French New Wave

Breathless is a 1960 French New Wave crime film.  It is one of the most influential examples of French New Wave Cinema.  This film is filled with unconventional jump cuts and has a very bold visual style.  This film set a new president for French New Wave films moving forward. We watched this film in class and while watching it I saw many resemblances between it and the film "The Tree of Life."  It's clear that this film has had a major impact on cinema.

Neorealism

Neorealism is a film movement characterized by often taking place in poverty-stricken cities and centering around blue collar workers. It was a product of the cynicism that came with the war and the increasingly malleable technology for shooting movies. It began around the mid-40s and its influence is indescribably huge.  All these characteristics can be seen in the movie “the bicycle thief”.  The main character is a low-class citizen desperately searching for his stolen bicycle in order to keep his job.  I loved how this film used its title and its opening scenes to tease the audience and make then eager to see when the bicycle would be stolen.

Inciting Incident

Recently I saw Sorry to Bother You.  A film about an African American telemarketer climbing the corporate ranks but losing the things that are important to him in the process.  The movie starts with him getting the job and for the first 20 minutes of the movie he isn't making any sales and his life hasn't changed that much.  That how you know this is not the inciting incident. The inciting incident is when one of his coworkers tells him that in order to make a sale he's going to need to use his white voice.  After that, he starts talking with a magically overdubbed white voice that makes customers want to buy from him. This helps him climb the corporate ranks and is what gets the plot moving. So, in short, an inciting incident is the moment that changes the main characters life and moves the plot forward.  

Experimental

Intermittent Delight by Akosua Adoma

This is an experimental film that I watched recently and had some thoughts on I'd like to share.  Going into this film I didn't expect to get anything from it and in a conventional sense, I didn't.  I didn't gain any morals or life lessons.  I didn't fall in love with characters and relate with their struggle have they fought to get whatever is they strive for.  I did, however, keep watching.  I couldn't stop myself from watching it, it was enticing.  The music, the vivid imagery, and the level of unpredictability kept me fascinated.  I always say that if something keeps my attention me from start to finish, then I had to have gotten some enjoyment out of it.  This film is no exception.