You Had Me at "Fade In:"
Some films open with such a bang that we're compelled to keep watching no matter what... but what's more amazing is that sometimes that "bang" is also truly relevant. Some examples:
Sexy Beast (yes, again) - The opening few minutes give us a visual introduction to Gal, his pool, his sunburn. And then a giant boulder rolls down the mountain behind his house and narrowly misses squashing our protagonist. It's an incredible opening... weird, funny, exciting. And it gives us a beautiful metaphor of what's to come. The giant, seemingly unstoppable boulder that is Ben Kingsley...
Talk to Her (yeah, Almodovar's a little highbrow for this blog, but so what?) - We open on a modern dance performance in which two women appear to be sleepwalking. Which, as you may know, fits perfectly with the waking life/coma life thematic content of the story. Plus, the dance is gorgeous and strange and haunting... I dare you to not want more of it. Plus, the dance serves two plot functions-- our male protagonists are sitting next to each other watching this dance, and their contact there actually informs the way the story progresses. Second, our key coma victim is an admirer of these dancers, and is a dancer herself. This particular dance piece --this particular minute of film-- serves the world of the film, the theme, the story/plot, and its characters.
Lord of War begins with the life-cycle of a bullet, from creation on the assembly line, to shipping, to being used to kill. It's a fast-paced, interesting, and shocking journey. And guess what? It pretty much sets up the heart of the film perfectly. Nicholas Cage is like a bullet. He's going to show us how he was created... the journey he's been on... and how, in the end, he may not be a killer himself, but is certainly used to kill others. (Nicholas Cage doesn't kill people... people kill people?)
A lot can be done in a minute. At least, in movies.
Some films open with such a bang that we're compelled to keep watching no matter what... but what's more amazing is that sometimes that "bang" is also truly relevant. Some examples:
Sexy Beast (yes, again) - The opening few minutes give us a visual introduction to Gal, his pool, his sunburn. And then a giant boulder rolls down the mountain behind his house and narrowly misses squashing our protagonist. It's an incredible opening... weird, funny, exciting. And it gives us a beautiful metaphor of what's to come. The giant, seemingly unstoppable boulder that is Ben Kingsley...
Talk to Her (yeah, Almodovar's a little highbrow for this blog, but so what?) - We open on a modern dance performance in which two women appear to be sleepwalking. Which, as you may know, fits perfectly with the waking life/coma life thematic content of the story. Plus, the dance is gorgeous and strange and haunting... I dare you to not want more of it. Plus, the dance serves two plot functions-- our male protagonists are sitting next to each other watching this dance, and their contact there actually informs the way the story progresses. Second, our key coma victim is an admirer of these dancers, and is a dancer herself. This particular dance piece --this particular minute of film-- serves the world of the film, the theme, the story/plot, and its characters.
Lord of War begins with the life-cycle of a bullet, from creation on the assembly line, to shipping, to being used to kill. It's a fast-paced, interesting, and shocking journey. And guess what? It pretty much sets up the heart of the film perfectly. Nicholas Cage is like a bullet. He's going to show us how he was created... the journey he's been on... and how, in the end, he may not be a killer himself, but is certainly used to kill others. (Nicholas Cage doesn't kill people... people kill people?)
A lot can be done in a minute. At least, in movies.
posted by Jennica at 10:59 a.m.
1 Comments:
It's amazing how movies can contain such subtle symbolism and metaphors that the average person misses. It's always fun to find them (nice ones by the way). I think, that even if people don't see them, they can recognize that, if named, the movies that contain these metaphors are usually a cut above the rest.
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