Friday, October 25, 2013
Amarcord
This should be easy. Choose a scene in the film (any scene!) and analyze it in depth. Be sure to discuss its sociocultural influences, why you chose the scene, and how the scene relates to the film as a whole. Your response should be thoughtful and along the lines of what you'll do in January. Be thorough--at least 3 paragraphs.
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The scene I chose from Amarcord begins with the entire family at the dinner table. The two women are serving the food and preparing the table while the men are sitting down, waiting to be served. This family is made up of several stereotypical Italian characters, and their personalities all shine in this scene. First, the demanding father. He is head of the family (or so he thinks), and is constantly yelling at his children and wife to be proper at the table. Next, the mother. She works very hard to provide for her family and does not get much in return. The family does not seem very thankful for her cooking. The grandfather is old, senile, and mischievous. The two children are troublemaking boys with smart mouths and no table manners. The aunt and the uncle are more light-hearted, but still partake in the family drama. The dinner is loud and dramatic. Little situations turn into big arguments. Fellini uses this dinner scene to capture everyday life for a regular Italian family.
ReplyDeleteCinematically, the shot composition is very important for this scene in particular. It begins with an establishing shot of the entire kitchen and dinner table, so the viewers can see what the entire setting looks like. Then, the rest of the scene consists of medium shots of each character at the table as they talk with one another or serve themselves food. Getting a closer look at each character individually allows the audience to learn more about each character on a more personal level. Also, the mise-en-scene. The costumes of each character represent their job/social status. The females are wearing aprons and dresses because they work in the kitchen. While the men wear button-down shirts and vests because they have just come from school or work. The amount of food at the table suggests that they are not poor, but the condition of the kitchen and their home suggests that they are not wealthy. They live comfortably.
This scene is a great representation of Italian life during the time period. It is a very realistic representation. I chose this scene because I felt it added to the story as a whole. It gave us a closer look at the family. How they interact with each other and in the comfort of their own home. People act very different behind closed doors than they do in public. Even this family in particular is self-concious of their appearance. As the father runs outside, chasing and screaming at the boy, the mother yells, "People are watching! That's enough now! Come in!" She doesn't want the neighbors to know about the chaos that goes on in the house. That is why I felt this scene inside the home is special, because it shows the audience how the family truly acts.
Christina, when I post mine don't think that I copied you, (I didn't) we just had the same scene, which is funny and weird
DeleteNo worries, Ariel! Copy me if you'd like! Ha ha HA hA
ReplyDeleteIn Amarcord, Federico Fellini focuses on the key characters in an italian town for exactly 1 year. There is no storyline, however, Fellini makes sure to keep the plot in motion with events that can be easily related to by Italians and their family lifestyle. The scene that creates the most relativity to an average Italian family is the dinner scene, where italians are most famous for creating drama and temper tantrums. Through various film aspects, Fellini increases the bond and connectivity to the audience he was producing his film for in 1973.
ReplyDeleteThe opening shot is of all of the characters in the family sitting(or standing) at the dinner table. The camera is slightly on the left of the table , as if the audience is part of the family, directing the attention still to the whole family table and its members. The set of the entire dining represents the average italian family kitchen. The area around the table gives a messy and used feeling while the lighting presents proof of a large window behind the camera at the end of the table, also proving that it is daytime during the hour of dinner. this is true because the light beams are directed at the tops of various family faces(creating more attention from the audience’s eye) and the lower part of the cupboard, it creates a square-like beam of light. Behind the fathers end of the table is the door out of the kitchen. The movements of each and every character presents their personalities and their age in the italian family. The teenager and the child on the left are holding the knife and fork in each hand and stomping them on the table, which is what normal immature children do. The rest of the table is at peace with slow movements ready to enjoy their meal, also in the middle of conversation, as usual at a family dinner table. The costume of the characters all have earthy tones and colors: vests, cardigans, old fashioned jackets(note this was made in 1973) This clothing is what middle lower class italian citizens had normally worn. In comparison there are characters who wear the of most beautiful colors, like Gradisca, (normally wearing bright red) her friends, and all the other ladies and gentlemen in the town who have a professional look. However there are one of these characters in this wild working-class family: the uncle. He has a light tan robe with a bright yellow scarf, and also a hair net(for sleeping?). He presents to have the look of the higher middle class compared to the rest of his family. His manners are a little more “exquisite” and polite. He does live up to his costume design. Since this scene at the dinner table is design for large amount of dialogue, the shot direction normally points to a group of two or three people, sometimes using the difference of foreground, middleground, and background. For example, one of the shots includes the father, the grandfather, and the maid, the father being of most importance, then the grandfather and then the maid. This also could represent the depth of an italian and the variations of people in it, through a dinner table. As time goes on, the set of shots seems to be the same according to who is talking, the shot of the two children, the shot of the father, the shot of the mother and the shot of the Uncle with the maids rear end in the background (Fellini’s style...), proving that someone always has something to say in the italian family, no matter what role they play.
Toward the end of the meal, drama begins to bloom and the father and teenage son run out of the house. Action takes place, while the camera is placed outside of the fence of the house, making only the movements of the characters visible, though the audience knows what is happening according to the dialogue. The composure of the medium long shots in the section of this scene represent the normality in the italian community for dramatic fights. This is because the medium long shots look as though they are the view of another neighbor..
The scene I chose is the one right at the beginning during which all the towns people come together and light a fire, burning away the witch of winter (as portrayed by a stuffed doll, which is pelted as she is carried through the town. This scene shows how the town (as its own character) reacts with each of the personalities who live there. We first meet Gradisca, who represents, both literally and metaphorically the hope of the citizens that is invested in the future. She is cheered on where ever she goes, and she is the object of many a boys' sexual desire. She is given the honor of lighting the fire, a symbolic death of winter, making her directly (sort of) responsible for the beginning of spring. At the time that this movie takes place, Faschism has taken a strong grip of the movie, and the Catholic Church has locked everyone in a sort of everlasting childhood. While on the outside, this has perks, it also leaves the whole city with an ability to accept moral responsibility or understand their desires, the latter of which the Catholic Church has famously promoted. This is shown in this scene as a man maliciously steals the ladder away from the man atop the burning fyre, thinking it a joke. This is also shown as the schoolboys run around atop firecrackers, and the very immature conversations that the viewer is shown bits and pieces of.
ReplyDeleteThe shots are often medium or close ups, always showing a lot of people. This is explained in that the population are very close, as is stereotypical of italians.
The scene I chose from the film Amarcord was closer towards the end where Titta saw Gradisca walking away from him after a very large snow storm and there were very large snow banks in the streets. The scene opens as Gradisca walks on screen from the left as the camera starts to follow her. First off, i want to mention how she is wearing all red and she has a red hat as well as even having red hair making her pop out at the audience as she walks through walls of white snow. I feel this extreme contrast of color is very significant to the scene as well as to the rest of the film as a whole. As it pertains the the scene itself, i believe the red is there because Titta is like the forbidden fruit per say that he shall never quite get as she is through the entire film someone he admires and adores and is definitely aroused by as arousal is the driving point of this movie and scene for the most part. Because of this, I feel from his point of view, she is very colorful and stands out to him, so Fellini made her stand out to us as well so we see her in the same way that he sees her. Also because of his infatuation with her, I feel that she is dressed in red also because red is the color of love and even though its driven by arousal and not exactly love, i still think that he is in some strange way also in love with her, so she is dressed in red. In terms of the rest of the film, the fact that she is dressed in red is because she represent for the town hope. This small town seems to be getting older and less productive in terms of people who become successful and keep the town going. She is one of the few people if not the only person who has a chance at making something of herself in the world and being a successful member of society. Everyone in the film other than her is in dark or bland colored clothes showing their time is over or they have less hope than she does for the town, but she pops out at the viewer telling them she is the hope for the town, and that is why she is dressed in red.
ReplyDeleteI chose this scene because i feel it is the best scene in the film to show the contrast between her and the rest of the cast. Titta is wearing dark jacket, which represents the rest of the characters in the film as they also wear dark and bland clothing, which also contrasts with her red clothing. Also, the snow banks in the back show a stronger comparison between her and the rest of the small town. I just feel that this scene and her color contrast with the snow and her red dress emphasizes the idea that she is the towns hope for success and she is the person who is most likely to become successful and happy.
The stuff going on in the world was Russia and the threat of Communism showing influences in the movie through the characters and actions of the characters. This film was made in Russia, showing that she represents hope and the town may represent Russia and that she is Russias hope for survival while they were being oppressed by their Communist leader. The 70s was a big time to make movies on whatever and to experiment, and that is just what this movie did.
Amarcord was most definitely not filmed in Russia. It was filmed in Italy. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071129/locations
DeleteAmarcord was most definitely not filmed in Russia. It was filmed in Italy. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071129/locations
DeleteAmarcord is a film directed by Federico Fellini that explores the life of a small town for the duration of one year. One could say that the film doesn’t have a straight narrative to follow, which is true because this is a style that Fellini wants to have. In many of his films, Fellini has a film with a looser narrative and rather has the film be continuous through only the recognizable characters that go from scene to scene. He does this in Amarcord by not having a direct narrative but just by following the life of a small town over the course of a year, focusing on certain events that take place. However the point of the film comes from the socio-cultural context of the film. This film takes place towards the later years of Fellini’s filming after he has truly discovered his style, and he wants to make a film in which he can show this style. In an essay written by Sam Rhodie he says that “Amarcord embodies this equivocation between memory and invention, between a world represented (remembered) and a world created (imagined). Amarcord is not a memory - or if it is, it is a false memory - not fragments of what once was but fragments of what is imagined to have been.” So Fellini in creating this movie created a false memory, a film that sort of depicts what could have been the past if it wasn’t so greatly exaggerated. All the characters are so exaggerated and not greatly developed enough that it makes this “memory” of a town a false one. A scene that I chose that represents this greatly is the scene in which Titta goes to confess for his sins. All of his memories and the memory of that scene are so greatly exaggerated from what they should be like that they come across as false and thus become comedic for the audience. I chose this scene because it is an excellent example of how grand and exaggerated Fellini tries to make his films appear, because it is his style. It relates to the film as a whole because each scene, including this one, expresses this exaggerated style that Fellini is known for.
ReplyDeleteThe scene opens with a shot of the priest and Titta sitting at the end of the room in a long shot, showing how the two of them are seemingly alone during Titta’s confession. The way that they are framed however is kind of open, not really creating the expected closed off environment that you would expect at as confession. And as you expect this, the priest walks off to the left of the frame cutting to a really wide shot of the rest of the room, where he goes to talk to someone about flower placement, and we can see how many other people are in the room towards the back, and the guy decorating is less than 10 yards away. This is that exaggeration of a memory that Fellini is trying to create, it certainly doesn’t seem believable that the priest would just walk away during a confession and that he would conduct in the middle of such a wide open area with more people around. After exposing this fact to the viewer, the shot pans right, showing again only Titta and the priest, closed off in the framing by a cloth on the left side of the frame, giving the “illusion” that suddenly they are “alone” again, like a confession should be.
All of Titta’s little memories within himself are also pretty exaggerated. He thinks to himself about all the women he can’t help but “touch himself” thinking about. He explores one specific memory with Gradisca, which through the cinematic elements is completely exaggerated. In the first part of that memory, editing makes the extremely long shot of Titta going up the street into the movie theatre a lot faster. This “speeding up” of the situation makes the viewer see that this isn’t really reality. We know that it is a memory of Titta’s, but it must be perverted in some way because of the unnatural speed of the shot. When he enters the theatre we see Gradisca sitting by herself in the center of an empty dark theatre, watching a film.
The open framing of having no one else in the room creates a feeling of freeness in Titta, perverting his own memory by remembering that he felt that he could do anything in that moment, to get to Gradisca. It may not have been a fully empty theatre, because the whole scene and memory have been so exaggerated that we can’t know for sure what actually happened. It is a scene completely imagined, based on maybe a past truth that he entered that theatre and approached her. So the editing and the music start to play a role as he approaches her. The shots cross dissolve into each other, showing a passage of time within a relatively short memory, exaggerating the fact that he slowly got closer and closer to Gradisca. The music is that slightly romantic, slow moving score that is basically the theme song of the entire film, adds to this effect, exaggerating his slow approach toward the woman he fantasizes over. And that’s what we see in terms of the mise-en-scene. Over course she has the only main source of light shown directly on her, making the surroundings seem really dark in comparison to her. This could also explain the exaggeration of how they were completely alone, when she seems to be the “only light in the darkness” and he’s all she can see. Her white outfit is also a factor, separating her even more from the dark background. In other scenes she wears bright red, going well with her hair, and separating her from everyone else’s dark brown or black clothing, which is one of Fellini’s exaggerations. Here he does it again, having the bright light shown even more off of her white clothing. As he finally sits next to her and touches her leg, we see him in that same light, in a lower angle shot, showing that in his memory he “remembered” feeling extra empowered after being able to approach her and do that. The similar lighting on his face separated him from the background of black and made it seem as if he is on her level because of this now. In all, this scene is an exaggeration of a “memory” or something made up completely, but made to be a memory, thus is the style of Fellini and is why he was such a unique film maker making his own style of filming.
ReplyDeleteThe scene from the 1973 Fellini film Amarcord that I have chosen to analyze is the snowball fight with Gradisca. The film is set in the 1930s, but was produced in the 70s. The fact that it is loosely historical allows it to be a little bit more of a charactericture, a little bit more flamboyant, and fantastic. This is something characteristic of Fellini, but it is also an effectively tool in creating a movie in the 1970s. This was a serious, tumultuous time for many people, and a film that is less realistic, more historical, and more fantastical, would be popular. I chose this scene because it is one of the more down to earth, more relatable scenes, and a breath of fresh air. This is a later Fellini movie, so many of the scenes are so bizarre, so interesting, they can be dissected for so much meaning because there are so many strange choices and so much going on. This scene is different because it feels as though it could fit any where in the film. There is just less going on in the frame in this scene than in many others. The choices are deliberate and meaningful, and the meaning comes from the fact that this scene is simpler. There are mainly medium shots. It makes it relatable. There are no uncomfortable close ups, no extreme long shots, leaving the viewer wanting to see more detail. The editing is also more relaxed than in some scenes in the film, not as discontinuous. The film’s meaning comes from the stringing of these little stories together and if this scene were not included I think the overall feel and meaning of the movie would be altered.
ReplyDeleteThe color in the scene is very, very controlled. The buildings are all grey and neutral and somewhat dirty. The sky is cloudy, with a muted blue coming through. The boys and men outside in the scene are all wearing normal looking clothes, nothing exaggerated or colorful. Their colors are all brown and grey, contrasting the bright white snow. There is one boy with a muted blue hat, another with two stripes on his sweater, one muted blue, one muted red, and one boy in a red sweater. The snow is different. It is not muted. The snow is the natural element in the scene, because it is snow in Italy, and because it is so crisp and clean, the snow actually seems to be the artificial element. Everything is backwards. Although the buildings are what are artificial, they come off as more realistic. Another very deliberate contrasting choice is Gradisca’s bright red scarf. Although this color is also a very controlled choice, it stands out the most. She is artificial, her makeup and expressions are so overdone, but she is the sole woman in the scene, so she is respected and important.
Also, Gradisca and the men inside are all wearing white. The green and the non-primary blue of the peacock is a shock to the system and make the symbolism of the bird so much greater. The meaning also comes from trying to find where the peacock fits in terms of classifying the natural and artificial elements of the film. Its ambiguity in this aspect makes it a shining beacon. The sound in this scene is also something to note. There is no non-diegetic sound. The most prevalent sound is sort of unidentifiable- the ambient sound of the snow falling. This may be the only really natural aspect of the snow. The snow is present in every shot, every shred of this scene. It may even be this prevalence, the sheer amount of snow, which makes it seem artificial.
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ReplyDeleteThe film Amarcord was an Italian comedy and drama made in 1973 and directed by Federico Fellini. Memories are things that are very unique to our person, and no two people will ever have the same recollection of an event. In fact, the way a person’s mind works is that they will never exactly remember everything from the past no matter how much they try. Emotions and opinions come into play and always change up what we think is the truth. In this film, the story is somewhat biographical, in which Fellini tries to tell of a typical Italian village loosely based off his life, which plays an important role in the scene I chose to analyze. He tells a story based off what we can perceive as his memories, and the events might not always be true but we get an emotional connection from both the story and what’s in the camera frame.
ReplyDeleteThe character that the audience can infer resembles Fellini is Titta, a young man who is exploring the wonders of early adulthood with his companions, although his father is not very fond of his foolish antics. The opening shot of the scene that I chose is a wide shot of the family while they are all sitting at the table for dinner. Titta and his little brother are on the right, Titta’s mother and aunt and uncle are on the left, and his father and grandfather in the center because they are at the heads of the table. The shot makes the kitchen look very closed in, which can be said to create “intimacy” between the family members, but having so many people in this tight of a space can seem a bit awkward and compacted, but this was a typical Italian kitchen hosting a typical Italian family dinner. The scene goes onward showing many different shots of the family members (the brothers together, the uncle and aunt, grandfather, etc.). The use of foreground, middle ground, and background is very important in this scene to represent the sexual barriers that were around years ago. All of the men at the table are sitting down and enjoying their meals while relaxing. They are also shown in mostly the foreground and middle ground. The women, on the other hand, are shown only in the background (until the parents start arguing) and neither one of them sit down throughout the whole scene. This can show that the women were less significant than the men in this society, or at least that’s how Fellini remembers it from his household. Later in the scene when Titta gets chased out of the house by his father, Titta is shown in the background (in the shot where the father is in the front and Titta comes from the back of the house). I feel as though this shows that Titta feels insignificant because he brings shame to his father’s name with his childish antics. This can also reflect how Fellini could have felt during a situation like this, I know I would. Later, his mother and father start arguing because the father believes the kids have been brought up the wrong way and it is all her fault, then they threaten each other and suicide and the whole scene turns into a big mess. One thing that accentuates the craziness is the one shot of Titta’s mother. She is centered in a medium shot and all you see is her bright face contorting and her eyes going cross-eyed. It was just a mess, and this could have reflected Fellini’s anger at his parents, although maybe a little exaggerated.
Again, memories are just perceptions of our past, perceptions that may or may not be true because they are misconstrued in our own mind. Although this is true, emotion can be taken from this misconstrued idea because the memory reflects our feelings. I chose this scene because not only does it reflect the standings that of the family and the “intimacy” (more like privacy deprived) of it, but it can be said to lay out Fellini’s memories of his family on the table, and we can see his emotion through the acting and framing.
For my scene, I’ll be analyzing the scene from Amarcord where the family eats dinner together. From the opening of the scene, some of the family members’ status is discernible. The father sits at the head of the table traditionally, as he is the head of the household. Also, his father and brother are obviously respected by the head of the household, because they both have head wear on at the dinner table, which in Italian culture is very disrespectful. Also, his wife, at the beginning of the scene doesn’t sits down or rest, as she is constantly serving the family . That is consistent with the role of a mother and wife in Italy of the time. Also, looking around the house itself shows the standing of the family. The house is lightly cluttered, suggesting that the house is possibly on the small side, without a lot of extra spice to hold excess items. There are some cupboards however, whose insides are filled with miscellaneous items. The family is not poorly off, however, as the nature of the items in this cinematic space would not fit the profile of the poor; there are more pans than are necessary, the dishware seems new and of a high quality, the tablecloth is fresh, white, and without blemish, and the house, though mildly cluttered, is very clean and kept after, as opposed to the filth and disorder synonymous with the lower class. Next, the prominence in-frame of wine in many of the cuts shows the significance of wine to the Italian culture. The bottles of wine, much of the time, are almost as large as the people talking and sitting in frame. Considering sound, the overlapping conversation and overall amount of noise, both from talking and just noises that the family makes, is representative of the average Italian dinner. The grandfather, during the dinner, talks about sex frequently, showing the prevalence of sex in the life of a commoner, and how important it was to life, at least for a man, as elderly people are often kept separate from the sexual realm. Not only does he talk about sex, but he is very proud of his own libido and sexual presence, and takes great care to maintain it. Going back to the status of the family, their meal, a hearty soup full of vegetables and noodles, is surprisingly endowed for a casual meal of the time.
ReplyDeleteDuring the time period of this film, poverty was more than common in Italy. Not only that, but strikes ran rampant over issues like high rent or unreasonable prices on goods, and many workers frequently found themselves laid off with little to no notice. That paired with the threats of random jailing or property seizure imposed by occupying German soldiers would leave this family unusually well off. The personalities of the family members are almost hyperbolized, as during medium shots of each independent family member, as they talk their faces are made to show wild emotions that aren’t usually used. Also, the family members have a lot of kinesis, as they move around all over within the frame. This is paired with a perfectly static camera to make the effect more dramatic. Interesting to note is that throughout the scene, excluding when one of the women is standing, all of the members at the table in frame at any given time have equal or almost equal headspace. Personally, i think this is analogous with the importance placed on family in Italy. Family comes before everything, any opposition or institution, and this dinner is no different. Despite all of the shouting, conflict, and energy, the family is still one loving unit. The reason I chose this scene was for that reason exactly. Throughout the many problems that the people of Italy faced at this time economically, all of the political changes they faced, the occupation of Germany, and more, Italy never lost its focus on the nuclear family unit. And these ties were the driven force of Italy’s survival. This scene fits into the rest of the movie because it accurately represents the films tone. It has tones that reflect all of the major themes of the movie, and perfectly personifies the ever present familial ties that the whole movie is about.
ReplyDeleteThe scene I chose from Amacord was the scene where the family gathers at the dinner table, which at first is casual and peaceful, but then turns into a series of heated arguments.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most interesting things about this particular scene is the shot composition. Most of the shots on this scene are medium close-ups, either of the entire dinner table with family and all, or a closer shot of a group/individual character. Nonetheless, this heightens the importance of that character for a short time. Another thing I found intetesting was the man sitting at the end of the table, who was also dead center inside the frame. Since he is in the center of the frame, and perspectively his family is sitting around him, it makes him look more in charge, which is how he tries to act anyways.
The mise-en-scene also plays an important role in this scene: the way the characters are dressed, the way the non-spaceous dining room looks, and even the food that is on the table all serve to show to social divide class wise between characters. Overall, Fellini iintendsfor the family to look very average and contempt, and based on thier looks and actions on camera, thier contemptment is very apparent.
Finally, a lack of music or non-diegetic sound and light source other than the light in the room makes the scene seem very plain and simple, much like how the italian family lives. Though the arguments between family members become over heated, that was was considered a traditional italian occurence, so even the non-normal is normal.
The 1970's in Italy was a very socially/politically active time period in which everyone was involved in. Through Amacord, Felleni sought to acurately and explicitly portray Italy's development during this time period, using a series of montages and short stories that seem to all be linked here and there, implying that the 1970's was also a time of unification in Italy. The reason why I chose the dinner table scene is because I think it acurately illustrates a common social struggle within a traditional italian family during this time period. It relates to the film as a whole because it is a piece of the many different parts of the movie that help to illustrate italian lifestyle in the 1970's, and clearly shows some of the struggles that families had to go through in order to survive in this time period.
Amarcord. What can I say? It speaks for itself. But I guess I can speak a little for it too. The film, by Federico Fellini, speaks volumes on the sociocultural situation in Italy during the film's time period - the 1930s. Behind the humorous elements of Italian culture lies a subtle undertone of oppression both due to grief and, to an extent, Fascism.
ReplyDeleteThe scene I chose to examine is one that isn't quite as jovial as most other parts of the film. It occurs towards the end of the movie and encompasses the funeral of Titta's mother, Miranda. The clip itself starts with a medium shot of Titto, his father, his grandmother, and his brother. Their heads are down and their hands are crossed over their hands. This not only displays elements of grief but shows the religiousness of the people in the film. The next shot is another of medium length and shows Miranda's brother, Lallo, fainting. As he falls, the lighting allows for us to see his shadow to fall after he is fully on the floor. I believe this could represent continuing grief. A medium close up is shown of Titto and his father, Aurelio, looking towards the fallen uncle. The lighting is so dim at this instance and shadows cover Aurelio and Titto's faces, revealing they are not showing their true emotions, that they are hiding something. A few shots later we go back to Aurelio and Titto. Titto, his grandmother, and his brother make a sign of the cross but his father does not. He encourages his father to make the sign of the cross, at which point he does, but his original resistance indicates a loss of religion in a society that perhaps revolves greatly around a religion but isn't very religious. There is but one medium long shot in the entire sequence before the church is exited. The medium/medium close up shots allow the audience to feel a sense of intimacy with the characters and perhaps feel some of the grief they are subtly exhibiting. However, this medium long shot creates a sense of eerie distance between the audience and the viewer. The leftover smoke from the incense that looms above Miranda's coffin is, perhaps, her soul making her way to heaven. The shot develops greatly when the darkness is broken and we can infer the front doors of the church are opened, cascading light onto the aisle leading up to the coffin and the coffin itself. This could be taken as God himself making an appearance and helping Miranda along to the afterlife. It is very comforting, in a way.
The scene continues as the pallbearers bring out the coffin of Miranda. Medium shots are shown of Lallo waving goodbye to his sister, a real indication of the emotion going on as an effect of her death. The funeral procession itself is the greatest indication of Italian culture. The priest and alter boys lead the procession. The horse and carriage contain Miranda's coffin. An additional carriage has the children of the family. We follow the procession as it goes throughout town and to the cemetery. Through the carriage window o the children, we see the townspeople lined up on the streets showing signs of grief and sorrow as they make the sign of the cross to the procession. This aspect of Italian culture, one that respects the dead and the family of the dead regardless of whether or not they were close, is very evident throughout the procession. The close up shot in which we see the children in the carriage shows Titto's younger brother goofing around as if he doesn't understand the gravity of the situation. This indicates both that death takes a while to set in for some people, and exhibits that childlike tendency (which consumes many of the adults throughout the entire film) is unaffected, even by instances of extreme sadness. The last shot of the clip is that of the procession directly before they enter the cemetery. It is evident that several townspeople who weren't there initially have joined the procession showing their genuine care. Additionally, throughout the movie all of the townspeople join together for mainly happy occasions - the first snow, the car races, the spring welcoming, etc... However, they are also forced to gather for sad occasions, but do it with just the same dedication because it is so strongly embedded in their culture.
DeleteOverall, this scene in a film serves as a contrast to all the generally jovial, goofy, fun elements that the film represents the most. It is a true indication of the social condition of Italy in the 1930s, and Italian culture as it continues to this day and allows for the audience to understand this through a variety of colorful characters and situations that consume a viewer and make them want more.
Amarcord is a film by Federico Fellini, and while it has no defined plot, it displays the importance of friends and family through everyday events. The scene which i chose to analyze is the scene where Titta and his family are sitting down at the dinner table and his mother serves the food. The father is at the head of the table because he is the head of the family, or the man of the house. He seems to emphasize this when he answers the phone because no one else can hear it over the din of the meal, and he exclaims “I’ll answer the phone because it’s my phone and my house.” He does this to try and show his family that he deserves more respect than he seems to be given, especially since none of the children really obey him. When the father returns he glares at Titta, and the sound in the scene- both diegetic as well as non-diegetic- quiets down, leading the audience to expect a falling out and this builds suspense. When Titta denies doing anything, the father lunges over the table to grab him. Titta escapes and then even more chaos ensues as the Titta’s father chases him around the small kitchen and Titta’s mother cries out trying to put the antics to an end. Titta ends up running out of and around the back of the house, leaving his father and mother to argue in the kitchen. This scene was important to the whole of the film because it illustrated the dynamic of the italian men and women. The men are full of themselves, proud, and upset when things don’t go their way, whilst the women are gentle, but are forces to be reckoned with when crossed, especially since they don’t allow their rival to get the last word in a matter. I feel like this is universal with most men and their feisty wives (but that may be wrong because all the women in my family are italian so they’re all feisty. Maybe most women aren’t and if so that would be another reason this is so significant for Fellini to include in this film.)
ReplyDeleteJack--How does Fellini express these ideas through the camera? What kinds of shots does he use?
DeleteThe scene that I have chosen for this Amarcord analysis is when Gradisca walks into the Grand Hotel, with intentions of meeting with the Fascist high official record in return for government funds to rebuild the town's harbour. It takes place about 57 minutes into the film. The entire scene seems like a fantasy fairytale. In the first shot,Gradisca walks into the dark entrance, where a giant staircase lies ahead. Everything in the room is dull in color, but her red dress makes her stick out a lot more. The camera seems to slowly dolly away as she walks to the stairs, as she slowly turns into a dark silhouetted figure. In the next shot, the camera dollies from right to left, to reveal three men posing similar to action figure toys. Gradisca then sneaks into the pink room, as graceful non-diegetic music plays. The music compliments the mise-en-scene and cinematography, and vice versa. Also, every single shot is moving in some way, but very slowly. It cuts from long shots of the men talking and the official sitting, to medium close-ups of Gradisca watching them.
ReplyDeleteThe mise-en-scene of this scene is very elegant and contains all light colors. The furniture is light pink and white, the curtains are pink, and the entire room is very well lit. This contrasts the first shot, when Gradisca was entering the building (barely any light). This creates an instant shift in mood, and the state of mind of the characters. Though this scene isn’t very serious in the first place.
This side journey of Gradisca adds to the randomness of the entire movie. I believe that Fellini was looking to experiment with different styles of filmmaking, and to be creative. What’s unusual is that they do not say a single word for the majority of the scene, so we aren’t really focusing on reading and listening to dialogue. Since the title does mean “I remember”, this is basically a past memory of Gradisca.