Sans Soleil: How a Documentary Film Becomes a Personal Investigation - Essay Example

Sans Soleil: how a documentary film becomes an personal essay Introduction It would not be a mistake to suggest that art plays an important role in the development of the human civilization. Indeed, if one takes a close look at it, one will be able to see that art, in its most primitive forms can be identified at the very dawn of the society. As the technology progressed, people were provided with new mediums to express their creative potential. Thus, in the end of the nineteenth century, the mankind mastered the technology of cinema. That is why this form of art should be seen among the youngest ones; nevertheless, it is able to capture the hearts of the audience. While the majority of films are fictions based, the realm of the documentary films is of great important as well. This paper will analyze in details the film that is titled Sans Soleil and explore elements of its, proving that they make it an outstanding essay documentary. The voice of the narrator It is quite understandable that the voice of the narrator plays a significant role in the perception of the movie. In addition to that, as a rule, the directors often narrate their movies themselves: that is why the audience is able to hear the authors speaking. However, Sans Soleil is quite different. The narrator is a woman. She does not say her name; moreover, she simply reads the letter that supposedly she received. This is rather innovative since it hides the true identity of the author of the documentary, substituting it with a pleasant voice of a woman which over time becomes monotonous as there were really few variations of it as she reads the letters. The use of still frames Another point that should be mentioned about cinematography of the movie in question is its frequent use of still frame. To begin with, there are certain scenes which end with a frozen frame that catches a person in action. There is no doubt that such approach towards the video narration is quite interesting as to a certain extent it gives the audience a feeling that one watches raw material on the editors table and not a finished film. There are also frames that catch people looking into the camera. This is quite exciting as for a moment the characters of the film are looking at the audience. In a different scene the narration is facilitated which swapping of several still frames that substitute a normal image. Attention to controversial elements There is a peculiar scene of the movie: the camera man walks among the corpses of animals which were sacrifices. The camera moves slowing from one pit to another, taking a long look at the corpses. The latter have absolutely no skin and bare have any muscles; they mostly resemble bones with some tissue over them. However, the camera puts emphasis on the contemplation of these bodies and for several seconds the dead animal is the only thing that is visible on the screen. It is quite obvious that many documentaries deal with disturbing images; however, they often censor some of the most controversial parts or do not emphasize them. There were also images shown very close of people whose legs had to be cut off which hardly stays behind the line of acceptable on the screen. Portrayal of cats In the beginning of the movie the narrator confesses that she has two favorite animals: a cat and an owl. That is why there is no surprise that in the course of the movie there is a considerable number of cats and owls shows. Speaking of the former, they are depicted in various situations and a significant part of screen time is devoted to them. Many directors of the documentaries like engaging some trivial details of the world in their documentaries; however, those inclusions last several seconds. Contrary to that, in the movie in question, the depiction of cats is rather long. One might suggest that this is done to contribute to the informal tone of the message that is being conveyed by it. A movie about television There is part of the documentary that is devoted to Japanese television. One would make no mistake that in order to explore it, the director would have to engage images of the contemporary television programs in the movie. However, Sans Soleil does it in a rather interesting way. The camera captures a television set as well as the video that is shown in it. Moreover, the programs that are broadcasted on the television are not depicted full screen: the audience can always see the television set. This is a rather surprising tool: the camera shows what a person who would watch TV would see. In other words, the author draws a distinction between the movie and the experience of the audience. It is obvious that this may be done to show the subjective nature of the narration, as if the director himself watches television and reflects on it. Interaction with the people in the documentary At a certain point, the narrator notes that in film schools it is often said that people should not look into the camera as this creates the illusion that the camera is not present there. That is why the majority of the directors often cut images when ordinary people look into the camera, trying to create the atmosphere of natural environment that a person would experience if one were really there. However, the director of Sans Soleil utilized a completely different approach: he does not also leave the frames when people are looking into the camera, he actually tries to interact with them. For example, while exploring the image of an African woman, he tries to film women in the market and points the camera directly at them, hoping that they would watch in it. However, they do it only for a split of a second. Another interesting technique that was used was featured in the scene when the Japanese people were protesting against the building of the airport. At a certain point the camera shows another person from a point of view that one would get if one were present there, sitting next to the Japanese. The same approach is repeated several times during the movie: the camera imitates the movements of a person, creating the illusion that what one sees on the screen is what one would see if he or she walked the streets of Tokyo himself or herself. In other words, the director tried to show that the camera was as good as the audience’s eyes. Surprising editing Over the course of the movie, the viewers get used to the surprising editing. However, there is one example that should be analyzed in particular. There is a sequence of the following images: the Japanese people in the contemporary Tokyo are shown; then there is an image of a gun that is being shot by a fictional character; finally, after the shot is made there is a scene that depicts death of a giraffe. All three scenes have almost no connection between them, but for some strange reason they are perceived in unity. Indeed, the people in Japan have no idea about the character that shoots a gun and a real giraffe does not die from shot that was made in the movie. However, it is the magic of the silver screen that unites these elements into one continuous narration. The use of video synthesizer At a certain point the movie features excessive use of images that were edited or created by the video synthesizer. At first there is a sequence that is made in blue and then there is a part in read and blue. Since these sequences do not last several second, the audience starts getting accustomed to them and finally perceives them as the actual video that was indented to be shown. While in the beginning it is difficult to make out any particular objects, after watching the distorted images from several seconds, one starts seeing human faces behind them. It is rather obvious that such use of distorted images shows that the documentary that is being produced does not belong to the mainstream. Dirty lenses Closer to the end of the movie there are images that depict the burning ceremony and the Japanese children hitting with poles on the ground. While it may not be obvious at first, but for several minutes there is a little stick that is stuck in the upper right corner of frame. It is not known, whether the director did not see it while watching the movie or if he left it deliberately. In any case , this little elements shows the dramatic different between the conventional documentaries as well as the kind that Sans Soleil represents as the latter does not strive to achieve a perfect image. In other words, it is completely satisfied with the raw image that might be engaged in the narration. Informal tone and unusual twists in the narration It is often suggested that the movie in question should be regarded as the pinnacle of the essay documentary. Indeed, everyone who watches it is likely to witness the peculiarities of this kind of documentary. For example, the narrator does not try to engage the audience in a logically organized conversation just like many other directors would, the narrator often changes the subject in the similar way that the images are changed. For example, in the beginning the voice was discussing some abstract matter about memory of humanity and all of sudden it asks: “Did you know that there are emus in Ile de France?” This is a rather unusually twist that reflects the intimate note of narration and subjective perception of the reality. Conclusion Having examined all the evidence that was brought up in the paragraphs above, one should note that the movie in question should be regarded as a masterpiece as well as a characteristic representative of essay documentaries. Indeed there are many features that reflect the peculiar nature of it. For example, the director employs unusual approaches to cinematography, like the use of still frames as well as distorted images. The camera also tries to imitate the eyes on the audience in that sense that it shows what a person would see if one were there. There are some peculiar elements, like emphasis on some controversial images, interaction with the people that are being filmed and depiction of the animals that the director likes reflect the subjectivity of the narration. Works Cited Sans Soleil. New Yorker Video, 1993. Film. Read More