'Experimental Film requires a different kind of spectatorship.' Has this been your experience? [35]

'Experimental Film requires a different kind of spectatorship.' Has this been your experience? [35]

Experimental films are full of strange mixtures of images, situations, words and expressions that may not tell a cohesive story but, in the end, don't have to in order to achieve an emotional goal. This type of film therefore requires the spectator to shift their conventional cinematic expectations to accommodate more radical narrative techniques, themes and meaning construction. 

Un Chien Andalou, the infamous 1929 surrealist short film from Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali, attests to this. This, in ways was a tad unsettling to watch. The eyeball cutting scene and the drooling was a bit weird. It deals with very taboo themes such as severed hands and naked women. I found the music a bit annoying, but it was nice they didn't have a narrative, it made everything more up in the air. It made being a viewer more challenging and you had to work hard to find the themes. Some of the themes outside of surrealism was religion, the piano drags two priests on the ground and so they are dragging religion on the ground. It's very dreamlike. In dreams there is no consistency, time doesn't really exist. I think it was mocking society or rebelling from it, it's exploring the sexuality and the unknown. It explores themes like androgyny, this was first explored in the 16th century.

Chris Marker became known internationally for the short film La Jetée (1962). It tells of a post-nuclear war experiment in time travel by using a series of filmed photographs developed as a photomontage of varying pace, with limited narration and sound effects. Twelve Monkeys and Minority Report took inspiration from this film. The narrator tells us what is happening, this makes viewing more easier than Un Chien Andalou. The photographs are representing memory and time. These are typical sci-fi conventions. It is really all about perspective and how we choose to view it, I felt it was like a war documentary. When the guy went back to the dead woman i found there love story quite charming. There is no movement, but they made it look like the guy was running and the woman was blinking. All these are very inception like , a paradox. The French and German whispers made the war feel more documentary-like. The movement often challenges perceptions. Did that movement really happen? 

Maya Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) is a work that maintains all of the mystery, tranquility, unpredictability, and personal attachment that is ever present within the world of dreams. This had a more clearer narrative than Un Chien Andalou, we can tell that she is dreaming when she closes her eyes and the imagery becomes more bizarre, such as with the man in a cape with a mirror for a face. The woman sees herself in the mans perspective, only the image they have for her. So when she breaks the mirror, she is breaking the mans view of her. There are symbols of this with the key in her mouth, she is unlocking herself and her opinions. It seems like a dream-within-a-dream but towards the end it reveals her suicide and so the piece becomes more self-destructive. There's a time lapse of eye being closed, like slow motion.  This shows dreams don't have a time concept. The sound at times made it difficult to watch. There is a sense of experimental techniques with there being two people in the same shot. It acts almost like an early Inception. Settings such as the kitchen adds a maternal feel. The knife is a recurring theme, it's exploring themes of violence. 

Reflective Analysis

Film Studies

Reflective Analysis

We decided to do a new wave short inspired by Chungking Express, which took 1 hour to film and another hour to edit. We used many new wave techniques including slow motion/fast paced tempo, smudge motion, jump cuts and close up camera shots. The students walking by took part in the hustle and bustle scenes to show that the main character in an emotional stasis. Life is passing him by while he stays on his own; this was shown in the jump cuts and slow motion. The mundane tasks are very often shown in new wave cinema and we wanted to make that apparent, this gave it a documentary feel. I particularly liked the main character touching the engraved names on the wall- this showed a search for identity, a common convention in new wave cinema. The twisting of the metal wire into a knot showed how the main character wants to fix his broken situation and his broken identity. What I would have changed is maybe having an apparent situation where there is a broken relationship and because this character is so stuck in the past he cannot do things himself. I also wanted to use a close up on the posters in the common room such as ‘Adam Bede’, which would evidently show a sense of identity; the dropping of an ID card could show this as well. The non-diegetic music is by DJ Shadow, it felt very 90’s and that would reflect the time period of Chungking Express.

Presentation script

Does the use of hyper violence in the films of Nicolas Winding Refn qualify the director as an auteur?

PROJECTOR: Item 1 - Drive Elevator scene

SPEAKER: For my research project I will be looking at the prominent use of violence in the films of Nicolas Winding Refn. Violence is an attack from a build up of stress and in Freudian terms, sexual tension. Refn shifts between several genres and presents his audience with a dream-like reality where stylisation dominates over content. As you have just seen. some have viewed Drive [1] as overly violent, especially in the elevator scene where Irene and Driver kiss. But as the kiss ends, so do the dream like settings, the lighting turns back to normal [14]. Reality is mean and Refn knows this from his tough upbringing in Denmark. Perhaps Refn's introduction to America when he turned 8 drew him to the character of Driver, who is an outsider, morally schizophrenic, an enigma to the rest of the characters in the film.

In past films, for example Terence Malick's 'Badlands' the characters of Kit and Holly are so alienated they are driven to a killing spree across America. This has caused alienation themes in films to interlink with violent ones. Driver transforms himself into a superhero by doing what is necessary, does Refn suggest violence is merely 'getting things done'? Carey Mulligan's Irene was a mirror image of Refn's wife, 'The moment Carey walked through the door I knew I wanted to protect her. And then I realised that this whole film is basically about my relationship with my wife and what I would do to protect her.' [14] Drive is a homage to L.A, the perfect crime city filled with make believe enchantments and violent warfare. Thus, Drive categorises itself as a Noir and action-romance film.

PROJECTOR: Item 1 - Scene of Driver's motel being ransacked by armed men.

SPEAKER: That particular scene was one that combined violence with suspense and created a thriller aspect. Refn does not consider himself a violent man but he has a 'fetish' for violent emotions and images that he can't explain. He sees violence as a survival instinct, something humans were built to do, but even though we are more domesticated now does not stop our violent urges- which itself can be an act of violence. [8] Refn doesn't want to know why he has a fetish, because if he analyses himself it will cause him to not film these themes anymore. 'Art is best when it is all about the flow of emotions'. Refn always links his movies back to what his life was like in that period, such as Bronson which in some ways was an autobiography whereas Drive is his first love story about his wife and the behaviour he would succumb to protect her. Refn suggests 'art is an act of violence. It's meant to penetrate you, and be part of you, but it's not negative, it's not destructive. REAL violence is destructive. War is destructive. And the DNA of violence and war are the same thing. The only difference is where war destroys, art inspires'. [11]

PROJECTOR: Item 2- Scene of Radovan punching Frank several times and another man holding a knife to Frank's throat.

SPEAKER: Pusher has a documentary feel, he partakes in more realistic filming to add to his potential auteur characteristics. Refn realised, much like director Joe Wright that growing up as an adult in this world was a 'horrible, horrible nightmare' that the world is terrifying. Refn presents so much violence in his films because it represents how life really is. In this way Refn could categorise himself as an auteur due to his violent and realistic themes that occasionally juxtapose themselves with dream like settings. Refn presents the audience with an illusion but then tears it away by replacing it with a gritty, realistic world. Modern audiences are desensitised to violence, such as the horror film 'Cannibal Holocaust', if not for the violence we would have never even heard of it, no one would have bothered watching it. [10] Watching somebody get shot to death is like watching an advert for modern audiences these days. It takes something really shocking to make us feel uneasy, maybe that's what Drive was aiming to do, push the envelope in shock cinema such as Hitchcock's Psycho. Refn set out to make a violent film, but the use of violence is decadent, it mixes with the film's other visceral elements well and arouses emotions. Done by any other director, it probably wouldn't have been as good. [6]

PROJECTOR: Item 2- Clip  of Frank fighting with Tonny.

SPEAKER: In Pusher, the characters are brought up around drugs, even glamourising them to an extent, this makes them violent. Frank turns on his friend Tonny in a split second and fights him until he's unconscious. The film itself seems to be a warning that drugs and alcohol bring out repressed emotions such as violence. The whole movie is expressed very physically.
William Goldman argues that this part of Refn's work (the auteur theory) does not exist. Gore Vidal argued that 'the true influence of the director died with the coming of sound'[7], Refn uses violent images that are processed within our minds and can ultimately influence us and that makes him more of an auteur. Refn puts a lot of his views towards feminism and violence in every film, he thinks that violent men are very much feminine, such as Driver who despite his violent actions is also very shy, self-conscious and feminine. To Refn, watching one of his films is relieving yourself of pent up feelings and tensions by putting yourself in the viewpoint of his aggressive characters. 'Making violence is very much like sex. If you believe the build up to the climax it becomes so much more engaging'. Driver uses his violent emotions because he cannot communicate with the rest of society like others can, this perhaps makes him more intimate and primal than the rest of the characters because he uses his actions rather than his words to explain himself.

PROJECTOR: Item 3-  Clip of Tonny killing  a man, stabbing him with a screwdriver.

SPEAKER: In Pusher II, Refn admitted to killing off the characters in very ambiguous ways to add authenticity, in reality people just disappear, we talk about it for some time but we sometimes never really know where they've gone. Pusher II had none of the drug glamorisation as the first one did but instead had a cold, negative outlook on Refn's country. The Pusher trilogy shows the characters becoming violent because they are trapped in a hopeless society, Refn may be trying to hint this to his views and make a change. Indeed, Refn wants to make a positive change with his stamp on violence ' But we're also obsessed because the media has glamorised crime, repackaged and resold it very falsely as escapism with a positive bent, and I could not disagree more with that. I think that being able to work in art, you have a responsibility, you have to remember that you do affect people. Shouldn't you do something good with that?'. 

PROJECTOR: Item 3- Tonny is beaten up in the prison yard.

SPEAKER: William Goldman states that the film title must succeed the director's name such as 'Steven Spielberg's Jaws'. [7] However, Drive is always seen as 'the movie with Ryan Gosling in' not Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive. So in this way he might not be considered as an auteur. Although he didn't write the screenplay for Drive, Hossein Amini did, he wrote and directed the Pusher trilogy and Only God Forgives. 
He may not be considered an auteur because he did not write Drive but he made that film into something completely different to the novel. It's also original for the author to write the screenplay to their book adaption. I think that Refn's unique stamp on the film industry and his talked-about violence themes categorise him as an auteur despite William Goldman's anti auteur theory.

Abigail Remmer

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

City Of God

Discuss some of the techniques used in your chosen films to provoke audiences into taking a particular point of view towards characters and key events. 

There are many filming techniques used to take a particular point of view such as the chicken chase scene where the protagonist Rocket is caught between the gang of hoodlums and the police just like the chicken, this is shown by the camera divide. The audience takes Rocket's side as he does not want to become a hoodlum and would rather shoot using his camera than a gun essentially saving him from the city of god curse. This technique is mirrored in La Haine, where Saïd is stood opposite the police showing their clear rivalry. In the opening just before the chase scene the camera flicks between a machete knife and the sounds it makes, this foreshadows the blood and death that will soon follow, its a chase. A chase in which the characters will always be running as they try to escape their threatening urban environment. Certain characters are played off as the hero to start with such as Knockout Ned who embellishes that no one innocent should be murdered but is killed by Otto who thinks the same to him. The audience feel sorry for Shaggy who tries to escape the favela but can't as those who have been sucked into the world of crime and who haven't sought redemption will ultimately die. This is applied to Bene as well, he falls in love with Angelica and searches for a new place to live but as his murderous friend Lil' Ze knows, he will die if he leaves. And even the central relationship of Bene and Ze becomes sympathetic, they have spent all their years together, killing, selling drugs and having fun but due to Ze's psychotic side, 'chilled out' Bene's life is put in danger because they have been born this way, with no choice. The exploitation of cocaine in the later scenes speeds up the lives and movements of the characters and camera angles whereas in the 60's the camera is slowed down with the exploitation of weed. In La Haine, Hubert takes a similar stance to Rocket, he is passive and also wishes to 'leave the estate' and the urban tragedy he lives in.

How far does the impact of the films you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques?

Clip 11

In the film La Haine the films most distinctive technique for me is the continuing 3 shot of Saïd, Hubert and Vinz. It shows the strong bond between the 3 and there loyalty to each other. It displays a hierarchy  where in who ever is in the middle is the leader or the peacekeeper, almost like a pack of wolves with Vinz being the 'alpha' to start with, Saïd becoming the peacekeeper and finally Hubert being the voice of reason, this ties in strongly with the theme of animalistic nature. When Vinz and Saïd are pinned down by the police, Hubert makes a decision to help them out as they must all stick together when they're backed in to a corner. Hubert becomes more active whereas Vinz becomes more passive.

 The ticking clock shows how short life actually is and how so much can happen in 24 hours. The time is limited and this circles around the main theme of feeling trapped, how long will Vinz be able to control his anger in that time period, in a lot of the scenes the boys are not doing anything because they're unemployed youths and so time stretches before them. In the ending scene the clock goes forward by 1 minute, it only takes 1 minute to start a big conflict. The clock represents revolution- this ever turning wheel of mixing race and revolution.
At the end Saïd re-opens his eyes which is a good technique for me because this means that we see things from his Point of view, it becomes a new environment, things are not always Black and white ( a  good use of colour in the film, also linked to race and equality)

In the elevator scene, they're are insulting the man coming down and so the camera shows the man essentially coming down to their level. They insult his support of Le Pen which shows more political unrest and lack of opportunity for the boys. The continuing sound of police sirens indicates that they are always around which again fuels this motif of being trapped and in danger.

In this clip particularly Vinz day dreams that he has shot a police officer- the film technique here for me was that even though it was a dream it felt like a catharsis that he had finally done what he wanted to do (as he vowed to kill an officer if Abdel dies), in the movie as a whole he often dreams about dancing and having a better life this could be because of how the media has impacted him and has made him believe in fantasy, we as an audience know that he wasn't even holding a gun but as an illusory character it feels like a personal relief for him. This is supported by the use of TV screens in the background when Vinz is throwing punches in the air, he has learnt all his violence and everything he knows from the TV, when they want to turn off the Eiffel tower but say 'that only works in film'. Despite that they use Hubert as the voice of reason when it comes to shooting (the director) because he knows that Vinz would not actually shoot him just to get his anger out even though he has become de sensitised to violence. Because of the riots that actually happened in the 1990's I feel like it's justified and that the characters are being persecuted for being in this life of poverty and entrapment.

A2 Coursework Abigail R

Subject: Nicolas Winding Refn
Focus Of study: Auteur/ Genre theory
Resources: 3 chosen films

Title Question: Does the use of hyper violence in the films of Nicolas Winding Refn qualify the director as an auteur

Films:
Item 1- Drive (2011)
This movie is my focus film and was chosen as it is a prime example of hyper violence including an in depth look at it's use alongside genre reversal. This is perhaps a good reason to analyse as it has become one of Refn's most critically acclaimed films making the big jump to hollywood. Ryan Gosling signed up for this film purely on the fact that it would be violent like his previous film 'Valhalla Rising'. (Very Useful)

Item 2- Pusher (1996)
This movie was Refn's first film and it reflects a lot of his personal feelings towards violence, his youthful angsty perspective on this film is the main reason hyper violence is identified in his films. This is quite interesting as he thinks that art in itself is an act of violence, so this film is a central point for that topic. His stance on this film and Drive is that 'you can't live without consequences'. (Very Useful)

Item 3- Pusher II
Pusher II reflected the real life events going on in Kim Bodnia's life, this was shown in his performance and the increasing amount of violence that follows. The use of not just physical but verbal violence is highlighted well in this sequel to Refn's first film. Mads Mikkelsen became the main role in this and the two worked together on Bleeder and also Valhalla Rising. Described as 'Gritty, violent and fast paced'
(Useful)
Books:
Item 4: Teach Yourself Film Studies
This outlined the Auteur theory really well for me and I applied it to Refn's work. I started to spot little things about his work that are in a direct pattern with the title question. In telling a story every director must put their unique staple on it for people to recognise the film as one of the directors. (Very Useful)

Item 5: The Nicolas Winding Refn Handbook: Everything you need to know about Nicolas Winding Refn
This book had some great articles about the films I'm analysing including a great interpretation about one of his lesser known films 'Fear X'. Although much of it was compiled wikipedia articles it highlighted some points about the method acting and the reasoning behind the genre of the films. (Useful)

Item 6: Violence in American Cinema
This book discusses about how us, as viewers are fascinated with violence and why when we have watched it, we have a need for more and how it eventually desensitises the audience and many directors including Refn are continually trying to push the envelope to obtain the shock factor many films lack these days. (Useful)

Item 7: Adventures In The Screen Trade 
This book chronicles the origins of the auteur theory with it deriving from France, it then argues that the auteur theory doesn't even exist. This was a key point in my argument and it was interesting to see all (Useful)

Magazines
Item 8: http://magazine.topman.com/category/culture/only-god-forgives-the-cult-director-nicolas-winding-refn-on-sex-bloodshed-ryan-gosling/
In this article Refn highlighted that we inherently act violent as a self preservation instinct and that it releases tension within us- I linked this to the Superiority and relief theory in comedy which states that we laugh at others misfortune and we laugh to relieve ourselves. It acts almost like a dark comedy, with violence making us laugh. (Very Useful)

Item 9: http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2013-07/29/nicolas-winding-refn-only-god-forgives-interview
Another interesting snippet about violence here, although there is more discussion about the actors and the method acting involved, he mentions a lot about style here and that can be characterised into the mood of the film such as violence or maybe a more convoluted genre set piece. (Useful)

Internet:
 Item 10: Cannes Press Conference
Refn explained why he includes the techniques and story lines that he does and how that will affect the audience, this really helped me shape an opinion of his work and why he likes to shock the audience to gain a good reception. Another idea of this is the film 'Cannibal Holocaust' which he says that if that film did not shock audiences then his definitely won't. (Useful)


Item 11: http://www.rogerebert.com/balder-and-dash/art-is-an-act-of-violence-an-interview-with-nicolas-winding-refn
This was such a helpful article, it told me everything I needed to know about violence from his point of view. He perceived that 'Art is an act of violence' in itself and that there was always something intriguing about violence and how it showed the deep flaws in humanity. A really useful source for the wider discussion of violence. (Very Useful)


Item 12: DP/30 Nicolas Winding Refn Interview
40 minute interview about Drive and his craftsmanship, he revealed a lot about his life and experiences which allowed me to draw more meaning out of his films and analyse the key question. His childhood was explored in a bit of detail and I could start piecing together aspects of his personality to prove the auteur theory which I hadn't included before. (Useful)


Item 13: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/17/ryan-gosling-and-nicolas-winding-refn-on-sex-violence-more.html
Both Nicolas and Ryan Gosling were present during this interview and so we got to see how his actors felt about the explicit use of violence. (Useful)

Item 14: http://screenrant.com/interview-drive-nicolas-winding-refn-robf-129686/
This was one of my favourite articles in my catalogue, it had the most information about my focus film Drive. There was an allusion to genre and fleshing out the character of Driver to the point where it deviated from the book and flowed out into Nicolas' auteur theory. He gave very useful and philosophic answers. (Very Useful)

Item 15: http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/theDailyArticle/60261.html
Nicolas states in this interview that during Drive was going through a rough stage and that he needed an outlet for his anger and general emotions. This is reflected in Drive, maybe its possible that Nicolas' films all derive from a case of bottled up emotions and that violence and sex is his relief theory. (Useful)

Item 16: http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/ryan-gosling-nicolas-winding-refn-image.jpg
Picture

Item 18: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/05/nicolas-winding-refn-ryan-gosling-violent-feminine-men
This gave a better view on what he thought Violence actually was.

Item 17: http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BOTI3NzAzMTAwMl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNzM5MjQxNw@@._V1_.jpg
Picture

Rejected Items
Films
Bleeder
I rejected this film as I preferred using a sequel especially since I could reference the familiarity of the characters. Refn seemed to have more to talk about when it came to the pusher trilogy as well. Bleeder didn't have the same effect as the rest did and so it became irrelevant to me.

Valhalla Rising
At first glance this would seem like a fantastic movie to analyse seeming as there is so much violence and gore, but this movie lacked depth and the originality of Refn's work and although the filming techniques are quite similar to that of Drive, when I considered this movie as a subject choice, I felt stranded alone in the dark with nowhere to go.

Websites
http://www.vulture.com/2013/05/only-god-forgives-nicolas-winding-refn-cannes-booed.html
This interview asked the same questions and was answered in pretty much the same way as well, Refn commented on violence being instinctual and how it is controlled now, but again there was too much focus on Kristin Scott Thomas and her character and not enough about what motivated Refn to put so much violence in his films.