Big Fish (2003)

Big Fish is a remarkably imaginative story about something so simple; a relationship between a father and son. Will Bloom, son of Edward Bloom, has heard his father tell his tall tales innumerable times. When he reaches adulthood, his resentment for telling these falsities hits a breaking point and he doesn't speak to his father for three years. He believes that his father has always exaggerated his stories and he doesn't know who he really is, therefore he cannot trust him. The hiatus of their relationship stops when Will learns his father has become ill. Will must return home to care for his father until his last days. We revisit Edward's life through his many adventures tales, beautifully depicted by director, Tim Burton.

Edward Bloom was like a gold fish. If kept in a small fishbowl, he would not reach the biggest size a goldfish could grow. Edward leaves the small town he grew up in so that he can take on the bigger things the world has to offer him. He stumbles upon a mysterious town called Spector where the citizens seem to have already known his name. I believe this town to be a representation of heaven and hell. In the beginning of the movie, when he first arrives, they tell him that they were expecting him, but he was too early. This representation is heaven. Everything is sterlingly perfect and beautiful and every person is truly happy. Later in the film when Edward returns to the town, it is too late. The town is decrepit and run-down, filled with unhappy people. He must do everything in his power to save the town. He is a "Jesus" of sorts. He even has a similar ideology to Jesus' "treat your neighbor as yourself." Edward says, "Most people that you think are scary or angry are lonely and lacking in social niceties." He says this in response to people being unkind to ostracized individuals. In the town of Spector, there is even a clothes lines where everyone's shoes hang. The citizens say that you don't need shoes in this town because the grass is too soft. I believe that taking their shoes off is a metaphor for saying that they have arrived at their destinations.

*SPOLIER ALERT
When Edward begins to die of cancer, the tall tales end and we are brought back to the sad reality of death and illness. The tragedy of life is something that Edward's tall tales always made light of.

The ending of this film was quite possibly one of the most emotionally heart-wrenching endings I have ever seen. Throughout the film, we see the weak tie Edward and Will have as father and son. Will says, "I didn't see myself in him. He didn't see any of himself in me. We were like strangers that knew each other very well." But towards the end of the film, Will begins to learn things about his father's life that enables him to trust him and his stories. When Edward's end is very near, Will stays the night with his father in his hospital room. Knowing his impending death, Edward asks his son to "tell him how he goes." Will plays along with his father's story-telling fashion and tells an elaborate and completely unrealistic version of his death. As Will carries his father to a river, Edward is greeted by all of the various characters from his stories. Will then places his father in the river bank and he turns into the "big fish" that he always was meant to become. He swims away in peace.

After Will tells his father his ideal end, he finds peace and dies in his hospital bed. Not his ideal theatrical ending, but a tie with his son is more important than the fables.
I thoroughly enjoyed the eccentric art design, the beautiful cinematography, and the playful yet emotionally powerful narrative. It is a marvelous harmony of make-believe and reality. I recommend it to all.

The Fall (2006)

The Fall is a very dark, yet hopeful tale of a friendship between a little girl and a man set in a Los Angeles hospital ward in the 1920s. Directed by Tarsem Singh, this experimental narrative is driven by gorgeous visuals and a thought-provoking plot line.

The title of the film has reoccurring significance. The opening sequence, for example, shows the aftermath of the protagonist, Roy Walker's, failed suicide attempt. As a Hollywood stuntman with a broken heart, he thought it would be cinematic to commit suicide by riding a horse of a bridge.

His failure results in his hospital visit. When he befriends Alexandria, a young girl who is admitted in the hospital for a broken arm from falling out of an orange tree, he tells her all of these lavishly fantastic tales in order to gain her trust and have her steal morphine so that he may overdose. His second attempt fails, so he must continue telling her more stories.

The story is seen through the little girl's imagination. The various characters are played by people we see around the hospital. The beautiful nurse is the princess, the leading male is Roy. With fantastically beautiful imagery, Roy tells an elaborate story to gain the young girl's confidence.

As the story progresses, it begins to reflect reality. Roy becomes increasingly more unstable, and the protagonist follows along with him. The relationship between Roy and Alexandria evolves throughout the film to a point where she falls in love with him, and wants to do anything to make him happy. She decides to try one more time to get the morphine he requested, but while doing so, falls off the shelf and is hospitalized after her brain surgery. Ultimately, Alexandria's injury becomes a model for Roy to be less of a selfish human being. He recovers from his mistakes and heartbreak, and continues his work as a stuntman, where he falls for a living.

Although the summary sounds somewhat formulaic with its happy ending, this story seemed so tangible and heartfelt. I was deeply moved by this film and would go as far as to say that it is one of my new top 10 favorites. The acting of the young girl alone, played by a remarkably talented young actress by the name of Catinca Untaru, is phenomenal. She's the perfect combination of adorable, genuine and believable.

If you seek watching something different, The Fall is something to consider. Its strikingly beautiful visuals, genuine and heartfelt actors, and gripping and emotional storyline are what make this film an unforgettable cinematic experience.

Far from Heaven (2002)

Set against the lustrous colors of autumn in the 1950s, Far From Heaven tells the story of a troubled marriage and the society that inhibits the husband and wife's true desires. Written and directed by Todd Haynes, this emotional tale explores the unhappiness and misery that comes from succumbing to the pressures of society.

When housewife Cathy Walker discovers that her husband may be gay, they seek medical treatment to "absolve the problem." Meanwhile, she must maintain her pristine image as "Mrs. Magnatech," the model of what every housewife and mother should aspire to be. Cathy is a bit different from the rest of her friends; she has been known to be "kind to negroes" and "a friend to the homos," whereas other white housewives of this time could hardly be concerned with such issues. However, despite a subtle disregard for the societal norm, she still gets swept away with pleasing the public. She always says things like "I'm terribly sorry," or "What do you think, dear?" Even when her husband strikes her, she insists that she is alright and that it was an accident. Neither her or her husband are able to shake the pressure of being seen as perfect to others.

In the midst of all her personal drama, Cathy Walker seeks comfort and confides in her black gardener, Raymond Deagan, who ends up being someone she feels truly herself with. She goes dancing with him one night when a fellow housewife spots her entering the bar with him. The gossip spreads like wildfire, and even Cathy's closest friend shuns her for being romantically involved with a black man. Her children even become affected by the incident, so Cathy must end the relationship. The final scene is Cathy's farewell to Raymond, and in truth, her only hope of true happiness, because she cannot disregard the pressure that society has put on her.

This film deals with a multitude of issues, including race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. All of these contentions are perfectly portrayed into a tragic tale of a 1950s housewife who is essentially imprisoned in her own life. She is stuck in an unhappy and unreciprocated marriage, upheld to be perfect by her neighbors and friends. The only sense of true happiness she feels is with a man she is unable to be with. This film dealt with these issues almost flawlessly, and even though I wasn't alive in the 1950s, I have a strong feeling that this is very close to what life was like for many people; stuck in the "American dream."

The use of color in this film was very interesting to me. The vibrant uses of orange, red, yellow and green were hardly unnoticeable. The green was the most interesting, for it seemed to represent their suppressed desires. When we see Mr. Walker go into a gay bar for the first time, the bar is illuminated with green lights. Similarly, we see this same lighting when Cathy goes dancing with Raymond.

As for the autumn setting and fall tones, I'm not completely sure what they represent. Fall is right before winter, the cold and dead time of the year. Maybe the fall colors represent the preparation for this awful time. Like Cathy's life is about to hit an all-time low, but soon spring will come again to bring her back to life.

A truly remarkable film, Far From Heaven is a beautiful representation of a lesson we must all learn; do not let others dictate how your life should be lived. I definitely recommend this film.

Days of Heaven (1978)

My interest in director Terrence Malick's work began with his most recent film, and arguably most famous, The Tree of Life. This Palm D'Or winner was the most overwhelming and life-changing piece of art I have ever seen and experienced. That's just it; it was an experience. I remember being dumbfounded in the theater, trying to make sense of it all. To this day, I do not understand everything that occurred in that film, but it indeed spoke to my soul. I wanted to find meaning in every detail. I wanted to watch it a hundred more times. I wanted to create something that would have just as much impact on someone else as this film did on me.

For this class, I wanted to utilize this time to watch some of his other work, since The Tree of Life was the only film of his I had seen. For a director to have such an impact on me in one film, I had to see if his other work would do the same.

I decided to begin with Days of Heaven. I chose this film for two reasons:

1. A classmate recommended it to me two years ago and I never got around to watching it.
2. It was Malick's last film before mysteriously disappearing from the film world for twenty years.

I will start by saying that this film did not have as deep of an effect on me as The Tree of Life did, but I really did not expect it to. I did pick up on a lot of auteuristic qualities that I enjoy about Malick's work:

Cinematography

Utilization of Nature as a Character

"Nobody's perfect. There was never a perfect person around. You just got half devil and half angel in you." - Days Of Heaven

This is a story about the trials of life, the loss of hope, and the dark consequences of our actions. Malick beautifully paints this story. Though the story intrigued me and the visuals captivated me, I am more curious about the director himself.

After winning the Oscar for Best Cinematography for this film, Malick suspiciously disappeared off the Hollywood map for twenty years. To this day, no concrete explanation is given why.

"Some believe he lost his passion for directing while others feel he simply wanted to explore the world and do other things with his life. It is reported that he saw the world including exploring ancient caves in Nepal and climbing the Swiss Alps. But all that time he maintained two apartments in Austin, one to live in and one to write in," (John Sanchez on Terrence Malick).

As an aspiring director myself, this fascinates me. Not that I'm comparing myself to him and all his greatness, but I feel as though if I were ever to be successful in the film industry, I would probably take a similar path. I can tell that Malick doesn't care about box office success as much as he cares about the art. He is a true artist, and I don't believe he was ever in it for the money. His career is certainly something to examine in order to advance my skills and mindset. Many people claimed that he traveled around and explored the world for a while, which makes perfect sense. I think artists should constantly be self-improving and introspective. In Hollywood, it's hard to do so when producers are tempting you with million dollar deal films. I admire and respect Malick for his integrity and true love for art and I hope to see more of his films soon.

Dear Lemon Lima (2009)

A true underdog story, Dear Lemon Lima tells the trials and tribulations of Vanessa Lernor, a 13-year old growing up in Fairbanks, Alaska. Lemon Lima is the fictional character she writes her diary to, mainly to spill about her heartbreak from ex-boyfriend Philip Georgey. During her coping process, Vanessa is appointed captain of the misfits for their school's annual Snowstorm Survivor competition. Through thick and thin, this group of young teens must stick together to win the competition and gain respect amongst their peers.

Filled with cutesie animations and idiosyncratic transitions and effects, this film is not exactly your typical underdog story, but it's fairly close. What drew my attention to this film was the director and writer, Suzi Yoonessi, whose work I have seen on Vimeo. My favorite video of hers sparked my interest in seeing this film: https://vimeo.com/27358705

*SPOILER ALERT
I'd have to disagree with the critics categorization of this film as a "family comedy." Though it does have comedic elements, the most poignant part should negate the "family-friendly" rating. Hercules Howard, one of Vanessa's young and feeble teammates, is constantly being ridiculed by his parents. He is interested in anything but hunting, but his father tries to force the hobby onto him to make him a true man. Ironically-named-Hercules gets fed up one day with the "bullying" from his parents and shoots himself with the rifle his father gave him. His death results in his teammates understanding the true meaning of love and community, and ultimately leads to their victory in the Snowstorm Survivor competition.

Though the description sounds formulaic and predictable, there were many sterling qualities that made this story original and charming. It has likable qualities like Juno and Napoleon Dynamite. I also found this film to be useful for my thesis, which is also a coming-of-age story about a young girl. The characters and witty screenplay really drive the narrative. I would recommend it if you like films like the aforementioned two, if you have an affinity for underdog stories or if you just like cute drawings of cupcakes.

Brick

Very artistic and thought out carefully. Stylistic. High school students represent something bigger, they are just presented this way to make it a more relatable message