ROCK- N-ROLL !!

Ever wonder what girls do with their boyfriends? Well if you went to the Rock –N-Roll Cinema show you would! You might even find out what makes men EXCITED…animation style. I enjoyed our day out in Bricklane. Some might have got the feeling like they were going to get mugged but I have yet to feel that way around London, though, don’t worry I haven’t put my guard down yet. I had never been to a short film festival ever. My best friends a film major but have never been able to accompany her to any shows. A lot of what they showed seemed to be American short films loaded with humor. I enjoyed La Vie D’Un Chien which tells the tale of a scientist whom forms a formula that will turn humans into a dog. I’m not saying it’s wrong to fall in love with another female dog cause who am I to judge but its gotta be weird….Hilarious though. Great fun!!

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

Rock & Roll Cinema

I have never had the experience of viewing a short film, let alone a series of short films. I see the short film category being honored at the Academy Awards, but I’ve never actually seen a short film advertised in a local theater. One does not often get to experience short films in a lively theater where practically everyone is drinking, smoking, and having lovely time. The array of short films fit in perfectly at the Rock & Roll Cinema on Brick Lane, where the atmosphere was as diverse as the films that were shown. An assortment of films on a variety of subjects ranged from music videos, to clay animation, to sex, to dance, to sports. You name it, it was seen. My favorite short film was Tales of Mere Existence, directed by Lev Yilmaz. It was a film of an invisible artist sketching semi stick figures in sexual positions, which made the entire audience laugh, and a scene between a guy and his girlfriend arguing in a video store. The video store scene was particularly funny because the scenario of a man trying to figure out what a woman wants is as old as the cavemen. Most everyone could relate to that issue.
This experience would not be the same in the United States. Where else but England could one sit with good company, drink a beer, while lounging on what ever available space you could find. It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.
Mary Brock

La Dolce Vita

A few of us had the unique opportunity to see La Dulce Vita by Fredrico Fellini at the British Film Institute theatre. I must say Fellini’s film is bizarre to first time Fellini viewers. A second screening would be helpful to comprehend Fellini’s message. With all the odd scenes that jump from one thing to another keeps us puzzled until the end. Still, Fellini was successful in keeping with the irony of the title, “The Sweet Life” as not so sweet throughout the film.
Fellini portrays the disappointing life of Marcello, his main character. Marcello strives to be a successful writer and to live a lavish lifestyle of his friend Steiner, whom he looks up to. Unfortunately for him, life is not so sweet. Marcello’s father was hardly visible during his childhood, so there is a void in Marcello’s life. Steiner commits suicide and shatters Marcello’s world. Unable to keep his dreams of becoming a successful writer, Marcello finds solitude in alcohol.
The sweet life was not so sweet in the scene of the Madonna, who supposedly appears before the eyes of two children by a tree. Great havoc in the town commences as Catholics rush to the town hoping the Madonna would be merciful to the ill. After the Miracle Tree is destroyed by crazed Catholics, one gravely ill believer parishes at the scene.
Many scenes in the film leave bizarre images to us beginner Fellini viewers. We find ourselves asking WHY for many of Fellini’s choices. For example, a statue of Jesus, dangling by a helicopter as it flies to the Vatican leaves us puzzled, for the Jesus statue does not appear again in the film, nor does the Vatican. Why open with such a strong Catholic statement? Another scene that has viewers puzzled is when Marcello’s father takes off into the night with a show girl to “have a drink,” all of a sudden becomes ill. The illness is speculated from too much drinking. All of a sudden, Marcello’s father is up and dressed and runs off to catch his train back home. The father is not scene or heard from again. Why was he in such a rush to leave significant in the film?
Overall, the experience of seeing an old film live on a big screen was an experience one does not often get in the U.S. Our old films are stowed away in vaults, occasionally surfacing on the AMC channel or newly released on DVD. The British cherish films as much as they cherish their theatre. It was nice to see a country taking so much pride in classic films. By experiencing Britain’s lush culture and history, like the Fellini film, we students are definitely living a sweet life.

Mary Brock

rock and roll cinema

I've been to a lot of film festivals in California and I've enjoyed them all, I've also been part of a couple short films because one of my room mates in San Diego is a film major. However, as much fun as the film festivals in the past have been, this one beat them all, the location, the people, the mood, even if the films hadnt been as good as they were I probably still would have fun just sitting drinking good beer with good people; luckily the movies were also all pretty entertaining. My favorite was "Sketch" it cracked me up. In the U.S. the film festivals are often pretty tame, I loved that everyone was chatting and drinking, not just quietly sitting. Also the music was a lot of fun, it made me want to get up and dance, though I didn't really see any British people dancing which discouraged me from jumping up, maybe dancing just isnt that big here.
Anyway, I love the fact that here everyone can drink at the movies, and party in the streets, or just hang out listening to loud music and racing little toy cars. This was one of my favorite outings, though I think I could do without the indoor smoking, one of the few cultural differences that I just don't like, now I smell like an ash tray.

La Dolce Vita

From what I’ve learned so far about Frederico Fellini, His films tended to state a message or meaning in every scene he delivers in his films.La dolce vita represented what some might depict in their own way or through their own eyes as”the sweet life”. Marcello (a man whom fancies lots of women and does not believes in monogamy) seemed to me in some ways lost yet envious. Lost because he couldn’t write yet it was his occupation and envious because he admired the life of his mentor whom had wealth, family, happiness. Though I must say I have some…. no strike that various questions when it comes to this film such as, why the same paparazzi guys shared information with Marcello?, why were the people gathering for the Madonna Tree and if they worshiped it so much why did they knock it over?, why he rode the drunk female?, and What was he importance of them walking to the beach only to find what they referred to as a monster being pulled out of the water and the waitress mouthing words to Marcello.
Not quite sure what I feel about Fellini, as I am new to his film work, but I’m open to the idea of viewing more. Hopefully I begin to catch on to his symbolism and hidden connotations

La Dolce Vita

this was definitely one of the strangest movies I've seen recently; I didnt understand all of it, but I think I got the basic gist of the film, the clearest way for me to sort it out is to list what I got and what I didnt.

Things I understood:

-the "madonna" sighting, people going crazy over it, the media using it, and some people who actually are trying to get help
-he failed as a writer, never finished the book that was mentioned, in the end he wasnt writing at all
-his dad was a womanizer, never home, he became like his father, living the same life
-his fiancee was really really upset because he was always gone, and was with other women, but didnt want to leave him
-rich people are crazy because they can be, and possibly on drugs
-he wants to hang out with his dad more than his dad wants to see him
-sex was a big part of the film

Things I dont understand:

-the signifigance of him seeing the same young waitress on the beach
-the giant sting ray, why did they pull it out of the water and just leave it? what did it mean?
-why was he feathering the drunk woman at the party in the end? is he frustrated with women? just drunk?
-what was his father sick with? Was he really sick? or did he just want to leave?
-why those people were so comfortable breaking into that mans house to party
-in the scene where they were going ghost hunting, before they got to the old building there was a statue of a minotaur, does that have a meaning? he showed it twice, slowly, in myths the minotaur was kept in a maze and virgins were basically sacrificed, until finally it was killed. But I'm not sure I can find a connection to the film, other than the fact that all these people were as far from virgins as can be. maybe its nothing, but you did say he used a lot of symbols.

closing thoughts.. Fellini certainly has an interesting style, I would be interested to see what his other films are like, even if I don't get everything that goes on

~Allie Hackett