Movie Résumé

• Blancanieves (2012): My personal highlight in this semester. I really enjoyed watching the film and the pictures are still haunting me. I love the powerful music and scenes. It is absolutely worth watching. I would give the movie 5 of 5 stars! 
• Zero Dark Thirty (2012): Even if the film is kind of boring from time to times, I liked it. I enjoyed the acting of Maya played by Jessica Chastain and the way of the "entertaining" preparation of the manhunt of Osama Bin Laden. I would give the movie 3 of 5 stars! 
• The Devil´s Backbone (2001): An interesting kind of horror/history movie with good scenes and great shots. I would give the movie 3 of 5 stars!
• The Piano (1993): Highlighted by a fantastic music shows "The Piano" another perspective of women. I enjoyed watching it and I would recommend it. I give the movie 4 of 5 stars! 
• Do The Right Thing (1989): Dreamlike pictures and a reflective story of  doing the right thing. I think the movie has a deeper meaning, which is nowadays as important as in 1989. I give the movie 3 of 5 stars!
• El Topo (1970): A movie, which impresses due to its otherness. I will always remember this film, but I am not sure wether in a negative or positive way. I give the movie 2 of 5 stars! 
• Seconds (1966): I enjoyed watching the movie, even I was scared in a few scenes. The imagination of the happening is frightening. I give the movie 3 of 5 stars!
• The Hitch Hiker (1953): An excellent film noir with a lot of excitement till the end. I give the movie 2 of 5 stars!
• Double Indemnity (1944): I loved watching the film. Barbara Stanwyck plays an awesome femme fatale and the shots are great! I give the movie 4 of 5 stars! 
• M (1931): A German movie, which deals with the topic of a child murderer. In the end I was hit by the strength of the movie and my emotions. I give the movie 4 of 5 stars!
• Sherlock, Jr. (1924): I am not a big fan of silent comedy films, but this one showed some really good shots and stunts. I give the movie 3 of 5 stars!  

All in all I watched a lot of excellent movie this semester and now I watch movies with different eyes. I really liked the journey through different genres and times. 

Blancanieves (2012)

"Blancanieves" by Pablo Berger is a black-and-white silent fantasy drama film. It is based on the fairytale "Snow White" by the brothers Grimm and it was one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. Nearly every shot is as beautiful as a picture and I really like the extreme close ups of the persons faces like of Carmen and Carmencita, who are both very attractive and impress through their shining eyes. 

Carmencita played as a child by Sofía Oria, and later by Macarena García, is the daughter of an former legendary matador, who is due to an accident with a bull confined to a wheelchair and mourns his wife, who died during childbirth. After his recovery of the accident he marries his nurse and Carmencita grows up at her former flamenco dancer grandmother. After the dead of her grandmother she lives in the house of her father and his wife, but his wife treats her very badly. Per accident she gets to know her father and since that moment Carmencitas life changes. She is happy and enjoys being with her father, who shows her how to bullfight, a feature, which is very helpful over the course of the movie. 

The movie contains a lot of fantastic little moments and scenes, which contribute to the loveliness of the film. I loved the scene, when the Carmencita dances flamenco for her father or the unforgettable scene, when the chicken runs away combined with a fantastic background music or one of the last scenes, when Carmencita struggles with the bull in the arena and she is in the same position and place like her father. 

After all "Blancanieves" could be compared with the successful "The Artist", both are modern silent black-and-white movies, but "Blancanieves" captivates its audience not through laughing but with excellent actors and a stunning cinematography. The movie contains a lot of different shots such as camera angles and fascinates through a suitable lightning, which makes the film very powerful and dramatic.   

I really enjoyed watching "Blancanieves" because of its otherness: black-and-white, no dialogues, a grandiose film music and the cinematography.   

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

The movie "Zero Dark Thirty" was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, which is very rare in present-day Hollywood, especially if we examine the topic carefully. "Zero Dark Thirty" deals with the manhunt of Osama Bin Laden and his execution by a special unit of the Navy Seals. The whole movie is very dominated by males except Maya, a member of the CIA who discovers through brains and stubbornness the hide-out of Osama Bin Laden. She plays a very important role in this movie, while she has to struggle with a lot of problems in the male-dominated world. There are still too many people thinking women should stay at home and take care of their families. This raises again the question of gender-equality. 
In a way "Zero Dark Thirty" tries to fight against these stereotypes by showing Maya as a tough women, who can handle the "male" topics. 
I think it is very sad, that women still have problems in several jobs. This also leads to another point: the importance of gender. There are different roles for men and for women. Men are strong and women are emotional - but is that the reality? Should women and men are treated unequally? 
Let´s take a look to the Navy Seals - persons, who are viewed as heroes, warriors and men. But there are persons in this special unit, who are dissatisfied with their identity. Referring to the case of Kristin Beck, a former member of the Navy Seals, who is transgender. For years she was trapped in the wrong body and had a job, women are not allowed to do.   

For me the movie shows that women should have more power in every circumstance and should be on equal level as men.   

The Devil´s Backbone (2001)

The movie "The Devil´s Backbone" by Guillermo del Toro is supposed to be a horror film. But when I watched the movie I had some doubts about the genre. In my opinion is "The Devil´s Backbone" a kind of a smooth horror movie, which prefers to create a threatening atmosphere instead of illustrating fountains of blood. 
But it always depends on one´s expectation and definition about a horror film. After watching it, I reflected the scenes and I come to the conclusion, that "The Devil´s Backbone" counts to the horror genre, because it contains a lot of profound moments accompanied by eerie music, which are getting under your skin. Fans of "Slasher-Movies" could be disappointed in the film, which wins the audience over amazing pictures and allegoric allusions. People who love gentle horror movies will love "The Devil´s Backbone".    
Personally I liked the movie. I followed the plot mindfully and I could put myself in the protagonists positions. 

The Piano (1993)

During watching "The Piano" by Jane Campion I had different thoughts and at

different scenes I was puffed up by the brutality and the obsession with sex of the male characters. Especially the interaction between Ada and Baines made me think about their relationship. I think it was definitely rape at the beginning, when Baines tried to get close to Ada for the first times. Ada was forced to submit to his intimacies to get her piano back. Baines took advantage of her helplessness and her dependency on playing the piano. Maybe she cared a touch about him, otherwise she would probably not have accepted the deal. In my opinion her impulse of playing the piano was so big, that she tolerated everything. That is the reason why I think Baines assaulted her at the beginning.  

But after a certain time Ada started to enjoy his attention and touchings. She was impressed by his love to her and her playing the piano. She loved that fact that Baines admires her. I think that is the reason why she fell in love with him.  

Do The Right Thing (1989)

To do the right thing is in lot of cases difficult. Typically you can not do something what is completely right, there will be always someone who will not agree with your opinion. Such as in the movie "Do The Right Thing" by Spike Lee, there are a lot of scenes where people believe they would do the right thing, but in another point of view it is the opposite. I really understand why Mookie had to throw the trash can through the window of the pizzeria. But I can also understand why the owner of the pizzeria did not want to put a picture of a "black" icon on his wall.  Mookie wanted to obtain his independency and to win back the status of being a part and accepted by the African American community. The owner of the pizzeria had always these pictures of his Italian background on the wall and did not want to change it. Both point of views are based on values and moral ideas of their own social lifes and their communities. Both are proud to be part of their community and no one wanted to deviate from their opinions. Both thought they would do the right thing. 

In my opinion to do the right is not only based on one point of view. You have to see different views and hear different opinions. In our world there is no black or white or yes or no. There is always something between. We should not be selfish and place us and our opinions in the centre of the world. It is necessary to be open-minded and thoughtful about us and others. I think this catastrophe at the end of the movie could be prevented by a clear and respectful conversation. But it is always not that easy to do the right thing.   

El Topo (1970)

"El Topo" is a very bizarre midnight movie by Alejandro Jodorowsky which gained a cult status. It contains a lot of aggressive and violating pictures, which are very shocking.  
In this post I am going to give you some detailed information about a scene, which encapsulates for me the essence of the movie. The following scene is in the middle of the film and separates the film in two "parts". In the first part "el topo" travels around, takes revenge and kills people to be the one and only master. But during his atrocities he starts to be doubtful about his behavior. Now the essential scene begins: He is shot. But he is not dead. Some disdained people saved his life and adore him as a God in a cave. After years he awakes and his new life begins... Now I want to go deeper in the scene, when he awakes after years. The first shot of this scene is a close up of his face and the shoulders. Everything is dark, only himself is illuminated. His appearance has completely changed and there is no background music, you just can hear the sound of fallen drops. The next shot is an establishing shot, showing him sitting on an altar. He realizes his survival. 
I think this is a very essential scene in this movie, because from this moment on he changed. At the beginning he was a ruthless man, who left his son in the lurch. Now he wants to help the people escaping of the cave and he really takes care of a short-statured woman. For me it seems that he had an epiphany in this cave and now he wants to recover losses.
All in all "El Topo" is movie for aficionados and should be watched carefully.