Reviews

Simón del desierto (Simon of the Desert Luis Buñuel, Mexico 1965, 45 min.) was, if nothing else, an extremely entertaining film. Simon is an extreme religious man who secludes himself on top of a column to be close to God and further from the sins of the world. The film depicts the trails Simon must suffer to achieve this status of practical Sainthood. He hardly eats and drinks, he neglects his mother and other mortal relationships, he performs miracles but they are taken advantage of. Throughout this self-inflicted punishment the Devil, played by Silvia Pinal, is trying to seduce Simon. She seduces him with lust, food, drink, and promises of all that he desires.

I am not going to lie when I was confused by the end of the film. I wasn't sure what the conclusion was supposed to entail. Simon and the Devil are at a Dance Club in some city in the future. Does this mean Simon succumbs to the Devil, that his hell is now where he is now? Perhaps it was another way the Devil tries to make him falter to sins by taking him to a perfect example of sins of the flesh and pleasure.

Other than that confusion at the end I really enjoyed the film. The film was riddled with humor as long as the audience isn't offended. One of the best parts was when a peasant is miraculously given his hands back, then in the next moment uses them to abusive his children. The story definitely makes a satirical statement on Christianity. The concept twist of a biblical story was interesting, the characters were unique, and the story had a good pace considering its images.

Lost Boundaries (Alfred L. Werker, US 1949, 99 min.) is a film about a light-skinned Black American family who pass as White Americans to obtain a job and get accepted in a particular society. The father, Scott Carter played by Mel Ferrer, is a doctor who finds it easier to support his family by passing them as white. This leads to his children to grow up believing they are white, one of which even obtaining racist views. After twenty years of pretending, the truth comes out due to son and father drafting into the military.

Surprisingly Mel Ferrer, who plays the main character, and Beatrice Pearson, the character's wife, are racially white. In today's standards it is shocking the black characters are acted out by white actors. On one side a group could be offend but on the other hand, keeping in mind the situation of the time, the movie wouldn't have gone far with black actors. I think for it's time the movie could have been very affected. It discussed a major civil and political issue. During the release date the topics of racism had not so blatantly appeared in much entertainment. I wonder what the general reaction was. I can see the possibility of both white and black racism approving of the film's message and viewing it as educational. At the same time I can see both races being offended by the material.

I felt the movie held a level of entertainment even if it the overall film came off as shallow. The message was deep but the writing and acting was lacking. I wasn't pleased or displeased when it finished, meaning it left me unmoved. I would still suggest seeing the film for the historical aspect it provides to Film and Film History.

Let me start by saying Alfred Hitchcock is an absolute genius. North by Northwest is one of his best and encompasses everything that is Hitchcock. Hitchcock once stated a director has to tell the audience what is about to happen to create suspense. If a bomb is about to go off, the director needs to show them the bomb about to go off, but then never delver. Instead of the expected action one must provide an unexpected action instead. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, US 1959, 131 min.) definitely uses this idea. Roger O. Thornhill, played by Cary Grant (A very attractive man) is an advertising executive who is mistaken as George Kaplan, a government agent, by a criminal gang. As he tries to clear his name and find the actual George Kaplan he experiences many adventures and is introduced to the beautiful Eve Kendall, actress Eve Marie Saint. Throughout the entire story one adventure leads to another and each one provides and unexpected turn of events. George Kaplan, whom Roger is searching turns out to be made up by the government. Eve turns out to be working for the gang, but then turns out to be a double agent. Roger's life depends on the success or failure of the Government obtaining needed information from the gang, which possibly will cost him the new love of his life. Hitchcock's techniques and creative decisions never fail to impress. The detail and artistic direction are superb. The cinematography, the locations, and the mise en scene are beautiful. The development of each character through story, dialogue, and artistically is something to strive for. It is said Hitchcock would accompany his actors to find their costumes because he wanted every detail of the character to develop him or her. As a filmmaker I definitely look up to Hitchcock and strive to accomplish what he has. So far I have discovered it is all about the details.

Over all the silent films of the world and especially German Expressionist cinema, Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror F.W. Murnau, Germany 1922, 94 min.) sticks out the most to me. Murnau continually proves to be a genius director that has influenced both German Cinema and Cinema on a global level. Nosferatu is a story based off the classic novel Count Dracula. Fun fact of the day, the film was actually sued for copy right because of its illegal adaption of Count Dracula.

Young Hutter travels east to Count Orlok's castle in Transylvania for business. The Count turns out to be a vampire and travels west to obtained Hutter's wife, Ellen. The town is soon plagued with death and the only way to defeat the Count depends on Ellen's self-sacrifice.

The genius of the film starts in the script and creative direction. Nosferatu becomes more then a horror film like Dracula, but is a leading example in German Expressionism as it parallels characters and situations to experiences in World War 1. One scene that truly embodied this analogy was the scene of caskets being carried down the town street. This image was a common one as women watched the caskets of their men who were sacrifice in war.

Murnau introduces stunning editing techniques including the use of speeding up the pace and using negatives to provide symbolic imagery. The ability to defy space and time through editing is one rarely, if not ever, seen before. I highly suggest this classic film to anyone no matter their taste in genres.

True Heart Susie (D.W. Griffith, US 1919, 87 min.) was such an entertaining film. This film is definitely one of the few silent films I have seen that I could really sympathize with characters. Lillie Gish plays Susie who is in love with the young man William Jenkins, played by Robert Harron. William Jenkins is blind of Susie's intentions because he is focusing on academics and eventually he becomes infatuated with a rather fast woman, Bettina played by Clarine Seymour.

Lillie Gish's acting really impressed me. A few times her facial expressions and reaction such as in jealousy were so hilarious. With those few exceptions I really identified with her character. The ideas of conflicting times really interested me. I felt the character William represented much of society. The idea of society getting swept up in the new and fun is one that would eventually get much attention. The country was being introduced to shorter dresses, parties, and an emphasis on materials, which would be represented by Bettina, a flapper girl of the modern times.

In a way I also identified with Clarine Seymour's character Bettina. The idea of freedom, parties, and a lack of responsibility seem extremely attractive to me, especially as a college student. Yet as the story unfolds the audience can't help but identify with the old-fashion Susie. Bettina proves to be unfaithful and lack any adherence to commitment, where as Susie waited loyally for William until the end.

I wonder if Griffith intended for these representations. Whether they were intended or something accidentally, Griffith's work is beautifully shot, well structured, and an overall entertaining film.