***SPOILER ALERT FOR ALL REVIEWS***
1964 (Released 1995)
Director: Mikhail Kalatozov
Made up of four captivating segments, each one conveying how society in Cuba needed the revolution that took place in 1959. Created by the former Soviet Union, I am Cuba is a beautifully filmed black and white movie intended to promote international socialism. Narrated by a fictional female voice claiming to be Cuba, the film starts off focusing on the suppression of the Cuban people and the exploiting Americans and ends with the socialist rebels marching into Havana freeing the people from Batista dictatorship.
Maria, a young woman who is forced to prostitution by the American casinos is the first character we are introduced to. We are then introduced Pedro, a sugar cane farmer who eventually burns his crop when he is evicted after learning that the American based corporation United Fruit has bought his land. Next we see the consequences a young Havana University student, Enrique, faces when he starts to protest the dictatorial government in place befor the socialist revolution. The final segment focuses on the rebels, more directly Mariano, who is secluded in the Sierra Maestra Mountains. The movie ends with these rebels marching into Havana to proclaim the revolution.
Recognized by Martin Scorsese for the cinematography, this movie is unbelievably well done, especially for its time. There are two scenes that stand out the most to me. The first being the opening shot, where the camera starts off on the roof of a hotel and slowly pans down to a lower story and eventually becomes submerged in a pool. The second (link not found) being another long shot of a funeral parade where the camera starts off at street level, enters a cigar factory, travels up four stories and out the window eventually filming the parade from on top of buildings.
I am Cuba is a perfect example of how beautiful black and white film can be when used appropriately. Whether it be the dramatic scenes shot with infrared film or the beautiful contrast captured through use of red filters, the intent of this films plot may be lost but the beauty of its cinematography is not. I recommended this film to all!
1998
Director: John Waters
This comedy staring Edward Furlong and Christina Ricci was an examination of the biggest stereotypes a photographer’s career could face. Edward Furlong plays “Pecker”, a teenager who takes photos of his eccentric friends, family and neighbors living in Baltimore. He shoots street style photos of almost everything he sees and eventually has a make shift show in the sandwich shop he works in. A New York art dealer sees his work and helps him become famous, virtually overnight. The New York art scene becomes obsessed with his work because it is so unlike their surroundings (even though Baltimore is about as far away from New York as Winnipeg is from Dryden). He quickly realizes fame is not everything when his subjects’ lives start to fall apart. His parents are dubbed “culturally challenged” his younger sister is forced to take Ritalin, his sister looses her job, and so on. In an act of revenge Pecker devises a plan to get back at the critics and holds a show in Baltimore containing all the unflattering photos he captured of the pertinacious New Yorkers. They are all horrified when they show up to the show but eventually everyone is friends and dancing together. The movie ends with everyone learning a lesson and generally feeling happy.
The cinematography, scripting or acting was not overly impressive, however the movie itself was entertaining at times. In my opinion the 90s have produced much better comedies then Pecker, for example, The Big Lebowski , Dumb and Dumber, Rushmore . However, if you enjoy 90s pop culture comedies and have an interest in photography then you may enjoy this movie more then I.
1975
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Barry Lyndon was one of the most interesting and appealing movies I have seen in quite a while . It is the story of a young farm boys life (Redmond Barry) as he tries to rise up social classes in the eighteenth century British Empire. The movie consists of Redmond falling in love with his cousin, Dueling her fiancé, fleeing from the law, joining the army, marrying into a wealthy family, raising a boy, all while becoming more and more corrupt.
Winner of The Best Cinematography Award by the British Society of Cinematographers, this movie is a work of art. Unlike most films, hardly any artificial light was used. It was Stanley Kubrick’s intention to “recreate the huddle and glow of a pre-electrical age.” The scenes most obvious of this intention were those filmed using only the illumination of candles. Shot with the fastest lens ever created, the beautiful Zeiss 50mm F/0.7. This lens was created for NASA in the 60’ and 3 out of the10 lenses ever made were purchased for the creation of these scenes. The end result is beautiful. Other notable points about the cinematography are the beautiful landscapes and overall soft , diffused look of the light used throughout the film.
Noted by Time magazine as Stanly Kubrick’s best film and ranked #27 in a 2002 poll conducted by the critics of Sight and Sound on the 100 best films, Barry Lyndon is a piece of cinematic history that defines how beautiful color films can be. Recommended to me by Luminous Landscapes top 10 movies every photographer should see this movie is about the same length as I am Cuba (three hours) and, in my own opinion, just as stunning. I recommend this film to all!
