Hero Critique

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTsKEgUJyUQ

This scene is soooooo sick!  I especially love the music that the old man is playing I literally want to get one of those dulcimer things and learn how to play it like that.  Totally Zen.  And this scene is the best example of what I refer to into my critique.  So here it is:

The film Hero is a piece of art that resonates a surreal effect on the viewer.  Its formalistic style is unorthodox but truly beautiful if embraced.  Among many other things, the use of movement creates this environment.  This movie uses camera movement that makes this movie what it is.  Not everyone accepts and appreciates the type of movement used in this movie.  Some dismissed the fight scenes as unrealistic and silly.  I noticed during the parts when characters would appear to be flying in the air many people were laughing.  I don’t think they understood the meaning behind it.  My intention is not to imply that I have a greater sentience but I felt a sort of beauty and elegance towards the movie.  To fact that the characters were able to defy physical boundaries and perform such exquisite technical skills wasn’t of any importance.  I think that martial arts are spiritual in nature and this movie honors that by displaying and an enlightened version of pre-unified China.  The fight scenes are mostly where this is displayed.  The camera would twirl and move in move in ways that wouldn’t be possible for a person to do.  This enhanced the effect of the surrealism used in the shots.
  Without this type of camera movement this experience would not be captured.  Camera movements creates an atmosphere that makes the viewer feel like they are on a spiritual journey and that is why this is such a well made film.  

APOCOLYPTO CRITIQUE

Apocolypto is a formalist film with many technical elements.  The portrayal of emotion is reliant on many film techniques such as shot and angles.  This movie does a good job using these techniques to show emotional and intellectual ideas.

            Apocolypto has a lot of appealing qualities to it.  It has violence, romance, and a lot of suspense.  Generally speaking, it’s a good plot.  The viewer is drawn to like the Mesoamerican tribe and their simple yet happy lifestyle.  The outfits they have are earthy and non-threatening.  Then when the dominant Mayans are introduced, you loath their existence.  They are dressed in skulls and have many more tattoos/piercings.   A large part of the movie is that back and forth between the two tribes and the theme of the strong taking over the weak.  More specifically, you really feel for the main character, Jaguar Paw, who stands up against the Mayans.  Its pretty miraculous how he escapes from their imprisonment and fights off a lot of their men. 

            In this movie there were a lot of extreme close up/ close up shots.  They focused in on just the characters face or even closer areas such as the mouth or eyes.  The reason for this type of shot was to let the viewer clearly see what the character was feeling by their facial expressions.  Especially when the prisoners were waiting to be sacrificed, you could really see fear on their faces.  Fear was probably the most prominent emotion in the movie.  By knowing what the character is feeling, the viewer can understand what is going on and also speculate as to what will come next.

            I thought this movie was exiting and suspenseful.  The props/outfits were really believable and it felt like a very accurate representation of the Mayan civilization.  It was clear that a lot of work went into visual aspects of the film.  It directing also won me over, with the use of different shots and angles.   I would definitely recommend it to someone.

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