Film Persona

  Henri-Georges Clouzot's "Le Corbeau" Henri-Georges Clouzot got into a lot of trouble when he released " Le Corbeau " in 1943. One would think that because France was under Nazi occupation in 1943 that the Nazis would be the only ones who would not approve of the film. In fact, the film was condemned by all: the right-wing Vichy regime, the left-wing Resistance press, and the Catholic Church. In fact, even after France was liberated from the Nazi occupation, the film continued to be suppressed up until 1969. Why did this film cause so many people to be upset? The film takes place in a small French village where a mysterious writer, known only as 'Le Corbeau (The Raven),' is distributing poison-pen letters containing revelations of all of the townsfolks' misdeeds. The attention 'The Raven' pays most towards is a town doctor, Remy Germain, of practicing abortions. Many other secrets are revealed, like infidelity and other scandals. The town go...

  Max Ophuls' "Liebelei" Before Max Ophuls escaped Nazi controlled Germany in 1933, he released " Liebelei ," a film based on a play of the same name. This film would actually fit perfectly retrospectively in Ophuls' filmography. It was the penultimate German film he would ever make.  The film takes place in Imperial-era Vienna, centering on a romance between a young lieutenant and a musician's daughter. The young lieutenant's now-ending love affair with a Baron's wife causes speculations and disruption, as it's unrealized consequences hang in the balance of his new romance. Their love affair is finally revealed in the end, causing the Baron to challenge the young lieutenant to a duel. The young lieutenant is killed, forcing the musician's daughter to kill herself. I believe the true theme of the film is best iterated by the musician, Old Weyring, who states that he kept his sister under his supervision all throughout their life. When she...

  Luchino Visconti's "Bellissima" In perhaps her greatest role of her career, Anna Magnani teams up with renowned filmmaker Luchino Visconti for the 1951 Italian film " Bellissima ." She stars as a desperate mother attempting to get her 5 year old daughter into the film industry. Visconti, now a seasoned auteur of the film medium, carries flourishes of neo-realism with him in this film. Overall, it's a great piece of work with great direction and great performances. One important thematic element from the film is the situational needs of all the characters, including our protagonist. The film centers around an audition for the "Prettiest Girl in Rome" contest. All of the mothers are desperate to get their daughters entered into the contest. Due to the low economic living standards of many of the characters, as well as the real life citizens of Italy at the time, this desperation was completely necessary. Even many of the film industry professions a...

  Vittorio De Sica's "The Children Are Watching Us" Although Vittorio De Sica's 1943 breakthrough film " The Children Are Watching Us " is not of the same grain as many of his Italian neo-realist films to follow, it still bears some merit and remains De Sica's first stamp as a true auteur. The film was made while Italy was still under the fascist regime. In this way, the film could be seen as an extension of this regime. After all, the film iterates the importance of Italian citizens to be on their best behavior, as 'the children are watching,' after all. However, De Sica does something with the film that turns it into something more than just a moral instruct. It's a film about the disintegration of a family, the dismissive way we treat children, our selfish nature, and the trauma put upon a young child. The film centers on a young Italian boy who lives with his middle class parents and their servant Agnese. After the boy's mother leaves...

  Stephen Roberts' "The Story of Temple Drake" Stephen Roberts' 1933 film " The Story of Temple Drake " is one of those pre-code films that is often pointed to as being one of the more controversial of the era. Mind you, it is not controversial for any reason other than its dark subject matter. It stars Miriam Hopkins as a young southern belle who gets kidnapped and raped by a brutal gangster. For this very reason, the film was censored and even removed from theaters.  I found the film to be controversial for its own sake. I didn't find much of the story to latch on to. Miriam Hopkins does a wonderful job in the film and the twists and turns the film takes sparks relative interest. That being said, there is not really much to chew on. It's got intrigue, sure. But, I probably won't be thinking too much about the picture after watching. 

  Rouben Mamoulian's "Queen Christina" Rouben Mamoulian's 1933 film " Queen Christina " appears to be another romance vehicle for Hollywood icon Greta Garbo. On top of this, the project was meant to revitalize the career of famed silent actor John Gilbert, who starred alongside Garbo in Clarence Brown's " Flesh and the Devil " and " A Woman of Affairs ." The grand comeback did not work, however, as Gilbert's acting career ended only one film later.  The story itself, is mildly interesting. Garbo plays the Queen of Sweden in the 17h century. She is pressured by all the men around her: to act in war, to be diplomatic, and to marry someone to produce an heir. After disguising herself as a man and falling in love with a Spanish ambassador, she decides to give up her crown to pursue love. I personally found the film to be very lackluster. The story is one of romance and the struggle for a queen to choose between duty and individual pas...

  Edgar G. Ulmer's "Detour" The first thing I noticed about Edgar G. Ulmer's 1945 noir classic " Detour " was just how short it was. Clocking in at just over an hour, the film is a breezy watch. On top of this, it reminded me of a " Twilight Zone " episode. I know " The Twilight Zone " wouldn't grace television screens for another 14 years, but the ambiance, narration, and unexpected twists and turns gave the impression of one of its episodes.  As far as film noirs go, " Detour ," although it would never top any list of mine, is still a great entry to the genre. The film touches on themes of fate and inevitability. Can we ever truly escape our fates? The incidents that occur to our protagonist seem like happenstance/accidents. However, they mount up and create an endless web that he gets trapped in. The darkness from the film comes from the impending doom around every corner. At any moment, you're life could turn complet...

  Julien Duvivier's "La Tete d'un Homme" When watching Julien Duvivier's 1933 French crime mystery, " La Tate d'un Homme ," I was struck by something. I noticed just how similar the film is to Akira Kurosawa's 1963 film " High and Low ." Obviously, they are two wildly different films and both come from differing source materials. Duvivier's " La Tete d'un Homme " is adapted from the 1931 novel " A Battle of Nerves " by Georges Simenon, while Kurosawa's " High and Low " is adapted from a 1959 novel " King's Ransom " by Ed McBain. However, I still noticed thematic similarities between the two films nonetheless. Both films find a medical student who is so embittered and distraught over the vast economic gaps between the wealthy and poor that they commit a hideous crime and blackmail a powerful industrialist. Both films also find a detective (or group of detectives) as they sleuth-full...

  Ingmar Bergman's "Summer Interlude" It's hard to pin down what's so special about Ingmar Bergman's 1951 film " Summer Interlude ." It is considered by many film historians to be the first film which accentuates the 'Bergman style.' Asides to nature, deep-focused close-ups on faces, and a somber melancholy that permeates the whole film. These are all significant reasons why the film pulls you in and mesmerizes you like it did me.  I'm still uncertain at just how this film resonated with me, aside from awe and wonder. There is a quiet joy that nestles closely to quiet sadness in this film. The film is about a ballet dancer who reminisces on a brief summer romance with a young man back when she was a teenager staying with her uncle over the summer. The reminiscent summer ends in tragedy and the pain is what caused her to create a thick, hardened shell around her heart and soul as an adult. When watching the film, I too reminisced on the in...

  Lloyd Bacon's "42nd Street" " 42nd Street " is one of many Hollywood musicals to come out of the first wave of sound pictures. However, it is perhaps one of the most well-regarded Hollywood musicals from the 1930s. In fact, it is the first notable Hollywood musical that Busby Berkeley choreographed the musical numbers for. That being said, I felt as though the musical numbers at the end of the film are a flash-in-the-pan type of moment. I could have used far more of them and more extensively. I felt as though Berkely's next film, " Gold Diggers of 1933 ," was a more extensive (not by much) dance and visual sequence.  Comparing this film to " Gold Diggers of 1933 ," I find myself preferring " 42nd Street "'s story and " Gold Diggers of 1933 "'s musical numbers a lot more. 

  Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack's "King Kong" There are many post-Depression American 'box office' films that I have seen in my film studies journey. Most of these post-Depression box office films don't typically sit right with me. The films I have in mind are the gangster and monster films that swept the nation in the early 1930s. These films typically were meant to placate an anxious American audience. However, the depth to their thematic intricacies leave something to be desired. Even without this depth, the 'entertainment' aspect of these films were not very entertaining to me. However, there is one film that utterly surprised me, 1933's adventure epic " King Kong ."   The story is well-known. A group of filmmakers travel to a remote island to take advantage of strange and interesting natural wildlife unknown to the outside world. There they meet an indigenous people, all terrified of a large, monstrous primate living on...

  Francois Truffaut's "The 400 Blows" I wasn't sure what to expect going into Francois Truffaut's debut masterwork " The 400 Blows ." I was aware that it ignited the French nouvelle vague movement and is considered one of the greatest films ever made. I had never seen a Francois Truffaut film before and I wasn't sure if there was a specific style he operated in. I also was aware that Jean Vigo's 1933 short film " Zero de Conduit " was a major influence on " The 400 Blows ." Sufficive to say, I could tell that it was. I could also tell that " The 400 Blows " was a major influence on films to come for decades afterwards.  " The 400 Blows " tells the story of a 12-year-old boy named Antoine as he navigates growing up in Paris. He is constantly getting in trouble at school and constantly underappreciated by his mother and step-father. In fact, it seems as though all the adults around him act as both authoritari...

  Luchino Visconti's "La Terra Trema" Although not as monumental as Luchino Visconti's 1943 breakout " Ossessione ," his 1948 neo-realist film " La Terra Trema " was a major work of vast significance. Visconti was originally hired by the Communist party to make a documentary feature about the fishermen of Aci Trezza. Instead, Visconti opted out of the documentary, while still choosing to shot on location and use the real life fishermen as actors. With this new film, he tells the story of a fisherman who attempts to go against the wholesalers that take advantage of them. In doing so, he ruins his family's chance at economic prosperity and everyone's life disintegrates in the process. " La Terra Trema " is a film about oppression, dealing with an attempt at trying to break out of the capitalist structure that has latched ahold of Italy. In doing so, Visconti demonstrates how attempting to break free of it only leads to further damna...