Pan's Labyrinth is a film that tells the story of Ofelia, a young girl, who is lead to a land of fairytales. Alantis: The Lost Empire is an animated film that follows Milo Thatch, a cartographer and linguist who hopes to find The Shepard's Journal, an ancient manuscript showing where Alantis (island) is located. Pan's Labyrinth and Alantis: The Lost Empire use incorporate magical elements, special effects, and mythic stories about the underworld to represent themes of discovery and returning home.

Discovery is a theme director Guillermo del Torro portrays with amazing style. The protagonist Ofelia is drawn to a world of fantasy after she finds a insect which leads her to a stone labyrinth. Ofelia thinks she has discovered a amazing, fantastical, world; she meets a faun who calls her Princess Moanna. Ofelia does not realize her connection to the underworld or that her is king of it.

Kida is another main character in Alantis: The Lost Empire who does not realize her connection to the underworld. Kida meets Milo when Ulysses, the submarine he is on is attacked, and Milo ends up outside the border of the city of Alantis. Kida does not know that her mother, The Queen, left her behind after The Queen became entranced by a blue light; this caused The Queen to remain safe, but her daughter to disappear along with the empire as Alantis, the island was submerged underwater.


The special effects in both Pan's Labyrinth and Alantis: The Lost Empire are equally impressive. Del Toro used a combination of make-up and computer generation to create the scenes and characters. The use of special effects extends to the scenes in the film when Ofelia is back in the mortal realm including the graphic scene when The general sows his mouth shut. Alantis: The Lost Empire used a more traditional form of special effects animation. Although director Gary Trousdale effectively used color and variations in tone to help set the scene and emotions with the film. Comparing the use of special effects in both films, Alantis uses effects that are more realistic in general, while  Pan's Labyrinth uses effects that are more magical.

Discovering the lost island of Alantis remains a quest throughout the entire film just like Ofelia prove to the faun that she is worthy of reuniting with her father by getting the golden key, retrieving the golden dagger, and sacrificing herself for the greater good. The quest to find Alantis and the quest to receive eternal life and to be a princess illustrates the broader theme of  these films. The most valuable possession individuals can have in life is not an object, like an island or the promise of royalty and eternal life but the connections and relationships we have with people.
This theme does not prominently appear within the films, but Milo's willingness to leave his life behind to be with Princess Kida and Ofelia's willingness to sacrifice herself for her brother illustrate the most important possession individuals have in life is their relationships with people.

Water: The Role Of Religion

I loved watching the film Water. It was so jarring to see Chuiya move into the widow's house. The main reason I enjoyed watching this film is it was interesting to see how each woman, including Chuiya, adapted to their circumstances and challenged the oppressive rules forced upon them because they are females. It saddens me to know living in the widow's house is the best option for women. According to Manusmriti, an ancient legal text covers topics on dharma including duties, rights, laws, and conduct. Manusmriti states in life a woman is half her husband, and if he dies, she dies. The only options available to widowed women are she can throw herself on his funeral pyre and die with him, she can marry his brother, or live out her days in separated from society in the widow house.

Special Effects in Action!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a emotionally gripping film. I tend to watch a lot of television shows on make-up and special effects, but I never imagined the process to create Brad Pitt's face as an elderly man relied heavily on computer programming and facial analysis. Seeing how the make-up artist were able to seamlessly match Pitt's facial expressions into a older man is entertaining. Also, I have another level of respect for Pitt has an actor because I didn't realize the amount of scenes he had to execute alone in order for the special effects to come together

Whale Rider

(The Whale Rider is a great full of engaging images and emotional overtones. As a female viewer I connected to Paikea Aspirana, I found her bravery and her ability to accept the fact that she was going to die at the end of the film inspiring).

Applying the historical frame work to The Whale Rider amplifies the worldview of Maori people. The role of women in the community is an aspect of the culture which gives readers an understanding of the history of Maori people. As a community the Maori people depend males to ride whales which ultimately keeps their community thriving. Although Pai has the gift of understanding the whales, her community rejects her abilities and gifts because she is a girl. The rejection Pai experiences reflects the deeply held belief that descendants of the prophet Paikea must be male, and that every generation needs a whale rider in order for the community to continuing thriving. This belief is so deeply embedded in the minds and hearts of the people that the first person Koro, Pai's grandfather, asks about his daughter dies giving birth to Pai and her twin brother is his grandson. The fact that Koro does not show any outward concern in the moment for his dead daughter illustrates how changes in the beliefs and values of individuals, particularly the elderly, in the community will be slow, painful, and not without a significant cost to Pai and her community.

Sound and Music in Tsotsi

Tsotsi  is an extremely engaging film which deals with the cultural and racial tension is South Africa because of apartheid. The main character lives in the poorest area within South Africa and is the leader of his friends, who steal from people who are wealthy. Out of his group of friends, Tsotsi is filled with the most anger and self-hatred because of the struggles he faced as a young boy growing up  without a mother and having to live on his own with and money of support. Music is a cinematic element which enhances the tension within the film and allows viewers to connect to Tsotsi emotional state throughout film. Generally, as a character Tsotsi is very closed off and emotionally unavailable; for reason the music elements help viewers to interpret  Tsotsi's emotional growth and changes throughout the story. The sound elements which are low and soft in the opening scene intermittent with silence allows viewers to identify and connect with Tsotsi's anger.

Interesting Use Of Music

Easy A is a comedy about Olive, a teenager girl, who ends up helping the nerdy/uncool boys in her high school. Olive lets the boys tell other students she has slept with them to help their reputation. At this point in the movie, Olive is mad at her best friend for spreading rumors about her; Olive begins to dress like a slut to prove a point. I chose this scene in the movie because it is one of the few I have scene in films where the music opens the scene and takes precedent over dialogue

Camera Movement

Beginning:

This scene begins with a close up shot of Sara blowing out candles. Then the camera zooms out into an establishing shot of Sara and the girls surrounding her birthday cake. The camera pans right when Lavina makes a remark to Sara. When Sara comments to Lavina the camera is in medium shot. When the doorbell rings, the camera pans right, settling on Miss Minchin.







Middle: In this section of the scene Miss Minchin opens the door after the doorbell rings. Before Miss Minchin is in view opening the door, the camera zooms in on the door. Mr. Barrow the man at the door enters the house. There is a straight cut back to the birthday party where a child and Amelia, Miss Minchin’s sister, are seen in a two-shot playing the piano. The rest of the girls at the party are dancing to the piano music; then there is a long shot of Sara standing away from the girls by a door to the hallway wavy at Becky, the house servant girl.
There is a horizontal pan from Sara’s position in the room to the shot where Miss Minchin and Mr. Barrow stand observing the birthday party. Before Mr. Barrow and Miss Minchin enter the office room to speaking privately, there is a point of view shot of Mr. Barrow looking straight ahead-viewers cannot see what Mr. Barrow looks at.

End: At this point in the scene, Sara and the girls are running around the heart-shaped table in the room (playing a game) when Miss Minchin comes in the room and tells the girls that the birthday party is over. A low angle shot of Miss Minchin is taken while she tells Sara to remain in the room. There is a close up shot of Sara’s face when she Miss Minchin states she has something to tell Sara. There is a three person shot when Miss Minchin tells Amelia to find Sara “a simple black dress”.

There is a long shot of Sara and Miss Minchin as they walk into her office room. The long shot continues as Sara stands waiting to hear bad news. When Miss Minchin tells Sara her father has died there is a close up side angle shot of Miss Minchin’s face. After Miss Minchin tells Sara she is sorry, there is a long shot of Sara and Miss Minchin sitting at her desk. When Miss Minchin Sara she is penniless there is a close up of Miss Minchin’s face. There is a series of close shots where Sara imagines one of the black balloon that bursting. After Miss