The Prestige Blog - Christopher Nolan (2006)

There are three main questions that film scholars ask when watching, analyzing, and critiquing various films. These are:

1. What is film? (Theory)

2. What has film been? (Historicism) or what has film language been? (Semiotics)

3. What is the significance of this film and its relationship to others? (Criticism)

I will explore the first question as presented in Christopher Nolan’s “The Prestige”.  This ties in very well with my screening notes for the film.  I believe that Nolan’s views on film are expressed through a very important quote that is repeated throughout the film by Cutler (Michael Caine).  In this quote, he says,

“Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige".”

The “magic trick” that he is speaking about is a very strong metaphor for film and the cinematic experience.  Like the trick, most films are made up of three acts. In the first, a seemingly ordinary situation and set of characters are usually introduced by the end of the film you will realize they aren’t normal.  In the second, this seemingly ordinary character, or characters, do something extraordinary or are faced with an extraordinary situation/conflict. In the third, everything is wrapped up and the viewer is left satisfied. If the film fails to settle the conflicts and situations that arise throughout its duration, then the audiences are taken aback and upset. Also, the film’s third act is usually the hardest to execute as is a trick’s. Just like a magic trick, many film goers don’t like to look for the secrets within a film, whether they be in regards to the film’s plot or production. They want to be fooled and taken along for the ride. Film itself is a form of magic and while many aspects of it can be explained and analyzed, it is hard to truly explain the feeling that getting engrossed in a good film can create. So, following this pattern of thought, Nolan likens himself and other filmmakers to magician’s catering to an audience (film goers).  There is not just one scene or moment that this works to explain in the film, rather, it encompasses the film’s entire meaning and message about cinema. 

The Prestige - Christopher Nolan (2006)

Christopher Nolan's fifth film, The Prestige, starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, is a period mystery thriller about two rival magician's and their struggle to outdo each other on the way to the top. For me, one of the most interesting aspects of the film is it's commentary on conventional film form and the three act structure as a whole. Nolan is obsessed with how an audience perceives or comprehends stories and films. Just as he toys with this in Memento (unconventional story structure) and Inception (cinema as a dream), In The Prestige, Nolan likens cinema to a magic trick that the audience is participating in and being fooled by. The three parts of a trick that are explained act as metaphors for the three acts of a film. The first act is the set-up or exposition, in the second act, a strong conflict emerges, and in the third act, it is in some way resolved.  He is also saying that the movie going experience is truly magical itself. Seeing as though this focus on structure and the cinematic experience are such recurring themes throughout Nolan's body of work, they are something that I may explore further in our next essay. 

Melancholia

Lars Von Trier's 2011 film, Melancholia, focuses on two sisters, Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), as they struggle with extreme depression. The film is broken into two parts. Part 1 is centered on the disaster that is Justine’s wedding party while part 2 is about Claire’s burgeoning depression as a rouge planet, named Melancholia, is about to collide with Earth.

This film was well received by critics and audiences alike and Dunst was universally praised for her portrayal of Justine. She would even go onto win the Best Actress Award at the prestigious Cannes film festival.

Melancholia is one of Von Triers most conventional films yet. Although he does still make the film very hard to watch and taxing on the viewer, he does so in a way that is much easier to comprehend and digest than in the past. Aside from the opening death/end of the world montage, the film moves forward in time and is not hard to follow in any way.

The film explores many very deep ideas and topics that also make viewers think and question a lot. Overall, while not a standalone masterpiece, the film is a very engaging, albeit unsettling, one that Von Trier has crafted from his own experiences with depression. It seems as though it will garner even more meaning with repeat viewings and analysis.

The Hurt Locker

Kathryn Bigelow 's The Hurt Locker (2008) is one of the most successful war movies of recent memory. Within the film, many ideas are explored about war, death, and violence.

Notably, the very opening title in which the Chris Hedges quote, "The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction , for war is a drug." fades out to just the words "war is a drug. Is extremely telling about the overall point of the film and how war is portrayed throughout.

One of the most jarring deaths shown in the film is that of Sargent Matt Thomson. Through the juxtaposition of quiet and deafening sound, as well as shaky, steady, and slow motion camera shots, Bigelow portrays death as both beautiful and sickening. 

I also think war is shown in the film to be a spectacle. In many parts throughout the film, while the main characters were in a squad and interacting or carrying out missions, foreign outsiders would stare and watch them no matter where they were. The camera would often show quick cuts of many different people or groups of people watching the american soliders.