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

The Mise En Scene of La Haine used the urban environment typical of the type of Urban Stories and crime dramas. The estate in which the main three characters; Vinz, Said and Hubert live the Banlieue shows the underbelly of society and the historical context of  the estate, it was built specifically for the poorer members of the Parisian society and keeps them away from the more middle class members who live in the centre of the city.
Drugs are a key part of their lives on the estate, Vinz is shown to have drug paraphnelia in his bedroom, a poster of a leaf of a marajuana plant. Hubert is seen to be selling weed around the estate, in the shot he is in the foreground but out of focus this shows how this is overlooked in society, especially in areas where it is the norm. He is also seen to be smoking the marajuana he sells, showing that he is in that sort of life where he takes drugs as well as dealing.
In the scene with the reporter asking them questions, the camera is clearly high angle, showing that the audience of the news - the French citizens already have a preconception that they are lower than them, more lower class.
The constant digital clock time which shows the passage of time through them as they go about their life. This is linked to the 360 shots that circle around Vinz, Said and Hubert. This symbols their life, circling around the drain, as the dregs of society.
The use of the culture in this film shows how country, particularly France, absorbs culture and takes it on as its own. Vinz, Said and Hubert are all minorities whose culture has been taken by France. The main characters and the people who are around them on the estate has appropriated American culture with the things the wear, and the music they listen to. Also American culture is seen to have taken some aspects of French culture, as shown by the "Notre Dame" sweatshirt a police officer is wearing in Paris. Notre Dame is a famous building in France, but is also a name taken by an American football team, which is what the sweatshirt is referencing.

How are women represented in Nordic Cinema?

Films:
Item 1: (Män som hatar kvinnor) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Dir: Niels Arden Oplev, 2009)
This item is very helpful for me to use as it is the main film and the first film I chose. This film is a re invention of the noir classic, and feature a female in the typical 'troubled male' trope. It is useful to my question because it portrays women- specifically the main character as strong.    

Item 2: Anklaget (Dir: Jacob Thuesen, 2005)
This item is helpful to me because the woman I am looking at is a very strong character, who is a maternal figurehead of her family. 

Item 3: Lilja 4-Ever (Dir: Lukas Moodysson, 2002)
I chose this item because I felt this film spoke to me about the representation of girls as well as women, as it focuses on a girl named Lilja, who goes through an ordeal that is similar to my first item. The difference between them is, Lisbeth, the titular character in Item 1 is an adult and Lilja is a child. Lilja's torment, and eventual suicide shows how such horror inflicted on a child really affects them. I have also noted how the representation of women has changed over time, Lilja 4-ever being made 7 year prior to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Internet Articles:

Item 4: http://bitchmagazine.org/article/nordic-noir-steig-larsson-lisbeth-salander-feminist-analysis-the-killing
I picked this article to show how culture outside of Sweden has viewed the change in the way some Nordic cinema- particularly Nordic Noir- to a more feminist and more powerful female roles. Lisbeth Salander (the titular character in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) is noted as a feminist character. 

Item 5: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/7262886/Noomi-Rapace-interview-the-worlds-most-seductive-sleuth.html
I chose this article because the actress Noomi Rapace, who played Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo talks about her role in the film, and also how the character of Lisbeth is represented in the film. Rapace talks about how the character is androgynous, even in the fact she is bisexual, she is constantly between the two sides, not masculine or feminine.

Item 6: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/authorinterviews/7803012/Stieg-Larsson-the-man-who-created-the-girl.html
I chose this article because it references the author of the books on which The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is based. Although it does not interview the author as he is deceased it interviews a friend of his and talks of the authors history, for example his work on an anti racism magazine in Sweden and mentions how Larsson's history is very similar to the male protagonist - Mikael Blomkvist.

Item 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjjoS9Bx8qY 

Item 8: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/29/nordic-noir-violence-against-women
This item is helpful to me because I found it to be very interesting to have an outsiders perspective on the recent change in culture to make the Nordic style of noir more universal. It speaks of the frequent trope of having female sexual assault survivors and frequent rape, sexual assault and violence themes being normalised in the Nordic culture. This is looked on with disapproval, as they person who is giving the judgement, Ann Cloves, believes that women should be written as powerful without having a history of terrible violence.

Item 9: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/swedish-cinemas-to-stamp-out-sexism-with-bechdel-test-rating-on-movies-8924758.html
I chose this article because I wanted to look at the Bechdel test ratings of the films I had chosen to look at. I wanted to show how Swedish cinema is performing in gender equal roles. Sweden is, as the article referenced the number one country on gender equality. I can compare and contrast this with Item 4 because I can really see whether or not 

Item 10: http://www.nikk.no/en/news/the-nordic-film-industry-remains-male-dominated/
I chose this informative article about the culture of the films I have chosen because I feel it addressed the misconception that all Nordic film is now more women - based. As this item shows, the amount of film that stars, is written by and directed by men is well above any that have anything to do with women.

Item 11: http://www.nordicom.gu.se/en/mediefakta/news/no-gender-balance-nordic-film
I chose this article because I wanted to look at how well women are represented in Nordic film, and I found this to be the most informative article on the subject. It is an informative article on the percentage of women stars in Nordic film. It is a popular misconception that women are regularly achieving starring roles in these films, but in actual fact the films remain male dominated. I thought it was helpful because it showed to me that the roles that women are taking are gradually increasing, as I have shown in the choice of films, with time.

Item 12: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/apr/13/features.review
I chose this article because I felt that it showed how the director. Moodysson, was influenced by his belief in God, show by the recurrent theme of religion and worship throughout Lilja 4-ever. It also compare it to his previous film, Fucking Åmål by saying that, whilst the first film is about romantic love, the second, the film I have chosen is about friendship love. The film has fantasy elements, such as the belief in god and the afterlife and the ability to go back in time.

Item 13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKclCmQhZS4

Item 14: http://www.indiewire.com/article/mood_swing_lukas_moodyssons_lilya_4-ever

Item 15: http://www.wordandfilm.com/2010/11/girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-director-niels-arden-oplev-knows-what-women-want-to-be-lisbeth-salander/

Item 16: http://www.humanisme.dk/film/film073.php

Books and Magazines:
Item 17: Fantasy Cinema: Impossible Worlds on Screen Author: David Butler Pub: 2009 (Pages 39 to 41)
I chose this source because I felt it explained the way a young girl thinks when she is forced in a horrific situation. "...Lilja is awoken by Volodya, now sporting a pair of somewhat awkward-looking white wings attached to his back. The assumption is that Volodya's appearance, returned from the dead, is a product of Lilja's dreaming or imagination." 
Lilja is represented as being a dreamer, and a scared child and retreating into a dream world when she is scared or in trouble.

Rejected:
Film: Headhunters (Dir: Morten Tyldum, 2011)
I rejected this film because I wanted to focus more on a female protagonist, which this film does not.

Film: Jar City (Dir: Baltasar Kormàkur, 2006)
I rejected this film because it did not focus on the issues I wanted to discuss. 

Internet Article: http://cineuropa.org/vd.aspx?t=video&l=en&did=1107
I rejected this article because in it Moodysson talks more about the politics of Lilja 4-ever and of the current issue of Sweden than the way women are represented, which is what I am looking for. 

Saw

America Indie Cinema

It was produced by an independent studio: Twisted Pictures

Premiered at the Sundance Festival 2004 and was bought by Lionsgate to be distributed

Production cost of $1.2 million

The stars of this film are: Tobin Bell, most famous for his role in tis franchise, Cary Elwes, famous for his role in the tv series the X-Files

It deals with themes, such as humans ability to survive and making the choice of sacrifice. 

It won all the awards it was nominated for, including two Teen Choice Awards, a Saturn award and a MTV movie award.

Memento

Memento is a neo-noir Psychological thriller from director Christopher Nolan. The film is a typical Nolan film, the non-linear structure designed to captivate and confuse the audience, as well as making them empathise with what the protagonist, Leonard is going through.

The film centres on Leonard's constant search for whoever killed his wife, his search is hindered by the fact he cannot remember more than 15 minutes into the past. Any more than that then his mind wipes clear, he cannot remember anything since his wife was murdered and he sustained a head injury, this provides a division for the film, 15 minute part of the film, a film- noir black and white flashback sequence of the same phone call before beginning another sequence which the last few seconds of the previous at the start provides a recap so the audience can string the plot together. This non-linear time frame is usual of Film Noir, especially key to older Noir films, in the 40's and 50's, where they would often play, both in reverse or in flashback form.

Memento is similar to other Nolan films, such as Inception. Inception is very similar in the fact that both contain scenes referring to their past controlling their future and also some mentions of the wife being connected to the reason they are in trouble now. Inception being because his wife killed herself and his guilt due to this fact, and that he has been suspected of her murder. Memento being because of the two men raping and potentially murdering his wife- he is now brain damaged and cannot remember more than 15 minutes into his past before his memory erases itself. This links to them using their wives as the reason they cannot do anything about their situation. Memento is about the protagonist relentlessly hunting his wife's 'murderer' and not doing anything about his present-destroying his own wellbeing in the process. Inception has the protagonist doing his job- going into dreams- however he uses the memory of his own wife as the reason to stop him from doing it. This hinders his own work, and stops him from moving on. Another Nolan film Memento is comparable to is his Batman trilogy, the first film has Bruce Wayne loses his parents, and so grows up an orphan, he has a phobia of bats, and he uses his phobia as his power. His circumstance shows he is also a "broken" man similar to the protagonist in Memento.

In the scene I am analysing, which begins with a stereotypical Noir scene, with the protagonist- Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) speaking on the phone, as he does for every black and white scene which shows before every 15- minute clip. The black and white clip is linear and is shown as progressing from start to finish whilst the colour clips are shown as travelling from the end to the beginning. The phone conversation is describing Sammy Jenkins, a significant plot

The colour scene begins with a mid shot of Leonard sitting down, examining some papers. He is looking significantly scruffy, another stereotype of the noir genre, the mise-en-scene is a normal house, in a normal road. This normality means that it could be down any road and the urban environment and is a key part of the Noir genre. As Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss) enters, there is a two shot as she closes the curtains, dimming the natural light streaming into the room and also creating an isolated environment by shutting out the outside world. There is fast, snappy dialogue between Leonard and Natalie, another convention of the Noir genre. She is on her feet putting pens away, the camera follows her hands and we see where she places the pens, the only time the film features pens are scenes with Leonard. This put me on edge because I am wondering what she could be doing and if there is something wrong. As the dialogue reveals, she is clearly very angry at Leonard, but it is as yet as unclear to us as it is to Leonard why, there is another two shot, with the camera positioned behind Leonard's shoulder [Fig 1]. The entire conversation uses these shots, which the camera snapping back and forth between them [Fig 2].
The next few lines let us know, that all is not what it seems between Leonard and Natalie. It is revealed that she is the Femme Fatale of the film, she is control of the relationship, as she can remember what has previously transpired between them.


She hurls abuse at Leonard, after asking him to kill Dodd for her, because he is asking her for the money Jimmy had. When he refuses she is furious and begins to insult him and is very angry that he has refused to do something for her, the audience is left completely in the dark about exactly who Jimmy, her boyfriend is. The relationship is show as Natalie being completely in control- she knows all about their relationship prior to this point. It is obvious to me that she is trying to get him to hit her, knowing he will forget and think that Dodd did it, as is mentioned in the section previous to this. Leonard says: "Hey, don't say another [expletive] word" To which Natalie replies "About your whore of a wife?" Leonard grabs her mouth and pushes her away [Fig 3], she looks at him, mouth bleeding, not reacting as someone who had just been hit would usually act, but pleased. She begins encircling him like an animal stalking their prey, this shows the . She is superior to him and she is aware of it. This is the first shot with the camera not positioned over one of their shoulders. When Natalie reaches the front of him again, he punches her in the face, knocking her onto the floor, and knocking her out of the two shot. The camera switches between them quickly as she falls to the floor, so we see Leonard's reaction. The camera switches back to mid-shots as Natalie gets up and walks to the door. She says "I'll see you soon" and we already know that he will, this is dramatic irony, and makes us sympathise with him . 
The film now switches from diagetic to non diagetic sound as Leonard starts his inner monologue. This is another key part of a Noir film, with the inner voice describing what it is that is going through his mind with his fight to not lose his memories, so he cannot be used by Natalie. There is a point of view shot of Natalie walking toward her car, the camera switches from Leonard, to what he can see: Natalie sitting in her car [Fig 4]. The camera follows Leonard around the room as he tries to find a pen to make a note of what he needs to remember "gotta find a pen, gotta find a pen" 
His thoughts, and the monologue is interrupted by him hearing the car door slam, and his thoughts erase themselves. He gazes at Natalie, with a Point- of-View shot, completely unaware of the previous few minutes, as she makes up her own story. We are left with another piece of the jigsaw of the film [Fig 5].       





Fig1



Fig2

Fig 3

Fig 4

Fig 5

The Shining

The Shining (1980) is a psychological horror film by director Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick's work, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange are both films with much the same balance of horror and tragedy. The aim, much with 2001, is to confuse the audience- they are left unsure of the meaning of the ending, and the plot seems to jump around towards the end as Jack's madness increases. I began to notice this in the 'All work and no play' scene. The scene begins with Wendy beginning to read the work Jack has been doing on his typewriter. Her head appears over the top of a close up of the typewriter, she soon knows that all is not well, when it its revealed through a Point of View shot that all he has typed, over and over again is 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' she examines the paper quickly, leaving just enough time for the viewer to see what is written. I felt like I was connected to Wendy at that particular moment, as I was afraid of what had happened and what could happen to her and Danny, as Jack had lost his mind. There is another reaction shot of Wendy as she goes to examine the previous work Jack has done. As she shifts her gaze to them, it zooms in, creating a feeling of dread as if you know immediately what is written. There are constant switch from Point of View shots to reaction shots as you see the effect it has on Wendy. The reaction shot was ow angle, and I felt almost as if she was in a position of power over Jack, because of her sanity and therefore her clarity of the situation. The faster she looks through the papers, the tenser the music gets, as the camera switches to her face, you see a looks of fear and sadness in her face, and I felt empathy with her and concern for her. The camera suddenly pulls back to the wall behind her, and pans the length of it, revealing several photographs. The audience can make out crosses, and to me the represents the running theme of godlessness by Jack acting like God himself. As the camera pans to reveal Wendy, Jack steps into the foreground staring at Wendy. His being in the foreground represents his power, his is one of strength whilst Wendy's is one of intelligence. It is mention the character of Wendy is highly intelligent- more so than Jack. The music cuts off as soon as he steps into shot. His menace makes me feel uneasy and concerned for Wendy. She screams and turns around, clearly in fear of her life, her face shows she is weak with terror. As they speak, Wendy is retreating in terror as well as shaking and crying whilst Jack is advancing, showing almost an animal stalking it's prey, playing with it rather than killing it straight away. There are more crosses, this time inverted, revealing a darker side to the religious theme, that of the devil. The good versus evil of heaven and hell, with Jack representing the Devil and Wendy and an angel. The stairs are another example of a cross in this scene, and they are walking toward it, wendy first. then followed by Jack as he verbally berates her. There are only point of view shots whilst they are talking as they are against each, similar to a standoff. When Wendy swings the bat at him he continues talking. Even as Wendy is the victim as she is the one backing away, and Jack is advancing, there is still an aspect of Wendy having the power, even as she is hysterical she has the bat and has the sanity that she needs to escape the hotel. The hotel is a  possible symbol for America, as Kubrick wanted to escape America, and some costume had been made red, white and blue to show the American flag. Jack's crumbling sanity could represent the crumbling of America, such as getting involved in war and politics.   

Blade Runner

Blade Runner 1982 is an American dystopian film set in the near future (2019) and features robots who talk and act like humans.

The story involves an ex-blade runner, people hired to find and "retire" these robots after they staged a rebellion and were made illegal on earth. Who is forced back into this role after a Replicant is discovered.

The story also features a group of four Replicants, the leader of which is attempted to find a way to extend his life- the robots are only set to last four years.

The Blade Runner provides an excellent futuristic backdrop to an otherwise reflecting film. Remove the future and the robots and you essentially have a film-noir. The police officers and fugitives, even the romance between the protagonist and the replicant represents the sort of relationship ever present in Noir films. The term for this is Neo-Noir, a futuristic vision of the 1940’s classics.

The setting of the city is fantastically kitsch, with huge advertisements for companies like Pan-Am and Coca-Cola. The entire place has a Tokyo feeling to it with bright lights, and too many people.

The Replicants are such fantastic villains, because they seem human and to all intents and purposes are human but aren’t because they don’t have an emotion at all and have no problems killing people, however towards the end, Roy, the leader of the replicant group on earth dies, and he does so with such emotion that you seem to forget that he is not human.

Lone Ranger

The lone ranger was a box office failure because of several reasons. The film was an adaption of an old television series- and a couple of subsequent films- in the 1950’s. This means that any children or adults who enjoyed the series would now be 60 years old or more, which probably means that they are unwilling or unable to go to the cinema. They are not even close to the target audience of a film like this, and would be too old to have children who are in the target audience to take to see the film. They may buy the film later on DVD if they wish, this would reduce the box office takings.
The film may also have not appealed to the usual target audience of westerns, because it was a very gentle film, target probably towards the audience of Pirates of the Caribbean, a family film. The older western genre was mainly available circa 1950, when it dominated all cinema which focused on violence and guns scenes. These kinds of films would be marketed towards men which would make the film more unpopular toward women.
The reviews of the film on the internet were mainly negative and it didn’t achieve much more than a 2 and a half stars on many websites which rate films. This would convince people to not waste money on a film they would not enjoy. There were also several films out in the summer that people would have wanted to see, so they would have chosen to see them over a film they know nothing about.
The film itself is quite boring, it moves at a slow pace, and the plot doesn’t seem to develop. The entire film seems longer because the action moves so slowly. It is very difficult to keep your attention to a film for that long, especially if does not grab your attention, making it unsuitable to children. The slow plot probably contributed somewhat to the poor reviews it received, even if the plot was fantastic, nobody wants to sit and watch a boring film. The colours in the film were bland- blacks and whites, this may have been a reference to the original westerns when it was all in black and white, but while this seems charming, it actually makes the scenes look boring.