Film Persona

  Roman Polanski's "Knife in the Water" The feature film debut of filmmaker Roman Polanski, 1962's " Knife in the Water ," is also his only feature film to be made in his home country of Poland. It was a highly recognized film, even competing for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1963 Academy Awards, the first ever Polish film to do so. After the success of the film, Polanski went on to direct in the UK and US to even greater success. But many still look to his original Polish feature " Knife in the Water " as one of his most innovative and important works. The plot of the film is relatively simple and only features three characters. A man and woman, Andrzej and Krystyna, pick up a young hitchhiker on their way to go sailing. The couple invite the young man to go sailing with them and the three of them spend the day out at the lake. However, weird tensions begin to bubble up throughout this excursion, as the young man and Andrzej begin to subtly co

  Kenji Mizoguchi's "The 47 Ronin" In the early 1940s, while Japan was in active military conflict with China, Kenji Mizoguchi was forced into artistic compromises and make a propaganda film for the state. The Japanese state commitioned Mizoguchi to make the legendary true account of the revenge of the 47 Ronin that occurred in 1703. By adapting this legendary story, the Japanese government was hoping for a ferocious morale booster. The story is about 47 Ronin who seek to take revenge for the killing of their master. Their master's death was a direct result of state corruption and by taking their revenge against the man who started it, they were able to restore justice. It seems a bit funny that the Japanese government was wanting a story about fighting government corruption to act as a patriotic message for their residents. However, the fervor with which the 47 unite was the focal point of uniting its nation, I suppose.  In the end, Mizoguchi took a marketable differ

  Michael Curtiz's "Casablanca" When you look back on the 'Golden Age of Hollywood,' there are many films that stand out. However, because of the power that the studio has to dictate its programming, there were not many films that held true to any artistic integrity. Despite this, many filmmakers were able to overcome these obstacles and make sustainable pieces of art that transcended the Hollywood-ness of its production. There is one particular Golden Age Hollywood film, however, that has stood the test of time. Sure, there have been better films, more profound films, and films that hold truer to a higher class of realism and/or artistic classification, but " Casablanca " stands even still.  There are many individual elements of " Casablanca " that don't quite hit the nose. There are some hokey elements to the screenplay, a bit of cheese if you will. The overall point of the film is for the sake of wartime propaganda. Retrospectively, pro-

  Michael Curtiz's "Yankee Doodle Dandy" Going in to Michael Curtiz's 1942 musical biopic " Yankee Doodle Dandy ," I felt a little uncertain. On paper, this film is not something I would typically enjoy. However, I was utterly charmed by this film; its unabashed earnestness, its lighthearted tempo, and most specifically for James Cagney's performance.  The film is a biographical picture detailing the entire life of George M. Cohan, as known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." Starting out in his early days of vaudeville, Cohan travelled with his father, mother, and sister in a troupe called "The Four Cohans." As he begins to thrive as a playwright and songwriter, Cohan starts to make his mark on patriotic anthems like " Yankee Doodle Boy ," " Over There ," and " You're a Grand Ole' Flag ." The film is a celebration of the life of Cohan and a celebration of his impact on Broadway and American culture.

  Max Ophuls' "Le Plaisir" I feel as though there was far more to Max Ophuls 1952 film " Le Plaisir " than meets the eye. However, I was not in the right state of mind to notice. It's never a good idea to watch a film when you have too much going on around you. That being said, I was still fascinated by this film and wanted to mentally dive in more than I did.  The film centers on three separate stories, each circling the dramatic theme of 'pleasure.' The first and third act as a sort of prologue and epilogue to the longer, more expansive second story. The first is a quick account of an elderly man who attends balls while donning the mask of a much younger man. The second is a more extensive story recounting a trip taken by a group of madams from a brothel. They visit a small village in which one of their nieces is attending her First Communion. The prostitutes are moved by the ceremony, but all any man around them ever cares about is getting frisky

  Alfred Hitchcock's "Foreign Correspondent" Although it was the second film Alfred Hitchcock shot in the US (1940's " Rebecca " being the first), 1940's " Foreign Correspondent " feels very much like Hitchcock's British films from the 1930s. It centers on an American journalist who travels to the UK to be a foreign correspondent, only to get wrapped up in a web of conspiracy and espionage. Sounds like " The Man Who Knew Too Much ," " The 39 Steps ," doesn't it? " Foreign Correspondent ," however, is perhaps the final 'teetering on the brink of war' of these films, as war finally breaks out by the film's conclusion.  I've got to say that " Foreign Correspondent ," although checking all of the 'Hitchcock' boxes, like everyday individual getting caught up in a conspiracy much bigger than them, the 'wrong man' trope, and the 'nobody believes you' circumstance,