Germany Year Zero,

           

Germany, Year Zero is another master piece of the most influential director that practices the Italian neorealism cinematic movements, Roberto Rossellini.

The Germany, Year Zero it’s a war trilogy of Roberto after the World War two. This movie was the last piece from Roberto Rosseline’s war trilogy. The movie title Germany, Year zero or also known as the “Anno Zero” identifies the time when the new currency was announced, and the starting of the economy again from scratch. The movie film was cast by unprofessional actors and actresses, and was shot on location. The Germany, Year Zero portrays the life of the German’s struggle in surviving during the post-war.

        During the post-war, each German family was given the same small amount of money to rebuild their lives and their country. Scenes of destroyed building and black markets were portrayed in the movie. The main cast of the movie is a twelve years old blonde boy, Edmund, who is a school dropout. He has been struggling in taking up the responsibility as the man of the family in the young age. His elder brother, Karl-Heinz, was one of the Nazi regiment and he has not registered to the police as he is afraid that he would be punished.

     Due to Karl-Heinz situation, Edmund has been loitering around to search for jobs and find every ways to bring back food for his ill father. His young age has given him burden in finding for jobs. He lied his age and has worked in the cemetery helping the folks in digging graves. However, the folks found out that he was only thirteen then he was told to leave. Desperation in need of money leads Edmund to be involved in the black market.  

      His former teacher also a Nazi regiment offers him a job in selling the artifacts of the Nazi.Edmund 

then hangs out with the bunch of young thieves that lives under the bridge. The family of four has been living in a bombed building together with few
other families.

Edmund has misinterpreted the Nazi speech by his former teacher, Herr Enning, on the survival of the stronger. He then made up his mind to poison his father thinking that it will help the father feels better. Later when he told his former teacher of his action, his former teacher scolded and shouted at him. The guilt of killing his father strikes the little boy and it leads him to suicide. 

         The struggle that portrayed in the movie shows the difficulties and desperation of the Germans to survival. There were lots of prostitution and black markets activities as it gives good pay. Those were the days that Germans has been facing and living with. The realism of the society was well played by the locals in the movie. The actors and actresses are ordinary people who are the locals of the society.

        

            Due to that, the emotion and expression were being played very well as it is their daily life. Italian neorealism principles are to show the truth and the reality of the nature, ‘real flow of life’. Therefore, there were no studio effect and visual effects used. There were no fancy clothes or make up; the cast were at their natural look and it identifies the common wears of the society.

There were lots of long shots used as there was lots of running involved. Scenes where Edmund ran to the old building where he then suicide, running to his former teacher, and running along with the young thieves at the underground train station after stealing money from a well dressed women. Besides, there were lots of closed up on the cast’s side profile. It can be seen when Edmund was walking on the street, Eva talking to Karl-Heinz and Edmund’s father. Most of the shots were long shots, there were severe cuts.

Based on the neorealism  idea, dialogue that were used were very common and the topic that is discuss are the common topics of the Germans as it was topic that you could picked up along the street. It is as common as ‘play with him make him happy tonight’ by the young thief to the little girl in ordering her to make Edmund happy. There were scenes where Edmund was asked to sell a weighing machine by his tenant with the price of 300marks, but however he was con by the rich buyer. The rich buyer handed him two can of luncheon meat and that portrays how the society over there treated the poor. They dominant them, being so inconsiderate towards the young kids and bullies them.

There were no filters on the scenes and topic even the lighting were not edited. Natural lighting were put in used, no emphasize in the lighting. Therefore the night scenes were dark and dim only based on the light source of the location such as the street light and lights from a bulb unlike other movies extra lighting were used to emphasize on the environment. For example where Edmund went hidden in the old building and he ran up the stairs to the only light bulb over there for the source of light.



La Sconosciuta directed by Giuseppe Tornatore

Movie analysis by Chooi Suet Ching J09006171

The Movie is about: A Ukrainian prostitute, haunted by a horrible past and in search of her lost daughter.

Plot outline: This is an original element in Tornatore cinematic style and that comes from his attention to details in the portrayal of Italy’s social lifestyle and their culture. Giuseppe Tornatore has explores the problem of human trafficking and violence against women in this film. He applied prostitutes’ life in contributed to making his cinematic world a well-crafted space in which to project the harsh reality of those who live on the outskirts of society.

Story line: A Ukrainian woman named Irena calculatedly insinuates herself into the lives of a young, affluent Italian family. Stopping at nothing to become the couple’s trusted maid and the beloved nanny to their fragile young daughter, Irena risks everything in her quest to uncover the truth about the family. Like an intricately constructed jigsaw puzzle, The Unknown Woman reveals piece by piece the enigma of Irena’s past.

  The poster

Lighting: La Sconosciuta opens with a deceptively-attractive theme, a truly rapturous piece highlighting violin solos which spotlights yet another knockout Morricone melody to add to the impossibly-large collection. This is a very intelligent score which goes on a real journey - after that sumptuous theme, the next few cues remain melodic, but the composer gradually introduces just hints of dissonance and slight disharmony here and there to represent a growing unease. The film begins with some women clad in masks and lingerie being subjected to bodily examination via a small peep-hole by an unknown person. In this scene, Tornatore had chosen the prefect lighting effect and shadows to create the right atmosphere. The use of low-key lighting and hard light to underscore the women’s uncanny self-presentation in identical, full-face masks lends an element of the surreal to the scene, which create the mystery feeling to the audience.

Music : The background music plays an important role in this film.The music works perfect and is really instrumental in developing the story and the characters in the same way as in real good opera.  EnnioMorriconeis the person who in change in editing the music of the film is successfully delivers an amazing score which smoothly alternates two main themes, one consisting of slow violins, the other one centred on a sweet, sad and mellow melody. La Sconosciuta opens with a deceptively-attractive theme, a truly rapturous piece highlighting violin solos which spotlights yet another knockout Morricone melody to add to the impossibly-large collection. This is a very intelligent score which goes on a real journey - after that sumptuous theme, the next few cues remain melodic, but the composer gradually introduces just hints of dissonance and slight disharmony here and there to represent a growing unease.

 

Camera Angle : There are some flashback scenes literally “flash” in front of our eyes like some flip book being rapidly turned in a random order. Those scenes also depict some of the important happenings in Irena’s life, and hence, a detailed, restrained treatment to these scenes would’ve done them a lot of good instead of such gimmicky camerawork. The cinematography is otherwise superb though, with some beautiful colours clearly distinguishing the past and the present scenes.

Camera angle: Irena starring by (KseniyaRappoport) she travels to Italy and starts looking for a job as a maid but she is interested only in one household. She gets acquainted to a couple of people there and finds out about Valeria Adacher starring by (Claudia Gerini) who has an adorable daughter Tea starring by (Clara Dossena). On this particular scene, it has used the effects like those in “Vertigo” with a staircase scene.

Besides that, this scenes is showing Irena’s past at the hands of brutal pimp Mold starring by (Michele Placido). It is a terribly effective series of horrific flashbacks splashing over the screen.  She is tied up and pushed down.  She can’t get up but she force to get up by herself. The camera shifts from high to low, from medium shots of the abused and the abuser to close-ups of the fear and determination in Irena’s eyes as she struggles to break free. It makes you completely feel how painful is the talent.

In another scene, Tea is bullied at school and she never dare to fight back. She just keeps crying in a corner. When Irena knew it, she ties her up and pushes her down and forcing her to stand on her own.  Low angle shots are used in this angle and taking the audience to the floor, as helpless as a person bound and gagged; thrown down, only to get up and be thrown down again.

Trailer :

Ossessione (1943) un film di Luchino Visconti

L. Visconti: Ossessione

OSSESSIONE Trailer

OSSESSIONE !!!

In this movie, the characters who stared were Clara Calamai (Giovanna Bragana), Massimo Girotti (Gino Costa) , Dhia Cristiani (Anita), Elio Marcuzzo (Lo spagnolo), Vittorio Duse (L'agente di polizia), Michele Riccardini (Don Remigio), Juan de Landa (Giuseppe Bragana), Michele Sakara (bambino). The filming location for the movie Ossesione was in Ancona, Marche, Italy, Comacchio, Ferrara, Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Fair of San Ciriaco, Ancona, Marche, Italy, Po river, Boretto, Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, S.A.F.A. Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy and also Codigoro, Ferrara, Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The original music is by Giuseppe Rosati.
Gino, a young and handsome tramp, stops in a small roadside inn run by Giovanna. She is unsatisfied with her older husband Bragana : she only married him for money. Gino and Giovanna fall in love. But Bragana is inhibiting for their passion, and Giovanna refuses to run away with Gino.
The composition of Luchino Visconti’s debut, Ossessione – which also helped debut Italian Neo-Realism – smacks reactionary right away. Here the filmmaker is intent on his subject, though his shaky visuals feel looser, as if another subject wandering into frame could suddenly lead us to a tangential narrative. In the opening scene, the camera shimmers in the point-of-view of an approaching streetcar, but the quakes remain on stable ground when characters appear. The visual style of this classic trend-setter now feels customary, as if the Neo-Realists could anticipate the extensive hand-held docudrama tradition to follow them. Visconti’s long takes accentuate the style all the more; shorter takes would only chip away at the truth.
Ossesione has a very strong point that talks to modern viewers: brilliant moments and marvelous cinematography, which go in pair with memorable sequences and visual power. These make a modern viewer realize that a film made almost 70 years ago is absolutely entertaining to watch. They range from tasteful erotic images to purely technical shots. Who can possibly skip that moment in Ferrara where Gino meets a beautiful girl, a sort of "Ragazza Perfetta" (perfect girl), a dancer Anita and buys her ice cream. His desires show him totally different direction. Do viewers remain indifferent at Gino-Giovanna's first meeting? The first focus of camera is on Giovanna's legs seemingly representing carnal desire over love that Gino experiences. A marvel of shot is Gino and Giovanna leaving the investigation room and the close up of their shadows that directs our attention towards their suspicious look.
Ossessione does not simply rediscover the Italian landscape; it is a story in search of an inhabitable landscape. The spaces of the movie, claustrophobic interiors and unreachable utopian horizons between which the human figures are caught, are hardly habitable. Yet between these two incommensurable spaces, carefully framed allegories of belonging open a breach in the apparent limits of the characters historical and narrative present. These "deep surfaces" intimate the existence of an outside that yearns to enter the visible narrative on the screen. Significantly, these revelatory allegories emerging from the landscapes always lie behind the characters' shoulders, remaining unseen by them--but not the thoughtful viewer. This unconscious quality of the environment, stressed by Visconti's camera work, expresses the characters' inability to live in the surrounding world. The landscape is staged, but not yet inhabited. To use an expression coined by Silvestra Mariniello, the landscape in Ossessione is not yet a landscape of experience, neither a theater of action nor action itself, as Antonioni had hoped for but rather a carefully constructed spatial allegory smuggled into the flow of the story, and of history, that allows eddies of critical reflection to form.

This is the poster of Bellissima (1951)

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To watch full movie.

Bellissima is an Italian Neorealism film which was made in the year 1951. It was a film by Italian director Luchino Visconti. This film itself was shot in Cinecitta and the exciting part is, with Alessandro Blasetti, the film director, appeared as himself. However, there are also challenges that Italian neorealist filmmakers faced such as scarcity of film, weak communications for film production, general existential struggles in an atmosphere of destruction and war. So, this movie is about a mother and a daughter and it shows the love of a mother like no other.

The mother, Anna Magnani,  and the daughter, Maria Cecconi.

Bellissima revolves around a mother and daughter. Anna Magnani who stars as Maddalena Cecconi a stage mother who drags her daughter Tina Apicella who stars as Maria Cecconi, who has no talent at all, but Maddalena raises such a commotion at the studio after the girl's unsuccessful screen test that the producers eventually find work for the girl. Maddalena sent her daughter to Cinecitta for the "Prettiest Girl in Rome" contest.

Anna Magnani and her husband Spartaco Cecconi.

Anna would do whatever it takes to make her daughter famous even if she had to use all her savings and if it means sacrificing her marriage. Maddalena’s husband, Gastone Renzelli who stars as Spartaco Cecconi was not happy at all that Maddalena was using all their savings on their daughter.

Honesty, it appears, is actually the keystone of the story structure, the producers' approach to it and, of course, Maddalena, Maria’s mother, portrayal. The succession of this movie is sharply defined ranging from tragic heartbreak to typical, gesture-full comedy in which the rich Italian slang often is left not translated in the English subtitles.

In this scene, it shows that the Italian accent in the movie is very strong. esides that, her passionate display of emotions not often on dialogue for effectiveness. She is, alternately, a proud, protective and instinctively wise mother, who is ready to run the risk of losing the savings that mean a better home for her family in order to provide unselfishly a career for her youngster.

This is a scene where Anna raises such a commotion at the studio after the her girl's unsuccessful screen test that the producers eventually find work for the girl. No matter what, as a mother, she would do whatever it takes to make her daughter a star whether if she will make a fool out of herself by creating a commotion and more.

One of the techniques that were used in Bellissima is the “White Telephone” technique, it sets featuring white telephones which is the status symbol of wealth, and children would have Shirley Temple curls. This film is tended to be socially conservative, promoting family values, respect for authority, a rigid class hierarchy, and country life.  IT shows the devastated beauty of everyday, exact human life and suffering, and chose to work on location and also use non-professional actors.

Besides that, “White Telephone” technique also promotes a false view of reality, emphasized observational rather than transformative capabilities of cinema, avoidance of intricate plots or complex narratives, naturalism over artifice, emerges in opposition to glossy studio filmmaking and aims to portray contemporary social conditions with focus on the lower classes.

This video shows that Anna and her family are not well to do therefore, it focuses on the lower classes like in this case, Anna and her family. That is why, Anna’s husband got so angry because Anna wants to use all her savings for their daughter to be a star.

 

Non-professional actors of Bellisima.

Other than that, another film technique that is used is simple, direct and unembellished. It actually defines a fundamental approach to Realism in cinema. It shows the everyday rather than the exceptional and also the common people rather than socialites. With this, non-professional actors are usually used to act in Italian Neorealism films such as Bellissima.

The lighting in Bellissima.

Moreover, they will use authentic settings, stories rooted in Italian social reality, use spare unadorned camera techniques, camera set-ups tended to be functional and basic, lighting very spare and unadorned,avoids high contrast and low-key lighting popular in Hollywood Classical style, editing was restrained, avoid montage, viewed as manipulative to viewer and unrealistic structural device.

Deep focus shot.

Medium shot.

Far shot.

 It was noticed that in the movie Bellissima, angles such as the far shot, medium shot and deep focus shot is often used because in the film, the actors are usually doing something, therefore they have to make it the angles that they did to show the audience what is going on in the film. For the deep focus shot, it shows the entrie plane of action is in focus. For example, when a man and wife are carrying through a door, the back and foreground all are focus within a shot. Other than that, in Italian Neorealism, cuts are usually less and less frequent.

Before doing the film Bellissima,Visconti attended over three years when the work marks his meeting, with almost ten years of delay. It allows the director to return to an idea of cinema and of direction to make more people believe in him. While shooting this movie, behind Anna Magnani, Visconti prepares a whole choir of popular voices that continuously move to allowshowing the shiny look on the constant conditions of poverty and hunger of Italy.This Italian drama however, the cinema offers itself in all, the privilege place within which the desire of a sudden change of the social status can be realized.

Italian Neorealism emerged as a product of the battle in an effort to show reality and make use of the screen as a self-reflective tool for building a new national identity as a reaction to fascism. This film also served as a platform for political and civil awareness, sometimes even acting as a political battleground. The plotlines are actually extremely dramatic and it usually focuses on a humble characterthat stereotypically goes against the myth of the superhero. For Italian Neorealism films, non-professional actors are used to make the audience picture themselves in the movie itself. So, when Visconti wanted to shoot this video, he could just pick villagers from where he wants to shoot at. That is the difference between Italian Neorealism theory to other theories.