Spider Diagram: Movie Roles.

Spider diagram showing different roles in the production of a movie.

Strangers. Short Re-Review.

In “Strangers”, the short film written and directed by Erez Tadmor and Guy Nattiv, a certain choice of cameras, sound and lighting is used to show us the story of how two men, confronted by their religious differences, turn to be allies in order to escape from a difficult situation. The film makers choose a subway train as a setting, to convey the viewer a sense of claustrophobia, building up the tension this short film needs in order to be effective in its message.
 

The film starts off with a man that walks into a train and sits right opposite to another. We know nothing about them but that one of them is Jewish and the other Muslim. This is shown by the use of close-ups which show us the Magen-David star in the necklace of the Jewish man, and the newspaper which the second man is reading, which is completely written in Arabic.

            They look at each other, and tension starts to build up by the use of close-ups that display their facial expression. The repeating sound of the train rails starts to get louder and nosier.  A group of men approach them.  We can feel the hostility of this group thanks to the sound effects; repercussion and a strange whispering voice contribute to the tension in the atmosphere. The beliefs of the group of men are cleared, after one of them sprays a swastika cross in the Muslim’s newspaper.

            Tension reaches a climax point. The two men are now in a very unconformable situation, since the Arian race has been hostile to them in the past, and will be hostile to them in the future. One of the hostile men places his foot between the legs of the Muslim man. He has been trapped. The train stops. When the Jewish man Is trying to leave in low profile, his phone rings with a very emblematic Jewish song. The group of men turns to him. The Muslim man looks at the Jewish man; the Jewish man looks at the Muslim man, and nods. Sound gets much louder as they run through the train trying to escape the gang following them. They get out, the door closes and they are safe.

           This film is divided into three main parts. The first one when the two main characters judge each other by their beliefs. The second one, when the hostile group of men approaches and intimidates the characters, and the last part, when the two men escape from the gang. The final scene when they return each other’s bags and make eye contact suggests that when dealing with a dangerous situation we have leave aside our religious beliefs or traditions and try to work a way out, just as the two main characters did.

            This is a very good film to watch and analyze taking into account that there is not one word spoken through it. The directors have an immense talent and the choose of shots and sound effect is very accurate and really transmit the emotions the characters go through. The way the film is narrated without words is admirable, at the beginning with the close-ups on the religious contrasts and at the end with the increase of volume in the sound effects.  Overall a very good short film, filled with tension and a lot to analyze.  

A solid 8/10.


Note: The content is based on Lalo's attempt to review the short film.

Camera Shots: Basics.

On today's class we worked on the basis of camera shots and angles.

Establishing shot

Establishing shots such as the one shown on the picture are used by directos to portray the setting, a major look ar the place where the actions on the following scene will take place. For instance in this example: the school.

Low Angle, Long Shot. 

Also known as the hero shot. Mostly use to give the subject importace, or in this case, give the situation importance.

High Angle, Low Shot

Used to give the audience a wider look at what is happening. Another point of perspective.

Close-Up

Camera shot used especially to portray feelings, mostly by facial expressions. As seen in On S'embrasse, we have here another display of emotions through the human face. 

 Low Angle, Medium Shot

Medium shots such as the one below are used in films when this type of situation is given. It works great when having two characters on the screen discussing something important. Therefore the importance of the low angle, plus the medium shot to fir both actors on screen.

Director: Juan Manuel Assad.

Cast: Lucas Grasso; Nicolas Schwartz.

Assistant: Matias.

On S'Embrasse? Short Review.

"On'Sembrasse?" is a good (not excellent) short film in every aspect. Meaning it has strong acting, direction and scrtipt, which are all the main things I look for in a movie. It may be not as original as "Strangers" or emotional as "Eyelids", but instead it's in a solid middle point between them. 

Personally I thought that the takes the director did at the table were amazing, they make the film much more fluid. They change along the dialogue lines of the "characters of the characters" therefore this builds the whole atmosphere up, reaching up to a climax point after the "try it smiling" line where the director makes the close-up takes, which are great to display the feelings of both persons by means of their facial expresions, I found it somehow similar to what Tarantino did in the opening scene of Pulp Fiction (close-up takes in the climax point)  right before the robbery. Anyways, good direction and well-placed takes. 

As for the script, I really liked the irony in it. The fact that the man is being truly dumped simultaneously is very interesting, it also makes the viewer think and reflect about the existence of destiny. I also thought that, that was a situation that both characters had been already through and that explained me that woman's tears and it made the film a lot more engaging. 

Last but not least, I must admit I was truly surprised by the quality of those two actors, both great performances and they really made the script come to life. The film seemed really vivid, and I felt it as a true "cafè-conversation", very good actors make a good script turn to great. 

Overall, a good, enjoyable short film that is really worth 5 minutes of your time.7/10.

A short film I will recommend.