Film Analysis Essay Guidelines Guide to Critical Assessment of Film The following questions should help you in your

critical evaluation of your film choice(s) for your assigned essay. Please keep in mind that sophisticated film, like literature, requires more than one viewing to begin to appreciate its purpose beyond merely the plot. You will need to view your film(s) with this in mind. You should use some of these questions to complete a journal on your film. BACKGROUND Who is the writer of the film? Has the screenplay been adapted from another work? Who is the director? When was the film made?

STRUCTURE / FORM What does the title mean in relation to the film as a whole? How are the opening credits presented? Do they relate to meaning? Why does the film start in the way that it does? Are there any motifs (scenes, images) of dialogue which are repeated? What purpose do they serve? What three or four sequences are most important in the film? Why? Is sound used in any vivid ways either to enhance the film? (i.e. Enhance drama, heighten tension, disorient the viewer, etc.) How does the film use color or light/dark to suggest tone and mood in different scenes? Are there any striking uses of perspective (seeing through a character's eyes, camera angle, etc.) How does this relate to the meaning of the scene? How and when are scenes cut? Are there any patterns in the way the cuts function? What specific scene constitutes the film's climax? How does this scene resolve the central issue of the film? Does the film leave any disunities (loose ends) at the end? If so, what does it suggest? Why does the film conclude on this particular image?

THEME How does this film relate to the issues and questions evoked by your topic? Does the film present a clear point-of-view on your topic? How? Are there any aspects of theme which are left ambiguous at the end? Why? How does this film relate to the other literary texts you have read on your topic (or in class this year or on your own)

My favorite film is Jean-Luc Godard's 1960s Breathless. I enjoy the film both for its qualities as a piece of art on its own and its importance in the history of cinema. The one long scene in the bedroom between Michel and Patricia is worth more than 99% of scenes in cinema's history combined. It is a flawless examination of character in a hyper-realistic setting. This scene gives to the viewer a sense of voyeurism unmatched in the majority of narrative films. This is direct cinema at its best. The smart dialogue, interesting characters, and brilliant camerawork combine to make this a very quality film. The dialogue is where the film really shines and is filled to the brim with smart pop culture references and existential musings. What I most enjoy about the film, however, is how influential it is for later filmmakers. The entire modern Action movie genre would be very different today if Godard had not made his film too long and been forced to invent the jump cut. This really underscores the fact that many of Hollywood's modern conventions were created and perfected in the world of art cinema first. Also, Godard's work has influenced many great filmmakers chief among them being Quentin Tarantino. Looking at how the characters in Breathless spend most of the film not referring to the plot but to pop culture or to questions of existentialism you can see the seeds of what would become Tarantino's signature style. He does not shy away from this either considering his A Band Apart production company is a reference to a Godard film. I'd argue that Breathless is one of the most important films in the history of cinema, in the same league as Welles' Citizen Kane or Griffith's Birth of a Nation. They are the foundations upon which the future of cinema is built. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& A film that has definitely stuck with me though is Meshes of the Afternoon by Maya Deren. I really loved how it was put together; no coherent time or space, yet it still somehow made sense. I liked the camera work used when Maya was having her dream: the shots reflected how I think dreams actually feel. For instance, there is a shot of her walking up the stairs, but she is very unstable and keeps knocking into the walls, while the camera is moving back and forth, making the world look unstable. This happens a lot in dreams; especially when you're chasing something, as she is, something about your world makes it harder for you to move. I also loved the deeper meaning of this film, especially since it is something I can relate to. In the film, Maya encounters a figure she keeps chasing, perhaps longing to know who it is, what it is what it means to her. She sees multiple versions of herself as well. This film deals with issues of identity; is she the mirrored figure she keeps chasing after? Does she have multiple sides to her, hence, the multiple figures? A key is a motif throughout the film, and this key keeps showing up in multiple places, and disappearing. I read that as the key being an answer to her questions, yet she can never reach it. I identify with this, and probably others in my situation do too. I am a college student, working towards my final goals in life, trying to figure out who I am and what I'm best at. It is not an easy task to undertake, and I often have identity issues, as Maya seems to have in this film. Sometimes I'm chasing after something but I'm not quite sure what it even is.

My review and analysis is about my favorite movie based on the novel by Robert Ludlum, directed by Paul Greengrass, a 2004 Universal Film "The Bourne Ultimatum." This movie is a sequel to Bourne Identity and Bourne supremacy. Bourne Ultimatum revolves around a character named Jason Bourne played by Matt Damon. The movie is full of complicated plot switchbacks where Jason Bourne is constantly chased the people who made him what he is while he was in a search of his true identity. I really liked the way this movie is put together with many twists and surprises. It is packed with action choreography, chasing sequences and what I most enjoy about the film; its powerful and influential message. The audience can see cross mixing elements as well as repetition and variation of gatherings in the suspense sequence. The use of characters, narrative, mise-en-scene, camerawork and sound are at its best in this action pack sequence. The movie begins with Bourne roaming around the world escaping killing attempts and trying to discover his lost memory. In the end, he discovers and brings down a top-secret US government program that was responsible of making him a highly trained, absolutely dedicated, and a remarkably expert assassin.

Greengrass still favors the shaky camera style of photography, and he's fond of staging fight sequences without any music or other adornment. Bourne used a magazine as a lethal weapon last time; this time it's a book and a towel that figure into his hand-to-hand combat, in a fight scene that's brutal and seemingly never-ending

The true message that the author was trying to convey and the deeper meaning of this film was that one should not be conformed to this world. Each one of us has a true identity, but for that we need to be transformed. We need to motivate ourselves to take the actions we need to take to fully pursue who we are and the purpose for our very existence.