Screening of Sugar Cane Alley and Eve's Bayou - Essay Example

Task: Two movie-screening reports Film analysis is one of the most common s that are offered in different matriculation institutions that offer visual arts and film studies, as a faculty itself. It involves the scrutiny on the way various film or video techniques used in a given film. Different films have been used by used by tutors and lecturers in their struggle to ensure that their students get relevant information concerning the topic. Among the points or topics taken into considerations when analyzing the screening of a film are formal elements such as cinematography, sound, editing, and settings; characters and the movie contents. This essay will succinctly analyze two movies: Sugar Cane Alley and Eve’s Bayou using the named criteria. Screening of Sugar Cane Alley It is one of the French films, which were directed by Palcy Euzhan in 1989. It has its setting in Martinique during the 1930s. The film revolves around the story of the mistreatment by the whites as they worked as slaves during the 1930s. The film is mainly based on the semi-autobiographical novel that was compiled by Zobel Joseph (Rue). The cinematography that has been used in the movie consists of tilt-shift photography. The cinematographer applied medium sized lenses to ensure the control of the plane of focus orientation making certain parts of the image appear sharp. This is the reason for the different shapes and lightings of the image in the film. Part of the film also reveals the traditional cinematography with dull brown outlooks. The music in the movie is has slow rhythm and low tone that allows for the clear narration of the movie hence facilitating the comprehension of the viewers. The teacher, Mr. Rock has the most influence on Jose. His influence is academic and racial related (Rue). He accuses him falsely because of plagiarism when he writes an essay explaining the suffering of the slaves in the sugar cane plantations. I identify myself with Jose. He is focused and is forgiving. He actually marches my traits. Formal education is portrayed in the film through the school learning system. Scholarships are other examples or elements found in the formal education. The movie also shows that formal education does not allow for copying of other people’s ideas (plagiarism), therefore, it stresses on creativity and absolute originality. Joe runs away from school after being accused of plagiarism. Informal education is shown on the movie through the teachings of Joe by his grandmother. This form of education does not require class work or education. It is not also expensive like formal one hence no scholarships for it. Contrast, in the film, is portrayed through the depiction of class difference in the film. Joe’s grandmother, Tine is one of the extreme poor individuals in this society. There are extremely rich people in the same society, for instance, Leopold’s parents who are landowners. The filmmaker has employed his tactics and experience in ensuring that the entire film is not about the sentiments of Jose’s education, through the inclusion of his grandmother. The way Tine is treated is meant to inform the viewers on the core theme of the film, which is racism, and class disparities during the 1930s American societies. Leopold and his parents have been portrayed as opportunistic individuals. They offer Jose food in return for his labor service in their farm making him miss classes. This, in turn, is a portrayal that the society consists of class disparities and unfairness reins the entire society. The scene with Jose and Medouze is an educative one whereby Jose learns of the past and the experience undergone by his grandparents and ancestors (Rue). Despite being the fact that the movie is based on the novel, there is a distinct between the novel and the movie. The difference is on the settings of the two. The settings are on two different places and time. The movie was produced in the 1960s whereas the book was published earlier than that. Gender issues have been revealed in the movie as one of the most dangerous problems that faced the Western world during the colonial errors. For instance, Tine who is an old woman is employed in the laundry of the school where her grandson is a student. She dies of heart attack after the running of her grandchild due to false plagiarism accusation by Mr. Roc. This shows that women are undermined in this society. Almost all the characters who are well off in the film are men; no women. Screening of Eve’s Bayou The film is centralized on a daughter of Louisiana’s most prosperous and sophisticated families. Louis is her father and he is the most respected doctor in the town. He has the ability of fixing things. Ironically, the director puts it in a way that the man’s ability is contrasted with his inability to fix things in order to solve the problems that arise and greatly affect his own family. He is also unable to fix things for his philandering lifestyle. Eve’s mother Roz who is portrayed as a stunning southern beauty who has the affinity for the Creole traditional heritage (Kassie). The images in the movie are 3-D types revealing the use of an advanced photography method. The length of the film is 100 minutes. The picture motion is rotational. The frame rate is low to allow enough view of the images and interpretation, as well. The sound in the movie is that of low tone with speakers being the audience. There is also background sounds which are lower than that of the speakers. The early scene tells us more about Louis and his behavior. He is a respected doctor, in the village, but does not show any of his intelligence or abilities in solving his own problems. Eve is a convincing narrator. She does it with passion and tone that portrays innocence. History and memory have been provoked in the film through the depiction of slaves in the then society. The slaves are Eve and Jean Paul and they are Louisiana based. Roz, in the movie has been identified with certain undesirable traits such as dishonesty. The four characters, Roz, Mozell, Louis, and Cicely have been portrayed as individuals with varied and dynamic characteristics. Julie Dash, in her sentence meant to portray the cowardice nature or the primitive nature of the Blacks. There are respects or elements of taboos in the movie. For instance, the Blacks presence in the films was a taboo during those days. This was meant to undermine them and curb their popularity and intelligence. The sisters love one another despite having different traits. The women are tools of inciting chaos in the family (Kassie). They are associated with hatred nature. They love Louis as their father. The two women do not show any care or love for their husband, as they blame him for the family misfortunes. Histories are present in the movie due to the existence of slave trade history. The secret is that most of the Blacks, Eve included are not aware of their past or origin. Eve becomes aware of her ancestor’s mistreatments in the movie. She thus, feels a sense of belonging. This is a definite example of Stuart’s application. The issue of class and racism or skin color is present in “Creole.” Slave trade was practiced by the high class and the slaves were of a particular skin color; the blacks. Work Cited Eve’s Bayou (1997) dir. by Kasie Lemmons. 2000. Film. Sugar Cane Alley (1931) Rue Cases Negres. 1989. Film. Read More