drama - Page 3 of 27

Wings of Desire (Germany) – Live as an Angel in Cold War Berlin

Wings of Desire Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Ever wonder what it’s like to be an Angel? In Wings of Desire you’re immortal, but confined to a half-reality. You can see and hear reality, but you cannot feel it. So all you can do is wander the world watching it change. Be an angel and watch Wings of Desire here (rent of buy on Amazon).

Image result for wings of desire

Why Watch Wings of Desire?

To see Berlin before the end of the Cold War, complete with Berlin Wall
Because every line is quotable – it’s a philosophical muser’s paradise
To live like an angel (although it’s not as heavenly as you might think)
Because Wim Wenders won Best Director for this film at Cannes and it has a beautiful soundtrack.

The Breakdown

An eye opens and cuts to a sweeping aerial shot of Berlin. The eye belongs to Damiel, a winged angel, and the aerial shot is his view of Berlin from the top of one of the cities highest monuments. The only people that see him perched at the top of the building are a few passing children who stare at him in awe.

Damiel and the other angels wander the city invisibly. They cannot talk to humans and they cannot be seen by humans, but they can hear all of their thoughts. Therefore, all they can do is wander the human world as observers.

The director (Wim Wenders) portrays their wandering with extreme melancholy. Firstly, he shows them trying to help people in vain, like a man who commits suicide. Secondly, he shows their lives in black and white whilst the Berliners they listen and watch are shown in vibrant colour. By creating their lives as a half life (without feeling, colour, and action) it makes us sympathize with their desire to be human.

Portrayal of Berlin

Wings of Desire was shot in the decade before the reunification of Germany. Therefore you will see the Berlin Wall and East Germany looming in the distance. The melancholic lives of the Angels are a reflection of the melancholy in Berlin, a city that still hasn’t recovered from the the Second World War.

There are reminders of the war placed throughout the film, from the actors dressed as Nazis and Jews on a nearby film set to the Berlin Wall. However, the most prominent example of the wars devastation on life in Berlin is the fate of Potsdamer Plaza.

A storytelling character aptly named Homer walks through the no-man’s land wasteland by the Berlin wall where Potsdamer Plaza used to be located. He reminisces about the Plaza when it was full of life. Before the war, it was full of friendly people and tradesmen. But later Nazi flags filled the square and the people became unfriendly. And now it’s just part of an empty wasteland that runs alongside the Berlin wall, with no life at all.

Conclusion

Wings of Desire is a beautifully melancholic film that meditates on the plight of humanity in the 20th century. In the political volatility today, this film is particularly relevant. It’s almost a warning of what could happen if we let love abandon us; we’d become Angels wandering the wastelands.

For another great German film of almost epic proportions I strongly recommend watching Fassbinder’s The Marriage of Maria Braun. It charts 20th century German history through the stoic Maria Braun, who is widowed as her husband fights in WW2.

If you love the melancholic philosophical musings I also recommend watching The Seventh Seal (rent or buy on Amazon), the story of a knight who is stalked by death.

Dear Diary (Italy)

Dear Diary Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

You may have seen Rome and Italy in a number of films, but you have never seen it like it is in Dear Diary. Nanni Moretti will guide you around the country like the best tour guides – one that doesn’t care what people think of him. He parodies the Italians whilst making fun of himself for our entertainment. It’s a bit Monty Python esque and a bit Quixotic! Go watch this man’s stream of consciousness!

Why Watch Dear Diary?

For a visual stream of consciousness portrayal of Rome and Italy
It’s also a great comedy with plenty of parody
There’s a great soundtrack featuring Juan Luis Guerra and Cheb Khaled!
To see director Nanni Moretti dancing in a cafe

The Breakdown

Chapter 1. On My Vespa

‘Dear diary, there’s one thing I like the most.’ And cut to Nanni Moretti riding down the back streets of Rome on his Vespa. There’s music, there’s no cars, and the streets are beautifully lined with trees!

You know those moments when you are walking on your own and your mind starts to wander? Then a few minutes later you realise that you’ve walked a mile without paying attention to what you’ve walked past. Well, the only way I can describe this film is by comparing it to one of those moments. Nanni Moretti guides us around Rome, but as he keeps getting distracted as he is doing so and takes us on his tangents.

What’s even more amazing is that he even interrupts the improvised tour he takes us on. For example, in one scene he turns up at a group dancing merengue in a square in Rome. He walks up to the band singing and starts singing along with the lead singer. He’s kind of like a Don Quixote making his way around Rome. One thing is for sure, you’ll never get a tour of Rome like this!

Conclusion

Just like The Great Beauty this great Italian film just seems to flow naturally. But unlike The Great Beauty this film is funny as well! Where else are you going to see a Director riding around Rome on a Vespa while dancing to Cheb Khaled’s ‘Didi’. Plus, I haven’t even talked about the hilarious second chapter or the darkly funny third chapter. This is one to watch!

Wild Tales (Relatos Salvajes)

Wild Tales Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

I was sitting near an Argentinian when I first saw this film in the cinema. He was completely wrapped up in this brilliant set of sketches from Damian Szifron. He was laughing throughout, as well as cursing and cheering on the characters on screen. However, he wasn’t alone. I was also laughing, cursing, and cheering with the rest of the audience. You don’t have to be Argentinian to enjoy this one, you just have to have a little bit of a sense of humour (the darker your humour the better).

Why Watch Wild Tales?

To see Argentina through a series of short stories
You will be laughing, surprised, shocked, feeling guilty, and more.
To see some great camera angles (think of the car trunk shot in Pulp Fiction)
Produced by the Almodovar, highly rated on iMDB, and nominated for an Oscar, this film has some cred (if you don’t trust me).

The Breakdown

The first short film starts with a waist-down shot of a woman rolling a wheeled suitcase to an airport desk. To her surprise, the airline staff offer her a free flight for no extra miles. She boards the plane and starts chatting to a music critic next to her. After a while they realise that they have a mutual connection, Pasternak, the woman’s ex-boyfriend who was heavily critiqued for his music by the music critic. To which more and more people chime in saying they know him. Why are they all on the same flight? Coincidence?

One thing you can’t miss in this film is the camera framing. The film is shot from a bunch of different angles and positions that are both cool and a good fit. For example, the story set in the restaurant when the chef and waitress are arguing about the customer in the kitchen. The lighting is low and moody, the colours are strong but not warm, and there are two heavily lit pass through windows to the kitchen. As the waitress runs back to the kitchen to argue with the chef, we see a shot of them from the restaurant, one framed within each of the two pass through windows as if they are portraits. It sort of shows that they are both individuals and not in agreement, and that the chef is going to do what she wants regardless of what the waitress says.

Also, look out for other cool camera positions. One of my favourites was in the last sketch ‘Until Death Do Us Part.’ The director attaches a camera to the outside of kitchen door with the camera pointing back into the kitchen through a glass window. As a result, we can see the characters running to the door, pushing it open, and then see which direction they choose to go in the hall. The camera position allows us to see all the above without a single cut, making the shot feel more natural.

Conclusion

The sketches in Wild Tales look great, are acted well, are gripping, and are hilarious. What more could you want from a movie? Well, actually, in addition to the above, the film is a surprisingly good portrait of Argentine society. It depicts corruption, classism, and injustice in addition to all the vengeance and violence. This film is a winner!

Europa – Darkness in Post-War Germany

Europa Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

If you want to get an idea of how life was in Germany after the Second World War, Europa is your film. It recreates the inevitably nightmarish environment in a country shrouded by the horrors it has committed. It’s inventive, creative, and amazingly dark.

From: Germany, Europe
Watch: Trailer, Buy on Amazon
Next: Wings of Desire, Children of Men, Persona

Wadjda (Saudi Arabia) – The Perfect Coming of Age Film

Wadjda Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

This is your opportunity to see the perfect heartwarming story from Saudi Arabia. In fact, it’s probably your best chance to see a film from Saudi Arabia, as this was the first feature film shot entirely in the country. So go watch it here (rent on Amazon) now.

Image result for wadjda

Why Watch Wadjda?

It’s the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and by a female director!
If you love coming-of-age films
To experience the what life as a woman is like in Saudi Arabia
If you saw Children of Heaven and want to see more similar films!

The Breakdown

The film starts in a girls school in Saudi Arabia. The very first thing you see is a close up of the shoes on the feet of the girls as their names are being taken for register in the morning. The camera passes an array of smart school shoes before settling on a pair of converses. This is how we meet our protagonist Wadjda.

The close up shots don’t stop when we meet Wadjda, as all the scenes of her at school and at home are never shot from far away. Therefore we are never given a complete view of her school or her home, and you rarely get an establishing shot (a shot which allows you to ‘establish’ the setting) of the area she lives in. But this changes as she begins to challenge the authority of her parents and school. Towards the end of the film, these establishing shots are more common. You’ll see a wider view of the school assembly hall, complete shots of the square by their house, and a shot of Wadjda cycling through the town. The whole world frees up just as Wadjda starts breaking boundaries. It’s an subtle way of using camera distance to reflect the restrictive social boundaries.

Religion and Gender Roles

Of course you’ll also witness all the lack of freedom of women in Saudi Arabia in this film. You’ll hear some great quotes, such as:

“If you can see them (the men), they can see you. Respectable girls go inside”
“Don’t touch the Koran if you are on your period”
“A woman’s voice must not be heard by a man outside. Her voice is her nakedness”

These lines are meant to be provocative, but they’re also pretty funny and add to the slightly comic tone of the film. And that’s what makes this film great: it’s a feelgood film but it doesn’t hide the repressive society.

Conclusion and What to Watch Next

Wadjda perfectly walks the line between becoming a heavy political movie and a childish one. As a result, it’s the perfect coming of age film: Wadjda is an awesome character oppressed by the cultural and religious restrictions. The way she stands up to society is amazing. So go and watch it here.

If you want more, I’d first check out another awesome family friendly film from Iran: Children of Heaven. It’s even more heartwarming.

But I’d also recommend checking out The Bicycle Thieves. It’s obvious that Wadjda draws a lot of influences from The Bicycle Thieves. It uses bikes as a symbol of freedom and even shares a similar final shot.