Monsoon Wedding

Monsoon Wedding is a film about a traditional arranged Indian wedding. The film follows the
Lalit who is the father of Aditi the daughter about to be married to Hermant who lives in the US but is Indian as well. Throughout the traditional wedding preparations we see Aditi running off with the man that she was having an affair with before she was engaged to be married, but he refuses to leave his wife so Aditi is forced to end things because of that and her up and coming nuptials. As Aditis father is preparing for the wedding we meet the wedding planner Dubey who is a somewhat young single man who lives with his mother and plans weddings and events for others. We also meet the family's maid Alice who is very quiet and pretty and does exactly as she is told. Dubey and Alice end up falling in love throughout the preparations for the wedding and their story is just as beautiful as Aditis and Hermants in the end. Aditi realizes that she has to come clean with Hermant because she does not want to start a marriage based on lies, and she would rather him back at now then after the wedding. When she tells him he is very mad at first, but he realizes that their marriage can be start of a new life for both of them and tells her to decide whether or not to marry him, and from the moment she says she wants to marry him there is nothing but want and love in their eyes throughout the rest of the film.

The most moving part though in the entire film is the story of Ria, who is Aditis cousin and Lalits niece, who was sexually abused by her uncle who is Lilats brother-in-law. From the moment we see Ria and her uncle interact I could tell that there was definitely some sort of history between them, and I could tell by Ria's face that it was not good. The uncle is unfortunately the patriarch of the family and helps the family financially and in any way needed, so the idea that he had done such a terrible thing was crazy. But Ria finally realizes that it is time to tell her secret to save Aliyah from being hurt by him as well. When Lilat learns of what he did to Ria who has become like a daughter to him he does not know what to do, but when he makes a decision that will impact the family in a huge way I could not help but cry and just yearn to hug Ria and help in any way I could even though I knew it wasn't possible. Throughout the rest of the film we witness some beautiful and moving family moments that cannot help but make you want to be a part of the family as well. This is a definite must see in so many ways! I loved this movie and have actually purchased it now and it will be a great addition to movie collection. I left this film with tears running down my face and a smile as well, and of course an urge to dance! SEE IT!

Daughters of the Dust

Daughters of the Dust is a film that takes place in Ibo Landing on Sea Island off the coast of South Carolina. The film is depicting the last day that the Peazant family will all be together in Ibo Landing, as they are preparing to move to the mainland together. The family consists of a number of generations of Peazants from Nana who is the grandmother to Eli who is married to Eula who has recently been raped by a man, and will not tell her husband Eli who did this to her. Eula refuses to tell Eli because she is fearful it will ruin him and tear him apart, and although she has good intentions it only causes Eli to want more. We then meet their unborn baby girl who we see throughout the film running around with her parents, with the other children on the island, and even through the lens of the photographer at one point too. She also narrates at times in the film as well and we hear her laughter and listen to her tell us what is going on at times too. There is then Haagar who married into the Peazant family who is the mother of Iona who is in love with a young Cherokee man, St. Julien Lastchild, and Iona is planning on staying on the Island with him so they can be together. In the beginning of the film we are able to listen in on a letter that he writes to her professing his love and begging her to stay with him, and it is so moving and loving that I almost cried because you could really hear the love in his words he wrote for her.

Those characters are just the beginning there is then Yellow Mary Peazant who is returning from Cuba with her friend Trula, they are both wearing puffy dresses that are ridiculous for living on the Island, but are beautiful to them. And then there is Viola who is bringing Yellow Mary and Trula to the Island along with a photographer to photograph the Peazant family all together. Throughout the whole film we learn about all of the trials and tribulations that these Gullah women have gone through throughout their time on the Island, and we witness some very special moments between Nana and Eli as they discuss the family and how far they have come. We as the audience get to witness and learn about all that this family has gone through to get where they are then, and everything that they have gone through is so harsh that you cannot help but feel for these people and want to know more about them.

The Film Daughters of the Dust was a very hard film for me to completely understand and grasp the real story about what was really happening throughout the film. But I really wanted to give this film a chance to move me and to let me feel what was really going on in the lives of these characters as well. I am still not sure after viewing again if I still really got what the film was trying to tell us, but the story in itself was very interesting and sad and raw in so many ways. I cannot say that this is a movie that I would ever really recommend to anyone, but it is an okay film to watch if you really have the time sit and really really listen to what they are saying. The dialogue was very hard to understand throughout the film, and I think that that is a big reason why I did not understand exactly to the full extent what was really going on in the film, but I feel that if the dialogue was more clear and the film was not so all over the place I would most likely enjoy the film more and understand the significance of the film as well.

Casablanca

The film Casablanca is a classic romantic film that has been around for many many years. The film takes place during World War II in Morocco in a city called Casablanca. Casablanca is occupied by a large number of people trying to get out of Europe who go to Casablanca in hopes of finding their way to the United States. There are a number of different types of people in Casablanca at this time from refugees, to Nazi's and resistance fighters as well. There are also a good number of people who consider themselves above the law and will do anything for money and a visa.

Rick Blaine is the owner of Rick's Cafe which is the go to spot for all types. Sam is his pianist and friend from back in France. There are also a few other characters that make an appearance throughout the film, but none are as important as, Renault who is known by many titles but is basically the mayor and the 'big official' in the city. Then there is of course Ilsa, Rick's old love interest from back in France, and her husband Victor Laszlo who is a leader of the French Resistance, and is wanted by many people including Renault and the Nazi's. When Ilsa walks through the door of Rick's cafe with her husband all heads turn because she is known as one beautiful woman, and she really is. She then asks Sam to bring his piano over to her and sing a song that he has not played since their days together in France, and when he starts to play it and Rick hears it, he flips, then he sees Ilsa and is speechless at first. All those old feelings that he had for her come rushing back to him, and also to Ilsa even though she won't admit it at first.

We then find out that Victor and Ilsa are in Casablanca to get exit visas as well, and that they were supposed to meet an unruly crook who had been arrested earlier that evening at Rick's, luckily just after he gave the exit visas to Rick for safe keeping that is. Rick learns this and is torn about what to do exactly. The rest of the film shows the audience the real story about Rick and Ilsa when they were madly in love in France, while Victor was presumed dead. Ilsa struggles with listening to what her heart is telling her about Victor and Rick, and we are able witness the real love that she once shared with Rick. Being able to see how Rick was when he was with her brings a good light to him because he comes off pretty cold in the beginning of the film.

This is on of my all time favorite films, not because of the classic and beautiful love story that we witness between Rick and Ilsa, but because of the beautiful story about life during war. We are able to see who real people deal with such terrible situations in their everyday lives, and we witness the love that these people have for one another as well. This is a definite MUST SEE in my book because of the beautiful story that unfolds before our eyes. It full of every emotion that a movie should have and that is probably one of the reasons it is so good. Undying love, sadness, laughter, and even a little dislike, all feelings that are a part of real life, and that is why it is so full of life.

Analysis of Bonnie & Clyde

In the film Bonnie and Clyde a constant editing theme that is throughout the entire movie is the fast and rapid change from one character to another during any one of the scenes in the film. This starts right away in the film when we see Bonnie getting ready in her room and Clyde outside eyeing up her mothers car, and then we see it again when Bonnie is looking at Clydes gun. We witness the facial expression on both of their faces in a matter of seconds and the camera continues to go back and forth during the rest of the scene when Clyde robs a store to prove that he is a criminal and thief to Bonnie. The scene following Clyde running into the store to rob it, is the scene where he steals a car for the first time with Bonnie there. When they jump in the car and drive out of town we see Bonnie throwing herself all over Clyde and we see each of their faces as the camera goes back and forth when Clyde is trying to get Bonnie off of him. The facial expressions that Bonnie has throughout the rest of the scene are so dramatic and ones of disgust and embarrassment, and the expressions on Clydes face are off embarassment as well but also of annoyance and regret to an extent. He tells her that he is not a lover boy and that he is more there for the thrill of committing crimes and having a partner like Bonnie. He tries to make up for hurting her by telling he that she is the swellest girl in Texas and the one that is perfect for his team. I almost started to believe him there, but then I remembered that he gets her killed so that feeling flew out the window quite quickly.

During the rest of the film while Bonnie, Clyde, C.W., Buck and Blanche are committing a number of crimes we are able to witness a number of the characters facial expressions, and the different characters in an entire scene that may not all fit into one shot. During one of their first heists together we get a shot of the bank and all the people in it, and then the camera quickly moves to the gang coming in to the bank proclaiming that this is a stick-up.

We are able to see them as they are entering and the few characters that are in the shot as well, but the way that each scene is edited is great and showing the audience so much of what is going on in one scene so that we can get a feeling for who all and what all is in each scene. The matter of seconds it takes to go from one section of a scene to the next is so small and it is so cool that we can see that because there is so much to see in films such as this.

Later on in the film as the gang is fleeing from anther robbery of sorts they are found by a sherif who tries to scare them and arrest them but he is very much out numbered and there is nothing that he can really say or do to get them to surrender. When they take away his gun and start to push him around a little and so on Bonnie suggests taking a picture of her and Clyde with him so that they can send it to one of the papers. When they are posing for this picture Bonnie thinks that it would be funny for her to kiss him, and when she does he is not too happy and he spits on her after she stops kissing him. The expression on both of their faces is so surprising and full of disgust and anger that I was a little shocked, because even though she is criminal what man wouldn't want t be kissed by a pretty girl with a gun mind you. But also after the cop spit on Bonnie Clyde really freaked out and attacked him and they ended up in the river and the cop eventually on a boat all by himself handcuffed, so they were pretty ticked off with him.

It is really interesting to me how fast a camera can flash from one persons face to another, I know that ultimately there is more than one camera shooting at once, but the editing is so perfect in this film when it goes back and forth between characters. I might even say flawless at times. Throughout the rest of the film there are numerous shots that go from character to character in this film that I could not even write about all of them, we would be here all night to say the least. The editing in this film is great and I really think that it helped make the movie what it is today. I think that it really helped the audience to get in touch with each of the characters because we got to be so close up to them in this film and a face can tell you everything and the faces in this film tell so much of the story that without all of the cutting from face to face would change the movie entirely. I know that sometimes we get almost motion sick when we fly back and forth from character to character in a matter of seconds during a film, but this film wasn't really one that would make you sick, but one that would make you want to see more and more of the characters so that you could read in their facial expressions what was going to happen next, and how they really truly felt about what they were doing.

Bonnie and Clyde

Bonnie and Clyde is an interesting about a small town southern girl who is unhappy with the small life the she living and is looking for something exciting and new to happen in her life. Bonnie has a chance meeting with a man named Clyde who is scoping out her mothers car to hijack and she just so happens to notice that he is down there. Clyde starts to tell Bonnie all about his dark past with theft and thievery, and he tries to impress her by telling her stories from his past. Clyde entices Bonnie with his charm and guts and she is instantly interested in joining Clyde as his partner in crime to help him rob banks. Bonnie accepts without hesitation and they start their rampage immediately. They start off small to get Bonnie accustomed to what is ahead of them and they eventually start to rob banks. Throughout the rest of the film they start to ask some of the people they run into to join their team, and they eventually have C.W. Buck and Blanche who are Clyde's brother and sister-in-law join them in their efforts to rob as many backs as they can and get as much money as possible, all while killing and injuring anyone who gets in their way. The film starts out as a classic crime movie, but eventually falls into a love story between criminals who learn to need one another.

This is a film that I did not completely enjoy because I found it hard to believe the actors in their roles. It was at times funny but mostly annoying and boring. I did not really understand why Clyde was doing what he was doing in the first place, and Bonnie was so bland throughout the whole film and her annoying voice and accent were hard to listen too as well. The relationship that Clyde and Buck though is fun and very loving and you can tell that they really have a great relationship but it does tend to revolve around crime most if the time, and Blanche is quiet and doesn't really know how to act at times and almost questions what they are doing. C.W. though is a quirky character that always has the funny one liners and the weird tendencies, but he is funny at times. Overall I would not say that this is a film that I will ever watch again but it was entertaining at times, but boring and unbelievable for the most part.

Analysis of Run Lola Run

The use of editing in Run Lola Run is very throughout the film because of the use of flash forwards and flashbacks to create a story and outline of the lives that Manni and Lola live together in Germany. The constant use of the editing to cut from scene to scene and then from scenario to scenario was very important in helping the audience understand what they both had gone through in their lives to get where they are now. They use editing to flashback to what happened when Manni lost the money that he was supposed to give to the gangster, and there are also flashbacks to intimate conversations that Manni and Lola have had about their relationship and how they feel about one another. That conversation in itself is one of the most important throughout the film because you really get a feel for how much Manni and Lola care about one another.

Even though what they are doing in the film

is wrong, I kind of felt a sort of sympathy for what them because of the raw emotion that you can see on both of their faces and that you can h

ear when they are talking to one another on the phone. They truly love each other and throughout the whole film I was crossing my fingers that Lola or Manni would come up with a plan to get the money back so that Manni

would not get killed in the end.

In the film the constant use of cutting back and forth from the phone scene when Manni is explaining what happened the urgency behind her getting the money to him before the 20 minutes is up is very suspenseful each and every time they flash back to this scene. Lola is trying so hard to figure out the right way to get the money to him that she runs through a number of scenarios until she finds the exact way that she should go about getting the money. While we are watching these scenes go back and forth we learn more and more about what exactly happened when Manni received and then lost the money. When we see the homeless man take the money after Manni leaves it on the subway, and then we see Lola run past him every the story plays through over and over again we as the audience just want to scream that he has but of course there is nothing that we can do. And when we see the way that the gangster has dealt with Manni in the past we have more sympathy for him as well. The constant cutting back and forth is so perfect for this type of movie and the editors did an amazing job with it. They made us as the audience so in tuned to the film and at the edge of our seats wondering what was going to happen next, and that is not just because of the movie and the story line itself, its because of the magnificent editing job that helps us get to know the characters at a whole new level because we are not just watching what is happening at the exact moment, but we have the privilege of seeing what has happened in their past to make the characters who they are and learn new things each time there is a flashback and a flash forward. This film was made amazingly well, and the editing contributed to that in a enormous way.

Run Lola Run

Run Lola Run was an extremely interesting and enticing movie to watch. Not only was there constantly something going on, but there was a constant thought going through my mind that was asking what was going to happen next. It was was a very fun film to watch as well.

Basically Run Lola Run is about a young woman who's boyfriend has lost $100,000 that he has to hand over to a German gangster in 20 minutes or he is dead. He calls Lola for help and she promises to get the money and meet him just in time. The whole film is Lola trying to figure out what to do to help her boyfriend Manni get the money that he needs to pay off the gangster. The film is full of what seems to be flash forwards or at least what seems to be flash forwards. Because of everything that goes on throughout this film it keeps the audience on the edge of their seats wanting to know what each character is going to do. It is also very interesting because there is not a whole lot of dialogue after the first half of the film because of all of the scenarios going through Lola's head, and then Manni's. The music is also very enticing in the film because of the volume of it and the techno genre that keeps your head moving along with the movie.

I would say that this is a movie isn't necessarily a must see but it is a good film to watch that will keep its audience asking what's going to happen next.