Short essays on cinema
Aronofsky’s Black Swan follows the mental disintegration of the ballet dancer Nina, who gets a part in the production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. She is fragile, innocent, fearful and pure, but lacks the feel for playing the black swan, while she is a perfect cast for the White Swan. In the performances of Tchaikovsky’s ballet,… Continue reading Black Swan (Darren Aronofsky, 2010) “Dionysiac Union With Art”
Targaryen alone in the world is a terrible thing. Aemon Targaryen Daenerys Targaryen is at Dragonstone, isolated and refusing to eat, looking worn out, pale, exhausted beyond recognition. She is well aware of Jon’s betrayal and the choice to confide with her sister, which resulted in Varys plotting to destroy her, possibly poisoning her in… Continue reading Game of Thrones “Dany’s Agony: Purification Through Fire”
In the thirteenth chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians, St Paul says: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then I shall know even as I also am known”. In these St Paul’s words, practically the whole film Through the Glass… Continue reading Through A Glass Darkly (Ingmar Bergman, 1961) “Vision of God As A Spider”
I guess there is a certain amount of poking fun at certain characters, but that’s because there is something amusing about them or about the way they behave, so I guess you can say that’s poking fun at the character. But the character is your own invention, so who cares? Joel Coen Coen’s most elaborated… Continue reading In Joel Coen’s Words: “Torturing Fictional Characters”
I found Akira, a landmark animated film which introduced the Japanese animated films to the Western audience, to be an eclectic mess. During the first and even the second watching of the film it seemed that way. Later, as I managed to put the pieces together (and some parts of the film are fragments of… Continue reading Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo, 1988) “Destruction as the Cause of Becoming”
Episode 6 – Beyond the Wall In the episode 3, the one I have already written about in the article “Mad King’s Daughter?” (covering episodes 3-5), Littlefinger says to Sansa: “Don’t fight in the North or the South. Fight every battle everywhere, always, in your mind. Everyone is your enemy, everyone is your friend. Every… Continue reading Game of Thrones Season 7 Overview Episodes 6&7 “The Board is Set”
Episode 3 – Queen’s Justice I have already written about episodes 1 & 2, in the article "Land and Sea", and in the third episode of Season 7 pieces on the chessboard are positioned in such a way that the Queen (Daenerys) is checking the King (Jon). He arrives at Dragonstone at his own will,… Continue reading Game of Thrones Season 7 Overview Episodes 3-5 “Mad King’s Daughter?”
Episode 1: Dragonstone “For in heroic societies life is the standard of value. If someone kills you, my friend or brother, I owe you their death and when I have paid my debt to you their friend or brother owes them my death. The more extended my system of kinsmen and friends, the more liabilities… Continue reading Game of Thrones Season 7 Overview Episodes 1&2 “Land and Sea”
I tried to show the collapse of the Japanese family system through showing children growing up. Yasujirô Ozu Ozu’s post-war work, during the time when he made his most memorable films, is characterized by the same theme which is presented over and over. In his own words, he presents the “collapse of the Japanese family… Continue reading In Yasujirô Ozu’s Words: “The Change of Seasons”
For the second part of this list, I chose the title Melancolia II, which is also the title of the second Dürer’s engraving depicting a melancholic angel. This allusion to Dürer is only for stylistic purposes, since I chose another painting to depict a melancholic setting, Pieter Bruegel’s Hunters In the Snow. I chose this… Continue reading 5 Melancholic Films Which Can Inspire You Into Creativity (Melancolia II)
