During the Movie Week Extravaganza I viewed One Hour Photo, Manufactured Landscapes and O Brother Where Art Thou? I thoroughly enjoyed all three, along with all the junk food consumed (2 bags of popcorn, a Mars Bar, and one juice box in total, not bad)...
One Hour Photo
One Hour Photo is a fabulous film. My viewing during movie week was not the first viewing I have had; in fact I have now seen the movie 3 times, and every single time that I see it it does not fail to fascinate me. I am a big movie goer and have seen many Robin Williams films (as I am sure many of us have), and still cannot get over what a diverse role he pulls off in this film. The opening monologue on the role of photos in people's lives is quite interesting, my favorite part being:
"Family photos depict smiling faces. Births. Weddings. Holidays. Children's birthday parties. People take pictures of the happy moments in their lives. Someone looking through our photo album would conclude that we had led a joyous, leisurely existence, free of tragedy. Nobody ever takes a photograph of something they want to forget..."
The way that they adjusted the lighting in various situations for Sigh is really neat. When he is working in the photo lab, it is very bright and clean and clear. Shots of Sigh at home sort of have an off tone to them that accentuates the loneliness that he feels. Overall, the movie definitely gives off a creepy feeling! It never really occurs to you that when you take prints to a photo lab, a complete stranger is viewing them. I often wonder what kind of stuff those photo technicians must see in just one day. The movie really incorporated these wonders when there was the fun scene of the crazy cat lady, the new father, and the up and coming porn photographer. One hour photo labs are definitely not something that many of us give much thought to, but after seeing this film it definitely got the wheels spinning in my head.
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
This movie was also great! To be honest the only reason I chose to watch it was because I love George Clooney. I had never been interested in seeing this film, and I am happy that Clooney enticed me into seeing it. The three men traveling together are funny beyond words, and it gives you an interesting glance at what things were like at this time in the United States, during the 1930's. The story line kept me drawn in, and the director of photography definitely knew what he/she was doing. The opening scene of the men working on the rail road is really neat with how it goes from black and white to color, and then you see the three men escaping through the field. The angles that they shot the rail workers at were neat, using silhouettes and implied lines quite a bit. The film was humorous and light while being moving and deep at the same time - something that does not happen too often! I was laughing throughout most of it, and when we were shown the extra about how they created all the edits in the film it gave me a whole new respect for what film makers have to do to create the final product, just like photographer's and our post processing.
Manufactured Landscapes
Manufactured Landscapes really scared the heck out of me. When I chose to watch it, I went in not knowing a thing of what it was about. Although the movie frightened me (and I do mean that it literally did frighten me - almost as much as One Hour Photo but in a different way), I really enjoyed it because global warming / globalization is a huge issue facing our world today, and it also happens to be an issue that fascinates me. In Creative Imaging we had seen a bit of Edward Burtynsky's work before, and I instantly recognized his industrial landscape images in the film. What I found interesting is that the film conveyed two message to me: all of the waste in the world, and the factory workers who create all of the objects sporting the "MADE IN CHINA" tag on them in our Western World. I mean really - the majority of what I own is "MADE IN CHINA". It is something we do not pay a lot of attention to, and that is why when they interview the president of one of these manufacturing companies in China, I feel bad for them. I feel bad because the president had so much pride in the work they do and so many goals, yet we barely give them any recognition. The only recognition that we see in our Western World is the "MADE IN CHINA" tag. Some of the conditions that these workers work in absolutely stunned me - like the young males working in the oil. I found this film extremely effective, and the way in which Burtynsky photographs all of this is beautiful in a very strange way. Since viewing the film, I have been viewing more of his work online and learning more about what he does, because shooting industrial landscapes is something that intrigues me.
L-Dotz,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I didn't know you were interested in industrial landscapes!
Secondly, I can see you getting really worked up about these issues after you've had a pint or two. My question is: Are you going to think twice, next time you consider purchasing a 'Made in... Elsewhere' item? Here's something else to think about. Lots of items that say 'Made in Canada' may only have been assembled in Canada, or a majority of the parts may have come from Canada, but it's not necessarily a 100% Canadian item.
My first job was in a book factory, in my hometown. It employs a great percentage of the town's population, and has been an essential business in the economic growth of the community. It's been one of Canada's top independent-run companies, and is one of Canada's largest printers. You'd be surprised to know how many books you've read come from that plant. Robert Munch, Jean Pare', Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling paid us a personal visit), and anything in between, from Mapbooks to Textbooks, and many Canadian Yearbooks. However, with China's labour laws, they've 'figured out' a way to print, and ship books cheaper than Friesens can print them. That means, the independent business which virtually raised and supported our town for over a hundred years, is on the verge of some very tough times, just because people aren't willing to pay the extra one to five dollars a book. I know, for Altona, that means there are about 500 employees under stress about their livelihood. Think about it!
I love the way Burtynsky brings attention to these issues with photographs. He is merely presenting an image, which allows a reaction to be triggered, while he stands innocently in the background, whistling away, I'm sure.
Hi, Laura. I'm glad you took a chance and saw "Manufactured Landscapes" during Movie Week.
ReplyDeleteI saw it because it had "Landscapes" in the title, and that's one of my favorite genres of photography. The "Manufactured" part intrigued me as well.
I was also shocked to see how much waste mankind throws away in the name of progress. The fact that the Chinese actually ship our industrial waste back to their own country so that they can have armies of people sift through it all to try and recover bits of metal and re-usable parts is almost unbelievable! I also noticed a lot of old people doing this work as well as very young children. So much for labour laws!
I was drawn to Burtynsky's images throughout the movie. Who would have thought you could find something that was so hauntingly beautiful in these places?! I also appreciated his position not to comment on what he is photographing, but to let the viewer make their own decisions and hopefully, respond in a way that might change things for the better.
I agree with your response, in that you are now drawn towards his photos even more since the movie. I found his work to be quite inspirational, and I hope I can develop and eye for design, shape and color the way he has. The trick for me will be learning to incorporate the human edge into the shots the way he has.
Chris.
Hey, Laura. I see we watched the exact same movies during movies, although I think we watched some of them at different times, I guess. I agree with your points about "One Hour Photo" how we never really think about these people who view our personal photos. I also liked that you incorpated the quote from the movie.
ReplyDelete"O brother, Where Art Thou?" I think you made some pretty good points as well. I liked your honesty about why you watched it as well. You also made some interesting points about the post-processing. Although I don't think the film takes place during slavery, I believe it takes place in the 1930's.
You made some interesting points about "Manufactured Landscapes" as well, when you mention that it made you frightened which is interesting, because thre were many parts of that film that could make people feel worried. I also like that you mention how they only get credit with the "MADE IN CHINA" tag, which is true.
good work Laura.