Day Eight, or How We Did the Time Warp Again!

So in order to portray a movie about the evils of 1930's Soviet Russia, we need to be in the 1990's Russian Federation....interesting. Burnt by the Sun felt almost like a Ruskaland version of a Quintin Tarentino film. This film was very heavy on dialogue and the use of visual imagery to get it's message of the horrors of Stalinist Russia across. I particularly loved the characters interactions with each other. I felt really bad for the poor truck driver, he just wanted to deliver his goods.

I thought that the floating sun was a particularly emotional imagery. It served not only to reinforce the title of the movie, but to also help to show the effects that Stalin's reign of terror was causing. As you watch the appearances of the orb, you can notice the sound of things burning. At one point, you actually see a picture crack. When this picture is shown later in the film, there is no visible crack, which helps to establish that the orb is more of a feeling then an actual entity.

Day Seven, or How I Found Racial Equality at the Circus!

Circus, what is there to say about this movie? I actually really enjoyed this movie, even if at times I was just like "..........no way." There was a lot of diegetic music in this movie, almost to the point where it felt like there was not any non-diegetic music. I noticed that there was a cross in Marion's make-up box, and that she also did the sign of the cross before her performance. I found that very interesting, since religion was pretty much non-existent within the USSR.

As for the characters, everyone seems to be emotionally...easy. People get very upset over things, but can calm down with a single sentence? At one point it seems that Ivan is super upset at Marion, but with one sentence becomes like a kid in a candy store. Also, why does everyone feel the right to pass around Marion's child like he is a really cool book? I've heard the phrase "It takes a village to raise a child." but it is just really really ridiculous.


I could feel the Soviet influences in this movie. The biggest parts that stuck out to me both came from the end of the movie. The Soviet pride parade at the end was my biggest indication. The other one I noticed, and I thought was much cooler, was the last song that Marion sung. The song was something about the winds of change in October, obviously a reference to the October Revolution.

And remember, in Soviet Russia, we accept everyone, even purple with flowers!

Day Six, or How War is Portrayed in Movies!

Hmm, where do I start with Chapaev? In the words of my heritage professor, "Start at the beginning." Sounds good enough for me. The first thing I noticed in this film is that a lot of people like to run away. I think I counted at least 3 separate times when Chapaev's forces tried to run away during battle. Next thing I noticed was the differences between Chapaev and Furmanov. Furmanov seemed to be almost a foil for Chapaev, because he was young, soft with the troops, and in military terms inexperienced in comparison to the old (or at least war-torn) firm with the troops, and military-experienced Chapaev.

In terms of why this movie is more successful then Battleship Potemkin, I think I have the answer. That answer is heroes. In Battleship, there really are no "heroes." It tells a good story, but people have trouble getting behind a large group of people. In Chapaev, it is very easy for everyone to get behind Chapaev. He is essentially a Russian G.I. Joe. If I have learned anything from G.I. Joe, knowing is half the battle, and Ruskaland knows that heroes equal blockbusters.

Day Five, or How My Brain is Full of Confusion!

So...... somebody in Ruskaland allowed Dziga Vertov the right to make a movie. He decided that he was just going to film a whole bunch of random stuff with no idea of a plot line in his head. He then gives all the footage he films to his wife and tells her "make it make sense." The result is The Man With a Movie Camera. So one of the most important things for me in a movie is that the plot is good, or if not good, at least sensible. This movie is neither. It's a movie that shows you a metric ton of random footage and refuses to give you anything to try to make sense of it all other then a few lines of writing at the beginning of the film which might as well just say "The following movie makes no sense. Enjoy." The only way I can describe the way I felt watching this movie is like when your aunt shows you all the home videos she and Uncle Fred made during their Branson trip, but somehow the VCR eats the footage and plays the movies in a random order. That is how my brain felt.

I understand that this movie was trying very hard to be something experimental and unique. I know that this movie also wants to be groundbreaking. On those fronts I think it succeeds. I like art films, the stuff that isn't always mainstream, I really do. The problem is though, this movie just does have anything truly interesting for me to watch. The film uses interesting camera angles from time to time, and also shows some "odd" special effects. (Bartender, there is a cameraman in my drink) Overall though, this movie just does not have the things I am looking for in a good movie. Sadly not every experiment is a success.

Day Four, or How the Russians Made War Look Awesome!

So anyone remember me saying yesterday that the music from the three silent films was the best I had heard in a long time? I take it back. Battleship Potemkin wins. Honest to goodness I had several moments I just wanted to get up and yell "FIRE" during the movie, especially the final scenes. I found it really really really cool how they incorporated the sounds into the movie so well. I think it helps to make some of the scenes even more powerful. A good example of this would be when one of the officers was climbing all over the piano, they had the soundtrack sound like someone stepping on the piano, then they even included the gunshot!


I also have noticed two very big differences from the rest of the silent films we have watched. The first one was  the amount of actors in the film. There were what felt like literally thousands of actors on screen during some of the moments. Also, I spied with my little eye........COLOR! If this movie was an annoying commenter on a Youtube video, it would deserve the honor of posting "FIRST!" because in all honesty, this film has in my opinion marked a monumental moment in cinema history. Ruskaland should be proud to have made this fantastic movie. Which leads me to taking back what I said about not being able to enjoy silent films because of lack of dialogue. I can.

Day Three, or How I Began to Miss Audio!

I can only start this out by saying that I have never watched a silent film before, so it was an entirely new experience for me. I found the movies by the Lumiere brothers to be actually quite enjoyable. I found myself greatly enjoying these films for some reason, even though there was nothing in terms of plot development. I think my enjoyment of those films stemmed from the fact that they were "pure". Unedited with no signs of tampering or effects. They were exactly what the camera saw. They were like looking into a world completely unlike our own.

In regards to the other silent films we watched....wow. It was surprising to see how much infidelity existed in Russian cinemas, especially at the time they were produced. It seemed like everyone was cheating on their lovers. It was also really interesting to hear the soundtrack, aka the piano parts. I would have to say that they were easily some of my favorite musical soundtracks I have heard in a long time. It is really quite fascinating how much this music adds to the movies. I do not think overall I will be enjoying the films a whole lot. I am a person who likes to hear the dialogue that characters say, and when I cannot hear that dialogue I find a movie unenjoyable, and you know, since silent films are SILENT!!!! Then I will sadly not hear dialogue.

Day Two, or How I Learned to Leave my Lover in One Day!

Even in Ruskaland the lies of sudden love exist. I refuse to accept that both Daniel Craig (Zhenya) and Nadya would both leave their respective lovers over the course of a single night! Poor poor Ippolit, he is exactly right in how he feels as the night progresses. Only in Soviet Russia would a man wear full clothing in the shower, and also use straw to wash himself. I did enjoy this movie, but it really started to annoy me at the same time. If there is anything that high school has taught me about relationships, it's that you can only go hot and cold for so long on someone before the feelings just become cold. That limit apparently does not exist in Ruskaland.

There were a few things that I found interesting/bothered me in the movie. First, why does everyone just seem to walk or drive on the river like it's a common way to move around in winter? Second, in part 2 there was a camera shot that for a few seconds was just extremely low quality in comparison to the rest of the movie. Third, if Daniel Craig remembers his bag several times, how does he forget it when he finally leaves Nadya's house? Finally, why does no one seem bothered that Zhenya has left his almost fiance for a woman he met the night before?

Also, how many of you noticed the similarities between the final two scenes and the bathhouse scene? I noticed at least 4 similarities, and I would love to see if you guys found any more.