William Harris: Munich; Oldboy; and, The Constant Gardner

“MUNICH”
Directed By Steven Spielberg
Tony Kusnar / Eric Roth
Based on the Book “Vengeance” written by George Jonas

The movie was inspired by a tragic historical event in Munich, Germany during 1972 Olympic games. During these games, 11 Israeli “Jewish” Athletes were taken hostage and murdered by Palestinian Arabs.

In this somewhat Comparative Political Study we find the Political Culture between these two countries have long been a serious issue between, race, ethnicity, and religion. This mostly entails the issue of property rights, or the rights and power in control of the “promise land”.

As with any nation, the primary concern is the Public Safety, or at least the sense of it. In any nation around the world we might entertain the notion that the “Household” is the most fundamental institution, next to marriage. Theoretically when we find safety at home, we might hope to start building strong individuals, who build strong families, who build strong nations, etc. With large functioning populations being the essential element in building nations, we can understand the importance of maintaining an equilibrium or balance in peace for the greater good of the nation.

The idea here with the movie MUNICH is when countries run up against each other with political conflict we find the media getting involved and possible exploitation of information that can be manipulated into a propaganda spin that could get out of control and hurt not your own country but possible some one else’s country. So these big responsibilities fall into the hands of a powerful minority class that are swift in eradicating such problems and with the least amount of attention. Only supplying the money, otherwise not affiliated with and such covert, or terrorist organization. The idea is to fulfill vengeance without affecting the primary functions of these nations safety and economic stability by unwanted publicity towards such acts.

It is here that can start to see and understand the function of these somewhat terrorist type of activities as an organic continuous cycle of death, power shifts, and payoffs that start to make one question; what a person or country is willing to sacrifice, to maintain the power and dignity of a country. The movie dives into one possible scenario of what happened during the period following this widely publicized political event. The group of assassins worked secretly outside of the laws of the land, or country. The countries plan was to denounce any involvement and keep it a complete covert operation that allows this previously mentioned balance to occur naturally. This balance starts beyond the boundaries of personal rights. It surpasses any restraints of bureaucracy. But does start to mirror things that might be considered branches of organized governments. This area located out in the perimeter of what we might consider the normal Government relations of Checks and balances.

With Limited Government power in many countries and their presence only wanting to mirror the idea of being there for the greater good of the people. These covert unsanctioned operations can easily be taken to have a Necessary and proper cause, justified by the Machiavellian ideology, or “the end justifies the means”. The character Ephram in the movie, played by Geoffrey Rush, is working for the Israeli intelligence organization “Mossad” who organizes a team of assassins that are relieved of their official duty and require them to sign away any involvement with their government and any future retirement benefits. In return for following orders put forth they would receive funds for functioning during the operation and unofficial retirement payment of a job well finished.

What the main character soon finds out is that through this system the world is a scary place and all that was important was to return home to his wife and newborn child. His identity started to disrupt because of starting to understand both sides of the struggle and realizing this form of management of conflict would never be settled through assassinations. He decides that his safe place was going to be New York and that his previous home was of no true help or safe place that he wanted to be a part of. I hope that these countries can some day create politics that will represent the true voice of the people and that terrorists organizations will be resolved with the voice they might create through some for of civil disobedience.



OLDBOY
Film Response

This groovy Asian Action / Thriller “Flick”, showing elements of “Film Noir”style in the avant-garde Genre form leaves me to understand why Quentin Tarentino gave his seal of approval for it. As with most cutting-edge, experimental type films you see the use of many new editing techniques, plot continuity irregularities, ambiguous moral characters, along with finding difficulty with drawing the line between dreams, reality, and overall meaning of the story.

Story duration actually ties all the way back to when Dae-Su was in high school where he started a rumor that led to a series of event unknown until the end of the movie. The plot duration was around 15 years and one week, including a couple of flash backs that allow him to piece together this puzzle that has caused him to be imprisoned for 15 years. The 15-year imprisonment relationship was summarized through many tricks, or conventions, of the editing and camera world, such as showing Major political events occurring on the television, his implied frequency of hair growth and hair cuts, a couple attempts on his life from different frustrations, and a journal he starts and ends with a complete volume before being released. The scene only took but a few minutes but it felt like we all were in there with him for those 15 years. Most of the screen duration occurred with a summary of the 5 day seek of vengeance, or possibly truth???

In the beginning, “real time” was thrown upon us with the “Cliff hanger” effect and left us with the question, what the hell? Somebody was getting ready to die fast! Time, this appears as a major frequent theme, from this point mentioned above through the opening credits of OLDBOY rotating like a clock, many clocks superimposed with-in dissolving cuts throughout the film. Through one of the early plot satellites we new early on that Dae-su likes playing games because of his friend saying, “are you playing games again” while looking for him when he exists the phone booth, and noticing his disappearance. Here the camera takes omniscience overhead position. From this position we achieve a major event hub by seeing that the game has begun and the symbolic “X” marks the spot and we have direction because of the symbolic “arrow” painted on the road, and we know by immediate montage of stop watches that there is a time limit. Another frequent element of juxtaposition is the fact of being in very high places or very low places. It moves him from opening scene of being in control, to be a beast eating food from the floor. Another pattern of comparative symbolism is with the use of ties representing dog leashes made very clear in the opening scene, because of a dog in the arm. All the ties represent dog leashes or the control on others, or the control needed on oneself. It’s a matter of maturity.

I want to back up bit and continue to focus on this beginning area of the film. The drunk tank or room in particular. Here we not only get to see this Dae-Su not only show us his immaturity, but his lack of respect for anyone but himself and his mental confusion in general. In this early sequence we can get a lot out of whom we are dealing with. The cinema photographer opens with a nice ridiculous close-up of Dae-su. Seeing him up-close and personal and then crosscutting wide-shots together, on the bench, showing this outer and inner differences that the movie will continue to work with. This montage of cross-cutting combined with many jump cuts allows you to feel the inner workings of his mind and inspires some anticipation that hopefully he gets some help, or just maybe that we think this character is going no where fast. With this juxtaposition we really wonder if he will actually keep up with this imposed “time limit” that we are frequently reminded of.

“Hello Sweet Girl, it’s daddy, daddy’s got you present and I’ll be there to GIVE IT TO YOU, baby!” An early plot foreshadowing of things to cum, literally! The way that the film is cut, I feel, that we are led to believe that Dae-Su is the man that was dropped from the building, when we later find out that that person was actually himself. This I feel is the theme or man against himself. And man not listening to him self but just continuously talking about himself. Once he told his story on the rooftop, he was finished with any other whining beast – or heart. I believe that Dae-su the businessman is being split into two parts in the beginning and even split more as the writing continues from what was originally a mythological “wild man” archetype character that has been broken down into smaller complex characters that interact around him. The “Wildman” and the characters in the film represent the parts of ones proper inner workings from going from immature to mature adult man. These complex individual characters working within the film represent the workings of viewers subconscious The characters are trying to help Dae-su but he is a man who has not reached maturity in the traditional sense and will not be mature until he embraces his true nature, which is both good and bad. Since he was not willing to put a leash on this proverbial “wild man” then someone else was going to do it for him. A character in his deep dark subconscious, something kept alive by the heart. Woo- Jinn mentions that he has a bad heart and that he had asked, Dr. Hopkins – (an English surname; meaning derived from the dim.) To install a remote control to stop his pass maker from functioning upon request. Matters of the heart, the proverbial heart, are usually a dark place, a place we might sometimes wish we could shut off. Woo-Jin is establishing his function of the conscious. He has locked Dae-Su up for 15 years and finally one day released him back on top. Not on the bottom where he had once found him. It’s the heart hoping and helping for the best.

This Avant-garde type movie dealing with all the postmodern twists, the movies form is defying continuity, and erasing the line between dream and reality. We have seen the inner workings of his mind and find it hard to determine whether it was dream or reality. We never really left that position the entire movie, this “pure stream of consciousness” literary style equivalent, continues through out. The entire movie is nothing more then this guys conscience being broken up into these “film noir” characters that continue to break him down. Or shrink him into nothing because he has not only created them but also has made thing up his whole life so he could “get along with everyone”, “getting through one day at a time.” but why can’t he get along today?” he asked! Today is the day that he will start from the bottom where the rainwater and darkness, Dae-Su refers to as home, is clouding his every thought. And finally be brought back to the top of the building, sunshine and green grass.

The story is about a man who has lived a life of a businessman, modern day thief, living his life getting along with others and then while drinking this underlying theme starts to come more apparent. This male had yet to mature into a full man. A man who is not only compassionate but also without fear, brave. The plot to me seems to be this battle or this fifteen-year reign of the wild man who had been locked up and is now deciding and exit strategy.

You laugh and the world laughs with you! You weep and you weep alone.

Dae-su asks the question, “if I had been in that prison for fifteen years, would Mi-do love me as much as she does.” The mature man has let the wild man go and know that he can call on his help whenever he needs it.

At the end of the movie you here Dae-su narrative after the ….”This is what’s happened to me up till now. Thank you, for listening to a terrible story all the way through till the end. I hope that you can understand that the reason that I cant talk to you in person is because I have know tongue” His subconscious, or “wild man” talking deep within his mind.

The hypnotist makes a clear statement at the end that I believe to be an underplaying conclusion. She says, “to be HONEST, I have NO reason to help YOU!” “ But there was something that you wrote here that was touching. Even though I’m no better than a beast…don’t I have the right to live? My question is doesn’t the wild man have a right to live and doesn’t everyone have a right to live and to make mistakes. We should not let ourselves be shrunken and diluted through lies…. And like in this movie by chance he was able to reverse the damage through hypnosis. As she says, “the hypnosis can possibly distort your memories”. This would have the same effects of lies, rumors, etc…

He is now at the edge of the forest in the pure snow symbolic of innocence and cleansing…he is through talking too much. He still wants to go with the hypnosis that will send his anger and Wildman back to the forest. He could never handle that challenge to set it free and call upon him whenever needed but harbored him for ever-much like the Asian culture in general have an tradition of carrying grudge.

The hypnotist starts the transformation by saying look at the tree- the tree becomes the rock pillar in Woo-Jin penthouse. This shows the symbolism of Woo-Jins’ layer as the forest and he is the “Wild Man” This duality of characters I feel are constantly changing from being one person, to two people with the same problem, ambiguous in there moral standing. I’m not sure if it from the writer showing his talents and covering this old tale of manhood or just my own ignorance not allowing me to see something that is clear.

The frequency of flash backs start increasing as the film nears its end and as the answers come so fast we are overwhelmed not only with what the truth is, but also by how everyone is affected, or by sacrifice not affected, Mi-do. The last sequence upon a snow cap mountain leaves us unsure how much story duration has passed but with the knowledge that Dae-Su and Mi-do has traveled far, he is tired, not talking too much anymore, and ready for a spiritual transformation. A division of his inner self has occurred. He has climbed a great mountain, has great perspective, and has become a mature man. Both crying and laughing with joy of a rebirth after hearing Mi-do tell him that she loves him. This man is now complete, as with the viewer, all the other characters have vanished.



“The Constant Gardner”
Focusing on Cinematography

This non-linear story, duel-narrative, detective puzzle type genre film, takes place on location in the beautiful setting of Nairobi, Africa, with wonderful cinematography. Even though this non-linear style takes away from the verisimilitude of the movie, compared to a linear type, I believe that the overall use of cinematographic properties, Framing, combined with the speed and length of the shots by the Director of photography (DP) does help create the feeling of a dream, adding back the ability to “suspend my disbelief”, and allowing for a wonderful mise-en-scene.

The DP responsibilities are always demanding but were particularly demanding in this film because of the obvious reasons. The main reason, of course, expensive equipment, dry African desert, and dirt, sand, well this terrain leads to a difficult task. The DP I’m sure was relying on his entire photography unit to give 110% whether being the camera operator, clapper/loader, gaffer, best boy, or grip. This team had to be a highly responsive and efficient unit, because of the fact that once the clapperboard falls, and the director says, action! Money is burning fast and a grain of sand better not get in the way.

Cinematographic properties in this film, such as film stock, lighting, and lenses were very important to consider under such harsh conditions. For consideration on film stock, we have to be familiar with the chosen stocks film colorization, even though we might assume that digital colorization technology in post-production can manipulate the final product, and remember that the original shots will represent the final quality of the motion picture. Postproduction technology is essential but not fundamental, also as the old cliché goes during production, “Crap in equals Crap-out”. Other considerations of your film stock will be whether your shooting many day or night shots, and are the temperatures going to be cold or hot? This film being primarily shot during hot days in Africa, we can knowingly say that the film stock choice was zenith to many of the critical production responsibilities and setup. Of course if your using types of digital video cameras you will find these issues less sensitive, but none the less important.

The natural lighting sources in this film was used abundantly, with the help of reflector boards diffusing the light and reducing shadows on the face when it wasn’t necessary, along with filters controlling the quality of light. But this movie did contain many points of artificial lights, especially during the evening and night scenes when they used both focusable spots and floodlights. These spotlights were used wonderfully in one particular scene in the back yard, when the letter is given back. The light source direction produced harsh shadows across the characters face during the moment of him receiving the letter. This gives a great example of how the lighting and acting made of feel his sinister nature, and created one of the most notable mise-en-scenes’ in the film.

With many extreme long shots, pan shots, and aerial-view shots combined with maximum depth of field and widescreen aspect ratio, allowed us to see the enormous scale, vastness, and isolation of Africa as a country. This ratio allows more composition while framing shots during setup. As with almost all movies there was a continuous montage of editing cuts between long shots, medium shot, and close-ups. The many camera techniques used during moments to create a documentary style on the realistic outdoor open shot scenes were done with Steady-cams adjusted to simulated camera movement creating verisimilitude and mise-en-scene

The cinematography in this film was really one of its best qualities. The overall screen duration was to long, the scope came to slowly, and the overall suffering I experienced while the director using “disinformation” as an affect, and literally used the word in the dialogue, was painful. This disinformation of cinematic time became a part of the narrative form. I usually like a non-linear plot order, but this one caused too much pity and sympathy of the main character, and left me feeling deceived, ashamed of myself for judging, and fucking paranoid! But hey, the cinematography was excellent!