The Harder They Fall Directed by Mark Robson - Movie Review Example

Questions: (6 After Michel steals a car and drives on the country side, he says: “I really like France. If you don’t like the shore, if you don’tlike the mountains, if you don’t like the city, then get stuffed.” He is saying that the countryside is for people who like plains and fields because the openness of the land and the sky can be quite empowering. By saying “get stuffed,” it might mean the country side that has the stuff that other places do not have. There could be differences in how the modern audience and 1959 audience will interpret the breaking of the 4th wall. The modern audience might be amused of how Godard suddenly breaks the 4th wall this way. They can perceive the breaking as a form of interpersonal connection, a way to get into the mind of the audience to make them think about filmmaking too, not just the film. A 1959 audience might be a bit shocked, as if their spectatorship has been violated. They might also seem confused of what Michel means. The influence of the technique up to now may not have the same power as before because it might seem too contrived, depending on how it is executed. Or it might just seem like an overused technique for some of the modern audience who have seen it many times. Done before or within the context of avant garde films, breaking the 4th wall can attain the impact of changing how people see the film and the social context of the film. It can highlight the insight that film is about making impressions and images, a contrived way of affecting the audience through the right placing and combination of film elements. 2. One of the scenes that features several jump cuts is the transition between the long bedroom scene between Patrician and Michel and their kiss. Before the jump cut, Patricia starts a game where she will stop staring at Michel once he stops staring at her. After he does his usual rubbing of his lips mannerism, Patricia is in shallow focus and she rolls the poster to look at Michel through its hole. The poster serves as a double frame. She looks into him and the camera zooms, as if she is going deeper into his personality, trying to figure out why she is attracted to him. Michel keeps on staring at her, in this case, he also stares at the audience, and the shot zooms to a close up, making his necklace and cigarette appear closer and closer. The impact is that the audience sees only the physical and the material of his identity. He hides himself inside his carefree attitude to life. After that is the jump cut which is disorienting. All of a sudden, they are kissing with close up of their lips. But it seems like the end of the kiss. There is another jump cut after the camera zooms out and shows them separating. Patricia says she will hang her poster in the bathroom. The effect of these jump cuts is to show that the movie is a movie, not real life. Another impact is to dislocate the audience, to make them feel confused of what these characters want. The jump cuts underscore how the characters are also confused of what they want to do with their lives and with each other. 3. What specific facts do we learn about Patricia and Michel in the long bedroom scene? Also--closely describe and analyze the visual clues (elements of mise-en-scene) (look closely--this scene is full of revealing props) you are given here. How are these 2 characters the same? How are they different? What matters most to each one of them? Patricia and Michel are the same because they love each other. They also enjoy playing each other’s games, for instance, like the smiling and staring game. They are similar because they like looking at each other, trying to figure out what the other truly is and what the other wants for real. They are different because Michel is not scared of dying and living life to the fullest, while Patricia is scared. She has full of apprehensions about life. She cannot even be sure if she loves Michel. Michel immediately tells Patricia that he loves her. Patricia is afraid to commit to Michel. She is like a child making sense of the world, which is why she has her teddy bear with her. The stuffed toy is a symbol of innocence. Patricia is also a hopeless romantic who wants her love story to be like Romeo and Juliet. In addition, Patricia and Michel are different because Patricia is reflective about life and likes music, art, and books. The mise-en-scene, for instance, has paintings from Renoir and other painters. She also listens to Mozart and Chopin. Her desk has the books like This Very Earth by Erskine Caldwell and she also mentions to Michel that she likes William Faulkner. Michel, on the contrary, enjoys physical things, like caressing and making love. As he holds the magazine with pictures of nude women in different poses, Patricia plays with her teddy bear. Michel is also dressed in a robe and later on he removes it, while Patricia is fully dressed. Moreover, Michel has a passport with him, while Patricia has many things on her desk that symbolize her dreams of being a writer. She has books, paper, and a typewriter. Michel likes mobility and freedom, as symbolized by his passport. The sharp contrast of what they have as clothing and props underlines their emotional differences. What matters the most to Michel is to enjoy the present with the woman he loves. Patricia wants to know more about the future and what it means for her. She is the kind of woman who values both romance and stability. 4. One of the specific examples of American pop culture is American films, such as The Harder They Fall, directed by Mark Robson and featuring Humphrey Bogart. The close up of Bogart’s picture emphasizes the impact of American films on French New Wave. Michel gazes at Bogart’s picture, also in close up, as he whistles. He seems to admire Bogart’s popularity and wealth. Michel and Patricia also watches an American film later. They share the same love for Western cinema. These movies, after all, are like their lives- full of possibilities and uncertainties. They can either enjoy life or be safe and never live it. Their attitude toward American films underscores the general attitude of French New Wave directors for American directors they idolize. They believe that these American films that have a personal touch of their directors through auteur theory are remarkable and original films. As for American pop culture objects, some examples are the Chesterfield cigarettes, the radio, jazz, Dylan Thomas, and William Faulkner. Cigarettes and the radio, including jazz, are symbols of freedom and change. They represent something new and dynamic. American literature is also noted for its ability to ask difficult life questions. Godard seems to show what the good side of America is- its innovations, constant development, and fearlessness. They appreciate American culture that is successful with innovations and is not afraid to change the old. America’s ability to experiment and to take risks is admirable to French New Wave directors. 5. The endings are the same at some points. Both Jesse and Michel did not take Berutti’s gun. Still, the Beruttis of both films throw it at them. Jesse and Michel also tell their Beruttis that they cannot leave their women. The next acts in McBride’s film are all different from Godard’s, aside from costumes which are also different. Jesse has retro attire, which emphasizes his coolness that he wants to replicate from Michel. Michel has the typical long sleeves and pants. In Godard’s film, the medium shot shows the police shooting Michel. The camera tracks Michel from the back as he runs away in a long shot. He runs holding on to his gun shot. The music indicates that he is dying. In McBride’s film, the police do not shoot Jesse. The shot shows the gun that Berutti throws in mid-air. The music has a triumphant tone too compared to Godard’s film. Jesse looks at Monica. This staring part is not in Godard’s film. Then, Jesse dances for Monica. McBride adds special sound effects as Gere dances. Monica runs to him saying “I love you.” Gere ends his song with the word “breathless” and picks up the gun as he faces the police, which means he will surely die, though it is not shown in the film anymore. The swift jump cuts from his last dance steps to his face up to the picking of the gun have a jarring, emotional effect. In Godard’s film, on the floor and in close up, Belmondo makes faces and says that Patricia makes him puke. Patricia is in close up as she rubs her lips the way Michel does and she states that she does not know what “puke” means. She looks at the audience, as if meeting her judgment from them. These differences in narratives and technical styles show that European films are not afraid to kill their protagonists and to send maximum impact on audience by using the emotions of their characters, while American films prefer a less somber ending, almost like a happy one, especially since Monica admits her love for Jesse. American films also do not have ambiguous characters unlike European films. 6. I agree that Breathless changed forever the look of cinema technically and thematically through using distancing techniques and themes of delicate romanticism, urbanity, and wit. Some examples of distancing techniques are the jump cuts, iris shots, and breaking the 4th wall. An example of the jump cut is when Michel shot the cop. The jump cuts from the close up of the gun to the long shot of the policeman falling from the road after being shot and then the long shot of Michel running away are quite disorienting. It helps the audience feel that everything is happening too fast and that it is possible that Michel did not mean to shoot the policeman. Another technical innovation is the use of iris shot for suspense. As Michel moves away from Bogart’s picture, the iris shot zooms in to show the police looking for him. The shot indicates that the police are moving in on him. It increases the suspense for the film. Breaking the 4th wall is also a technique noted in other films, such as in Fight Club. Tyler Durden tells the audience directly that they are not their “fu*king khakis” and they are the “all singing all dancing crap of the world.” The camera even shakes, as if blurring the boundaries between reality and illusions too. Breathless has affected how the film can be used to challenge film conventions itself. As for thematic style, the use of delicate romanticism, urbanity, and wit are now popular in many films. Breathless and other French New Wave films might also have influenced them. For instance, romance comedies also have witty remarks and independent women. Breathless shows that simple plot works as long as they convey something new about people’s emotions and relationships. Read More