SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

Films:

In a Lonely Place (Ray 1950)

The "Po River Valley" sequence from Paisan (Rossellini 1946).

Both films are available on DVD in the Film Services Library on my reserve shelf: DVD 752 (In a Lonely Place) and DVD 3701 (Paisan). The relevant sequence in Paisan begins at Chapter 21 and is twenty minutes long; it ends at the conclusion of the entire film.

Reading (to be done by September 17):

Andre Bazin, "The Evolution of the Language of Cinema," in course reader. (Please note that previous editions of the course reader include a very bad translation of this piece, which is one of the fundamental essays for the class. Be sure to read the version included in the new reader. There is a copy of the reader on reserve in the library.)

Paper topic (paper due September 18, via email to elkrugamigos@earthlink.net - two pages, double spaced, sent as an attached .doc, .docx or .rtf file...please, no google docs or especially .pdfs!):

In both of tonight's films, a central issue that I want you to consider is identification. I would argue that the art of narrative filmmaking is the art of positioning the audience to the story, leading us, through the use of various formal devices – editing structures, composition, the use of appealing stars – to experience the story viscerally, to identify so completely with the characters that we are swept away into the world of the story. Ray’s work uses these devices to extraordinary effect, sometimes, as in In a Lonely Place, to make these processes of identification and perspective deeply unsettling. Paisan, on the other hand, avoids many of these devices, preferring a documentary-like observation of characters. That’s not to say that it aims to be uninvolving – it is a deeply moving film. But it does encourage a very different relationship to the people we watch onscreen.

Your assignment for the week is to watch both films carefully and to think about your relationship to the characters, how involved you become as you watch the films. Focus your discussion on a single scene in each film in order to talk in greater depth about how these scenes make you respond to one of the characters. If you find yourself tempted to dismiss Paisan because it’s not as fun or as slick as In a Lonely Place, I want you to think hard about that response – are you troubled by a film not doing something that it is explicitly not setting out to do?

MAY 8

Films:
Beau Travail (Denis 1999) DVD 566

Reading:
Aimé Ancian - “Claire Denis: An Interview.” http://sensesofcinema.com/2002/23/denis_interview/

All assignments were due in class today. I am offering a general amnesty for any work received by Saturday, May 11. After that, any late work will result in a lower grade for the class.

The last date I can accept any work for the class is Friday, May 17 (and your grade will suffer if I receive work this last). If you have not turned in everything by then, you will receive an INC for the course.

Please email all essays (saved as .docx, .doc, .rtf or .odt files only) to me at elkrugamigos@earthlink.net.

Finally, I expect to receive the two page extract of your final paper well before your final paper. If I get them both on the same day, or you do not turn in the extract, you will receive a lower grade for the class.

MAY 1

Films:
The Apple (Makhmalbaf 1998) DVD 2189
The House is Black (Farrukhzad 5056) DVD 2629

Reading (to be done by May 7):
Adrian Danks - “The House That Mohsen Built: the Films of Samira Makhmalbaf and Marzieh Meshkini.” http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/02/22/makhmalbaf.html

Jonathan Rosenbaum – “Radical Humanism and the Coexistence of Film and Poetry in The House is Black.” http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.com/?p=21854

Assignment for the week. Please email all essays (saved as .dock, .doc, .rtf or .dot files only) to me at elkrugamigos@earthlink.net:
Final paper for the semester is due by the beginning of next week's class.

APRIL 24

PLEASE NOTE THAT IN ORDER TO ALLOW STUDENTS TO LEAVE IN TIME TO ATTEND THE CHARACTER ANIMATION PRODUCER'S SHOW ON MAY 8, I WILL BE CHANGING THE SYLLABUS - NEXT WEEK (MAY 1), WE WILL WATCH THE APPLE AND WE WILL SEE BEAU TRAVAIL ON MAY 8. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO END THE FINAL CLASS EARLY.

Films:
Days of Being Wild (Wong Kar Wai 1990) DVD 1160

excerpts:
Supercop: Police Story III (Tong 1992) DVD 3904, volume three 1:23:20 to end (watch credits!)
Happy Together (Wong Kar Wai 1992) DVD 047 opening to 7:41

Reading (to be done by April 30):
J. Hoberman - “Days of Being Wild” in course reader

Assignment for the week:
There are no more short paper assignments. I emailed you all last week with information about which papers you are missing: they are all due before class next week. Graduates, email all missing papers to me at elkrugamigos@earthlink.net. Undergraduates, print any missing papers and bring them to class, unless they are the 2 page extract (which was due weeks ago and which I want immediately!) - please email those directly to me.

APRIL 17

Films:
To Sleep With Anger (Burnett 1990) DVD 4381
When It Rains (Burnett 1995) DVD 2629
excerpt:
Los Angeles Plays Itself (Andersen 2004) DVD 2020 – DISC TWO 49:56 to end

Reading (to be done by April 23):
Ntongela Masilela - “The Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers” in course reader

Assignment for the week. Graduates, please email essay to me at elkrugamigos@earthlink.net; undergraduates, please bring a printed copy to class:
Compare two performances from films screened this semester. We’ve had everything from the star turns of Henry Fonda and John Wayne in Fort Apache to the non-actors of Bicycle Thieves and Yeelen to Bresson’s “models” in A Man Escaped to Barbara Loden in Wanda and Gena Rowlands in Opening Night. Tonight’s film had a mix of styles, with Danny Glover turning in a charismatic star performance and the rest of the cast playing in a quieter, more naturalistic style. I don't care which two performances you study, but I’d like to see you discuss them in terms of their emotional effect, their ability to engage the viewer and lead you to identification with the character, and their level of theatricality – does the actor fall seamlessly into the role or do you notice the acting as acting, and does that effect how you feel the performance?

APRIL 10

Films:
Yeelen (Cissé 1987) DVD 926
Borom Sarret (Sembène 1963) DVD 2150
Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (Blank 1980) DVD 1630

Reading (to be done by April 16):
Suzanne Macrae - “Yeelen: A Political Fable of the Komo Blacksmiths/Sorcerers,” in course reader.
Nwachukwu Frank Ukadike - "Souleymane Cissé (Mali)," in course reader.

Assignment for the week. Please email essay to me at elkrugamigos@earthlink.net:
If you chose the April 17 deadline, turn in the final paper. (And please understand that you will continue to have short assignments as the semester ends.) If you chose the May 8 deadline for the final, you need to produce two pages of work towards your paper. This can be anything – research notes, an outline, a bibliography – but it is absolutely due next week. Do not print the essay, email it directly to me.

APRIL 3

Film:
Opening Night (Cassavetes 1977) DVD 1112

Reading (to be done by April 9):
Jonathan Rosenbaum - "Love Film: A Cassavetes Retrospective," in course reader.

Assignment for the week. Graduates, please email essay to me at elkrugamigos@earthlink.net; undergraduates, please bring a printed copy to class:
Discuss two of the following three essays assigned in the class: Stephen Prince on Kurosawa, Bérénice Reynaud on Loden, or Jonathan Rosenbaum on Cassavetes. How do their approaches to evaluating and contextualizing the films differ? Be specific and cite the essays in your discussion.