The Selfish Giant 2013- Clio Barnard

 The Selfish Giant 2013- Clio Barnard

Poverty is highlighted in many films and documentaries but many fail to present poverty in the UK. The Selfish Giant showcases poverty in the UK whilst also showing the struggles of poverty through the children's perspective.

The film is based upon Oscar Wildes book The Selfish Giant. Comparing the two stories, Barnards version is more political, show casing a post-industrial landscape where selfishness is an ideology. The title alone can show the depth of Barnards exploration into the effects of poverty on children, specifically their upbringing in these situations.

Set in Bradford, a run down area in the north England, Barnard has scenes in a vast field, with tall power station building. The vastness of the scenes can connote the deepness of the issue of poverty in the UK. Poverty passed down to children is presented within this film and the vastness of the fields can show the depth of the problem and presents the question; Will poverty ever end?

Swifty's death is detrimental to Arbour. The two together almost try to escape from poverty, stepping away from dependency on their parents and trying to make their own living. Swifty is Arbour's escape. Arbour's mourning of Swifty's death is powerful. There is no music, and the scenes are virtually silent. This is effective in portraying Arbour's raw emotions and almost creating a tense atmosphere because, it portrays Arbour's feelings of disbelief. He is shocked to silence. 

Jonah 2013- Kibwe Tavares

 Jonah 2013- Kibwe Tavares

Jonah is based on the bible story Jonah and the whale. This short film highlights self reflection and be careful what you wish for, as does the story.

Being based on a story, Jonah includes lots of fantasies in order to keep a dream like feel to the film. Mbwana is fed up of his village. The village in the film looks beautiful, but poverty stricken. Jonah is successful in highlighting issues behind tourism and questions; Is it the answer to poverty? Tavares uses Mbwana dreams to answer this question and show the effects tourism has on poverty stricken villages.

 

Tavares inspiration came from the book The Old Man and The Sea, we can see this through Mbwana and the jumping fish. Tavares also wanted to include his own experiences in travelling, therefore he based the setting on fishing villages he had visited. The two main characters were based on a group of "beach boys" In Lamu who gave informal tours. We can see these traits in the two main characters as they appear to work for what they can.

The village is not the only way Tavares presents the effects of tourism in poverty stricken countries. The jumping fish can also be a representative of effects. Before tourism the jumping fish looked colourful and healthy. After tourism and being used to rope in tourists the fish is covered in litter. The colour of the fish appears dull. Despite having an obvious way to show the effects, Tavares uses the fish to also highlight these issues 

Snatch 2000- Guy Ritchie

Snatch 2000- Guy Ritchie

Snatch is a crime comedy film. “Stealin’ stones and breakin’ bones”, the tag line, can sum up the film.  It is set in the criminal underworld of London.

The film includes two intertwining plots. The two plots can be clearly understood separately for different reasons. One reason why Guy Ritchie effectively makes a clear separation of the plots is through the characters. One plot involves different foreign people and people of different religion. Examples of this are; American, Russian and Jewish. The different characters in this plot are presented through stereotypes. The Jewish people are wearing typical jewish hats and a portrayed in an almost racist stereotype of greedy for money. Also the events in the film are away from the majority of English people. This shows that they are outsiders of London society.

The other plot involves typical people of a london criminal underworld. The characters are also expressed by stereotypes. The travellers have thick accents and Turkish speaks about them in a way a typical Londoner would speak about them. They also live in caravans and end up moving away from the site to get away from the police.

Guy Ritchie’s first film; lock, stock and two smoking barrels include the same motifs such as friends involved in crime together and the sales of valuable goods. Snatch also has the same visual style as snatch and include similar actors.

Scenes that take place where the boxing and dog fights are darkly lit. The owner, brick top, has violent ways of getting his money and dealing with threats. His appearance is dirty and this can be portrayed in the boxing and dog fighting arena. For example, the walls look dirty and unclean, much like Brick top’s way of dealing with threats. The lighting in the scenes are dark, this can connote the mood of the scene. Turkish and Tommy are tense due to looming issues with Brick Top and the lighting creates that feeling for the audience.

Film Proposal

My Film Proposal

The Angels Share 2012- Ken Loach

The Angels Share is a comedy crime film. The protagonist, Robbie, essentially is inspired to find a way out of his life after nearly facing prison and having a child. He needs to prove himself to his girlfriend's family in order to keep his child and his girlfriend. Upon discovering whiskey, he realises that, that is his way out.

The film is based in Scotland and there are different ways in which this is shown in the film. One main way is through accents. All of the characters have a thick scottish accent showing that the film is based in Scotland and not about someone who has moved down from Scotland. Another way in which we can tell the film is based in Scotland, is the locations that are mentioned. Ken Loach effectively incorporates an obvious way of telling the audience where the film was based and comedy. He does this through Albert’s stupidity. This is effective in avoiding too much concentration on the location of the film to help the audience focus on the comedic side of the film.  

There are a few scenes of violence in the film. During these scenes, Ken Loach focuses on the weapon. One example of this is in the snooker room. Before any fight, the scene has a lot of focus on the snooker balls. This foreshadows what Robbie will use in the fight and similar ways in which he fights. When the men storm in, looking for a fight, the shot is then focused on Robbie picking up a snooker ball and sneaking it into his pocket. He then runs away. Another scene in which something similar happens is when Robbie discovers he is being followed by a gang member. The camera focuses on the knife that the gang member brought and then Robbie proceeds to threaten the other man with. This is effective in connoting the violence of the scene as vicious weapons are used. This in turn shows Robbie’s and the gangs hate towards each other as the weapons are extremely violent and can kill.

Ken Loach uses his films to his to express British socialist realism. This is clear in The Angels Share. The issues that Robbie faces are the norm for many people who can’t afford a stable lifestyle. Robbie struggles to even get an interview for a job because of the scar on his face meaning that people make assumptions about him before even interviewing him. This happens frequently in Britain, not only with scars, but other body disfigurements such as piercings and tattoos. This prevents people from getting a job and earning a living for themselves. This issue can be seen in The Angels share and Loach successfully creates an image of struggle around Robbie because of his appearance, in turn, raising questions for the audience and the society they live in.

Ken Loach studied Law at Oxford University giving him oppurtunities to understand the issues of Britain, why they are happening and how it could be reformed. Ken Loach uses this in his film to effectively highlight issues that are going on in Britain.