The Merchant of Venice

A scene from last night’s performance of “The Merchant of Venice” that would make a great cinematic scene would be when Antonio is before the judge and Shylock is about to cut out a piece of his flesh. This is a pivotal part of the play, especially when the judge suddenly stops him. To make the entire scene more intense, a big crowd watching the court would be necessary. They would be loud, yelling at the judge for Antonio’s favor, yelling and throwing fists at Shylock, and being rowdy. Music with a dark, fast tone would be playing in the background to evoke uncertainty and fear for Antonio’s life. Manipulating the camera shots of Antonio, the judge, and Shylock would also create a more dramatic moment. The camera would zoom in on Antonio’s face, then focus on Shylock as he is about to cut Antonio, and as the judge tells Shylock to stop, the camera would be zoomed in on the knife and Shylock’s hand.

Another potential cinematic scene would be when Bassarnio and Gratiano figure out that their wives were the judge and the clerk at Antonio’s case. This is quite a humorous scene and I think it would be fun to see it in a movie with the camera shot focusing on the husbands in the foreground and the wives in the background. As the rings are exchanged, the lighting and camera could focus on the husband’s face to see their reaction. That way, all of their reactions are witnessed. To match the wives bantering of the husbands, a light classical song could be playing in the background.

Sacred

Being a practicing Catholic, when I saw an ad at one of the tube stations for the exhibit, I'll admit I was intrigued. I wouldn't necessarily call myself religious, but the Catholic faith has been a major part of my upbringing and has greatly influenced who I am. To my surprise, "Sacred" utterly blew my mind away and it was the overall exhibit and the way it was put together that moved me, rather than one piece. First off, I thought it was a beautiful idea to highlight the commonalities between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, especially during a time when there are so many political affairs around the globe occurring in relation to these religions. The exhibit was all showcased every aspect of the 3 religions: their worship place, holy books, wedding customs, death practices, divisions within the religions, and prayers. One thing that caught my eye were the 3 televisions you see when you step in. When looking at the screens, they are all playing the same video simultaneously, but one is on the Islam segment, one is on the Jewish segment, and one is on the Christian segment. You see symbols of the 3 religions on the screen simultaneously as adjectives such as son, daughter, teacher, etc. and silhouettes of people slowly flash across the screen. It set the tone for the exhibit, cementing the fact that the people who are these different religions are all the same. Seeing so many early documents, all documenting the scripture that I had been raised in, was amazing as well. I had never thought about being able to see the Dead Sea Scrolls, but here they were right before my eyes! It moved me to see the different Holy books of the different religions and especially how diligently they had been put together. There are books from as early as 460 CE, all hand written elegantly in their appropriate text and ornamented beautifully, some with gold. The fact that people had taken the time to document the words of their faith to ensure that it was carried on, even despite any persecution they experienced, is a reflection of the deep faith they have in their religion, and I found this inspiring.

Marissa Verdeflor

The Lost Weekend

In “The Lost Weekend,” Wilder brilliantly tells the story of Don Birnum’s downward spiral towards an attempted suicide due to alcoholism. Wilder precisely portrays the struggles that an alcoholic experiences, as well as the repercussions and destruction that this disease imposes on the family. In addition, the personality characteristics, emotions, and behavioral patterns of an alcoholic were depicted perfectly by Ray Milland, the actor who played Don Birnum, that the audience is truly able to understand the intensity and extent of the disease of alcoholism. Wilder uniquely presents the film by having Don tell his own story by ranting to a bar tender about the book he is writing. Don’s book is essentially an autobiography and as Don tells each part of the story to the bartender, the film flash backs to what happened in Don’s life. The audience is able to see Don’s actions and emotions that have put him in his misery. Wilder also utilizes music to evoke the same emotions that Don is feeling in the audience. The music speeds up and is a musical tone similar to what you hear in action or horror films. The audience is able to experience Don’s anxiety and desperate need for alcohol in each scene that he frantically searches for a new bottle, going from bar to bar to be served, borrowing money, stealing, and even resorting to stealing from his devoted girlfriend Helen. Lastly, while the title of the film is “The Lost Weekend,” perhaps referring to the weekend trip Don was meant to take with his older brother Wick, it is in this weekend that Don actually decides not to end his life and re-attempt to give up alcohol. So, in losing a weekend, he re-gained his life.

John Maeda's "MySpace"

The juxtaposition of environment, space, and everyday technological devices in John Maeda’s “MySpace” at the Riflemaker was thought provoking. Walking through the exhibit from one piece to the next, the viewer is able to piece together the story of Maeda’s life. The advancements of technology and their role in Maeda’s life are seen in each piece as Maeda tells his story through these devices. Interestingly enough, the devices which are created to simplify our life are technological progressions in themselves; more complex and stemming from devices preceding them. Maeda’s desire for simplicity is creatively seen in two pieces: “Tea for Two” and “For More Than Vegetarians.” In both pieces, Maeda designed a computer program that digitally pulverized and produced an image of their respective subjects, sugar and 60 cans of Campbell soup. His return to the bare essence of these subjects mirrors society’s desire for a simpler, more relaxing lifestyle that still enables an individual to maximize their daily tasks. That is the basic reason these technological advancements are designed.

Maeda’s brilliance is also exhibited in his utilization of Apple ipods in the piece “Marriage.” In “Marriage” Maeda has framed two ipods connected together. Simply enough, one can see how that represents marriage as the joining of two people. But, if you watch the images that play across the screens, you can see that the sequence of images follow one another, but they are never exactly the same. If the image on ipod 1 was lines coming down the screen, the image shows up on ipod 2 as maybe blurred lines coming down the screen in a similar pattern. Similarly, this is how a conversation between a husband and wife can be visualized as a pattern. While they listen to one another and may be able to repeat something, it’s never interpreted the exact same way. Seeing the way Maeda has created his own live environment to reflect his thoughts, desires, and history redefines the connotation of MySpace and brings it to a whole new level.

Rock & Roll Cinema

Rock & Roll Cinema was a very new experience for me because I had never gone to a film festival before and I wasn’t too sure of what to expect. I had actually thought the films would be about rock and roll. The variety of the films was interesting, as well as entertaining, with comedy, music videos, and animation. I thought the first film, “Noodles,” was a great opener because it was funny, simple, and a possibly realistic situation. I also found “The Dance Lesson” funny as the actor demonstrated common dance moves with such rigid body movements and minimal facial expression. “La Vie D’Un Chien” was hilarious, and the situation between the scientist and his dog seemed surreal, but the movie depicted ‘the freedom to love’ well. My favourite would have to be “Tales of Mere Existence” because it poked fun at such realistic situations, especially the last segment of the argument between the boyfriend and girlfriend. My only problem was that the last movie, “Le Relax” was all in French so I didn’t fully understand what was happening. The dialogue could give the actions different meanings. Overall, I enjoyed the short films and experiencing what they are about.
--Marissa Verdeflor

La Dolce Vita

Watching “La Dolce Vita” was a two-fold experience for me: the experience of theatre in London and the experience of the movie itself. Prompted by Nericcio that the British prioritize the preservation of history, this was evident in the presentation of the film as a piece of art. For once, I felt that I was able to begin understanding film as art AND entertainment, rather than only entertainment. First, rather than showing the film at the 20 screen multiplex around the corner and treating it as another commodity to make a profit off of, the film is shown at the British Film Institute, just the same as museums house pieces of art. In the theatre itself where the film was playing, we had assigned seating and a curtain was drawn across the screen, just as it would be for a stage theatre. There was a full bar/restaurant in place of a concession stand and it was more similar to a lounge than any movie house I’ve been to in the States.

As for the movie itself, I had mixed feelings. I enjoyed it, but I felt there were things I didn’t understand, such as the significance of the opening scene of a helicopter carrying a statue of Jesus. The film showed the life of Marcello in scenes, rather than having an actual story line with a problem and resolution. The story presented in films rather than having a concrete story line made me think Fellini is presenting life just as it is. I think the title of the movie, which means ‘the sweet life,’ is important in understanding the film and its irony is seen in the suicide of Steine, the man Marcello looked up to as a role model. Marcello was envious of Steine’s lifestyle, family and career yet it was Steine who confided in Marcello his unhappiness with his life, killed his two children, and ended up committing suicide. Marcello, on the other hand, goes day by day living his life with a job he hates, a roller-coaster relationship, and haunted by childhood issues. Throughout the movie, we witness Marcello’s disappointments, mistakes, womanizing, and partying, but we never witness him experience triumph. It’s the irony of life that a person you think has everything is unhappy and the one who appears to be a failure is the one who chooses to keep his life.
---Marissa Verdeflor