of her great grandmother. Without this crucial aspect, it would be impossible to interlink her new irrational behaviour. This will make it practically impossible to relate the two events and the connection that they bring onto the film (Leitch and Poague, p. 572). Memory is also used to join past and current events. This is seen in the way that Scottie chooses to deal with Madeline’s death. He applies her memory in his own healing process and uses what he visualizes to fill the missing puzzle in the film. The emergence of Judy Barton ensures that Scottie use of memory solves the puzzle. The fact that she looks like Madeline helps because this will help him get over certain things that he was never able to deal with adequately. It is the connection to the strong memory of Madeline that Scottie is able to deal with his fear of heights and understand that his friend Galvin actually tricked him. The plunging of Judy Barton to her death ends the film in a dramatic twist as memories of Madeline, Judy Barton and Scottie are freed from the snare of their time (Leitch and Poague, p. 578). Theme of death The theme of death is clearly seen in both films, the Vertigo and Sans Soleil. In the film Sans Soleil, by Chris Marker, the inability of human nature to overcome the very destructive nature that it possesses is seen through the lives of most of the characters. In Sans Soleil, as the film approaches the end, we see the village on the background of the Icelandic island of Heimaey being buried by a strong and destructive volcanic eruption. This volcanic eruption leaves behind a trail of destruction by destroying a lot of property and ending a lot of lives. The volcanic eruption is one instance that clearly depicts the theme of death in the film, Sans Soleil. In the second film, vertigo, by Alfred Hitchcock, the theme of death is also evident through observing the lives of the major characters. For example, Elster’s wife, Madeleine is possessed by Carlotta Valdess. Madeleine is condemned to repeat the death of Carlotta Valdess. In the second part of the film, the character named Scottie thinks that he is responsible for this death. He thinks that he is the reason behind Carlotta Valdess’ death and for this reason, he tries to exorcise this loss, although in vain. He tries this by imagining the reincarnation of Carlotta Valdess in the image of Judy. The reality of lived experience is seen in this fantasy of Scottie (Leitch and Poague, p. 577). Another instance through which the theme of death may be analyzed in the film San Soleil is through the shrine for cats. At the shrine, a couple is seen praying for their pet. Even though the couple is not sure whether their pet cat is dead, they know that it is lost and they may or may never find it. They believe that someone must pray for it immediately so that when it finally dies, it may find its way to the afterlife. In vertigo, Gavin Elster is seen claiming that his wife Madeleine is possessed by Carlotta Valdess. Carlotta Valdess is seen to have tragically ended her life by committing suicide. Carlotta was a great grandmother to Elster. Scottie’s fears that Madeleine might commit suicide come to pass when we see Madeleine plunging herself to death by jumping off the bell tower of the church. Gavin is seeing faking the death of his wife Elster by throwing her already dead body outside the window. The character named Judy also dies when she steps back and falls to her death as nun emerged when Judy and Scottie were embracing (Leitch and Poague, p. 578). In both film, the theme of death is clearly brought out by showing the confused lives of the characters. The two producers have used instances that show how the characters in the film lead confused lives. Death occurred on very many instances in both films and it signified the end of life of certain characters. Death is seen either leaving behind a trail of destruction or a lot of sadness in the lives of the characters that remain alive. Theme of Betrayal The theme of betrayal is very evident in both films. In Sans Soleil, betrayal is seen when an army officer turns against his old friend Luis Cabral of Guinea Bissau and sends him to exile. This betrayal stems from an award ceremony in the small country of Guinea Bissau where the president, who is also a former freedom fighter, is seen decorating and awarding his ex-guerilla friends. The army senior officer corps comprise of these ex-guerilla comrades. Medals are attached to the uniforms of these senior army officials and emotions run high to an extent that one general breaks down in tears. The irony about the general’s cry is that he is not crying because of the sentiments or joys of the awards. He is crying because he feels betrayed by the fact that he has not been raised in rank as his colleague officers. He is angry that his brother officers have been given higher ranks than him yet he has been just as loyal, committed and hardworking as them when it came to fighting for his people. He felt betrayed that his efforts were not recognized. He expected to be awarded and recognized just as his brother officers. One year after this occasion, he tries to rectify the error by overthrowing his old friend who had made him feel betrayed. This is also betrayal because he overthrew his own friend and sent him to exile (Leitch and Poague, p. 574). In Vertigo, the theme of betrayal is also evident on numerous instances. First, Gavin Elster requests Scottie, a detective, to trail his wife Madeleine and monitor her every move. This is deceit that amounts to betrayal because Madeleine is being followed around and monitored without her knowledge. Scottie also betrays the trust of Gavin Elster by kissing Gavin’s wife Madeleine. This happened at the Muir Woods when Madeleine felt embarrassed after confessing that her dreams sounded absurd. They ran to the ocean with Scottie, where they kissed. Betrayal is also seen when Scottie hears the details of Madeleine’s nightmare and takes Madeleine to Mission San Juan Bautista where they endlessly proclaim how much they love each other. Madeleine also shows a lot of betrayal by immediately running to the bell tower at the church and plunging herself to death. Scottie has to watch all this because his fear of heights which made him incapable of going up to the bell tower to stop Madeleine from committing suicide. Both films clearly depict the theme of betrayal. The characters in the films seek self gratification by betraying each other and doing things that they would not wish to be done to them (Leitch and Poague, p. 549). Conclusion In conclusion, the themes in the two films are very similar in the ways that have been discussed in the essay. The two films have depicted similar themes through the characters that have been carefully chosen by the producers. The themes of love, memory, death and betrayal have been discussed in this essay because they are evident in both films. The two producers of each individual film have done a great job at using these themes in an almost similar way to bring out the message in each film. Works cited Leitch, Thomas and Poague, Leland. A Companion to Alfred Hitchcock, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. Print. http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=8kpSwtyhBu8C&pg=PA577&lpg=PA577&dq=compare+Chris+Marker+Sans+Soleil+with+Alfred+Hitchcock%E2%80%99s+Vertigo&source=bl&ots=OcKq7vxfIJ&sig=J6BYn5WYtayjD9CWds1OOKqR0rw&hl=en&ei=d1nkTo3xFPD74QSh1LD1BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CFUQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q&f=false. 11 Dec. 2011. Read More