Analysis

Evil Step Mother: The female guardian in each story share many of the same characteristics. The evil step mother in the fairy tale is vain and cruel to Snow White. In the movie, the mother is also very concerned about her looks. There are several times throughout the film where she puts her own desires above the needs of her own child. For example, when arguing with her husband, she discusses shipping her son away for the summer. Snow White is also unwanted by her guardian and is forced to live on her own. In the very end of 400 Blows, the mother also leaves her son and he is left to live out his life without his parents as well.

Father: Both Snow White and Antoine are without their biological fathers. Although Antoine does have a stepfather who spends time with him, he still lacks a relationship with the man who shares his DNA. In the fairy tale, Snow White's father mysteriously perishes after he is remarried to her stepmother.

Age and Self-Sufficiency: Antoine seems to be older than his chronological age would suggest; he finds ways to fend for himself. When he attempts to steal to support himself on his own he displays behavior of someone much older than a child. He also picks up habits such as smoking and is immersed in rough, adult scenarios such as jail. Snow White is also left to live without parental support and survives with the help is animals and the dwarves in the woods.

Villains: Snow White is deceived by an evil witch in her fairy tale. The witch represents a person who cannot be trusted and an overall negative force in the story. The same can be said for several adults in Antoine's life. For instance, his teacher is extremely authoritative and cruel. He consistently puts him down and belittles him while at school. Another harmful person in his life is the instructor at his juvenile delinquency home. He not only verbally insults Antoine, he also punishes him physically by slapping him at mealtime.

True Friendship: Despite the less than ideal circumstances each character faces. They both have friends who love and care for them. For Snow White that friendship comes in the form of the seven dwarves. She also has a connection and love of animals and nature in general. Antoine has a best friend who always has his best interest at heart. He consistently goes out of his way to help him throughout the film. For example, he finds him a place to stay when Antoine feels he cannot return home and he also travels a long distance on his bicycle just to visit his friend at the detention home.

Director: After learning about the director's own childhood I can see how the film could have been a very personal project. I believe he wanted to address the importance of parent-child relationships as well as the negative outcomes that can occur when that is missing. This is similar to the the story of Snow White in that parent-child relationships also play a key role in the story.

Snow White and 400 Blows Comparison List

1. Evil Step mother
2. Fatherless
3. Villains
4. Identity
5. Elements of danger 
6. True Friendship
7. Isolation
8. Mistrust
9. Getting into trouble
10. Beauty and the negative effects it can have 
11. Unsafe scenarios and homes

Water

Water plays a large role in the lives of people in the film. Water is a place of meeting, where people congregate to wash their belongings and to bathe. Not only does it serve a purpose in daily life, it also represents spiritual cleansing. This was perhaps the most evident in the suicide scene in the movie. I believe she chose to drown herself because she was reminded of her past and a time that she felt unclean and less than. Her death was a way to purify her soul.

Gatsby Music

Gatsby was a movie that I found to be very musically fascinating. The juxtaposition of the vintage feel of the film was in direct contrast with the modern rap songs. The clip above is just one example I found that showed this style of music. When I first started watching the film the music bothered me because I felt it was out of place and distracted from the actual scene. However, as the the movie went on I grew to really enjoy the music and I now feel that it added a unique quality the film that really made it stand out. I also felt that the excess and grandness in the film matched the lyrics and style of the music well.

Special Effect

I recently saw The Maze Runner and really liked the maze and the overall esthetics of the dystopian community in the film. The video I chose is unique because it breaks down the film and shows what the actors are seeing and compares it to the special effects that the audience is seeing. I was particularly impressed with the actors' ability to react to things that they were unable to see.

Music in Tsotsi

I found the music in the movie to be slightly distracting compared to what was unfolding in each scene. Oftentimes the mood of the music did not match the mood of the moment in the film. I found myself more aware of the music and sometimes found it distracting. I did, however enjoy that the film included music from South Africa. It added an authentic feel to the film which was very refreshing.

Transition

I chose a scene from The Deathly Hallows because I thought the abrupt scene change was distracting and took away from an important moment in the film. I recently re-watched this movie and was reminded of the scene when Ron and Hermione kiss. The moment passes by quickly and immediately cuts to Voldemort, screaming and in pain. I thought that the transition took away from the moment and it seemed very out of place. The juxtaposition of a tender moment and an awful one was not at all appealing to me.

The Road Home Symbolism

The Road Home is filled with many symbols throughout the film. One that I found to be very prominent was the symbol of food. Food is discussed many times in the movie and the amount of care gone into the preparation is another factor that lead me to believe it had a large significance. In the beginning, the women prepare food and hope their dish is chosen by the school teacher. This demonstrates the amount of care and pride they out in their dishes. Later, when it is the girl's turn to prepare food, her grandmother describes the care she took in preparing the meal. The final example is the mushroom dumpling dish that was prepared for the teacher. Watching the girl prepare the food so meticulously made me realize how much car and effort she put into the dish. I believe the emphasis on food was intentional and that the care she put into her food was symbolic of the love and care she felt for the teacher.

Camera Movement

I chose a scene from the show Walking Dead because I found the camera angle to be very unique. In this scene the main character, Rick Grimes is grabbing another character and throwing him in the back of a car. I found this camera movement to be particularly memorable because it is being shot from the perspective of the person being captured. As I was watching this, I felt a connection with the character. I felt anxious and scared. The camera movement was quick an jumbled, adding to the confusion of the scene. It also helped me to better relate to the character; I felt that I took on some of his emotions, particularly fear.

400 Blows

400 Blows

Although this film did end with me asking questions, I still very much enjoyed the ending. I also really liked that it related to the director's personal life, which may have inadvertently answered some of my questions! While I sometimes found it difficult to follow along with the subtitles, I really enjoyed watching the adult-child dynamics of this  movie. What stood out the most to me was how unheard the children seemed to be. Aside from one meager attempt from his mother, adults rarely tried to relate or understand the viewpoints of children. Seeing how this directly affected kids from their perspective was very eye-opening for me. I would hope that this film inspired parents and educators alike to be more in tune with the kids they interact with on a daily basis as it illustrated the negative outcomes that could occur if children so not feel validated or important in their home and/or school environment.

Camera Angle

 

 

Unfortunately I wasn't able to find an image of the camera angle that I found interesting. However, it occurred right after this scene. When the boys are walking down the street the camera was angled above them. Then, it appeared to swivel around to a medium shot of them on the street. I thought this was very interesting because I hadn't noticed it in any other part of the movie. I learned that this was made possible by the use of a crane. I would have liked to have seen this used more often as I found it very visually appealing.