I watched “Bande de Filles” (Girlhood). It follows Marieme, a 16-year old living in Clos-Francais, a undesirable suburb of Paris, which is just refered to as the “’hood.” She looks after her younger siblings diligently, avoiding her abusive older brother as much as she can. She joins a group of three girls and they quickly become close friends. It was hard to pinpoint specific topics discussed because many were interwoven in this coming-of-age story. Her three new friends definitely showed their influence on her, getting her to steal, smoke, and lead her to violent acts. But also, there was such a bond of friendship and support, and you could see the joy in Marieme’s eyes as she was empowered and inspired. Control was explored as well through her family. A key scene was when Marieme caught her little sister stealing a purse, and in anger and disappointment hit her. “You’re just like him,” her sister spat, and Marieme realized how far she had gone from her dutiful, tentative self and the beginning of the movie toward the actions of her abusive brother. She then gains her brother’s respect by winning a fight against a girl from a rival group. Marieme also tries to hide the fact that her grades are too low and she can’t go to high school from her mother, and this leads to her threatening those who would tell. She explores sexuality and gender, going by “Vic” and dressing more masculine when she was dealing drugs so that the other dealers wouldn’t think of her as a sexual object (angering her boyfriend). I reckon the overarching moral was to find your individuality and inner strength, and it’s okay if that takes time to find. Marieme finds her courage, standing up to the druglord by refusing to let him kiss her. This courage was emphasized in the end, when she cried attempting to go home after she quit drug dealing, but couldn’t manage to do it. She composed herself, set her expression, and continued. She also turned down her boyfriend’s marriage proposal because she “didn’t want that life.” The movie’s climax revolved around the scene when Marieme tells her friends she was asked to start dealing. “Wanna tell me where my dreams are?” she yelled. “You need to wake up. You’re going nowhere … nowhere.” Her friends didn’t get angry, but softened their expressions. “Come here,” they said, and they all hugged. “Make me laugh,” Marieme pleaded, and before long they were all laughing about “hot gossip.” I thought the film was pretty slow-paced overall, but allowed for very real scenes celebrating youth (lip-syncing to Rhianna’s “Diamonds”) and showcased the subtleties to the main character’s acting. I also didn’t understand a few things or found them confusing: Lady/Sophie, the leader of Marieme’s friend group, dressed up for her scheduled fist fight, and the camera often focused closely on Marieme’s shoes – I think to show that they were stolen. Hair length was also a symbol of pride, and when Lady/Sophie lost a fight her father cut it off. I learned about rough Parisian neighborhoods and how they affect young black girls, but also that teenage banter is so universal. Their comebacks, subject matter, and idea of fun are identical to what I see in my own life, and it was fun to watch but provided important social commentary.
I chose to watch Yves Saint Laurent. Yves Saint Laurent is a dramatic retelling of his life and all the troubles he faced. Born in Oran Algiers, the Algerian war took a great toll on Laurent, who was drafted into the French army at one point, though he was hospitalized after being severely hazed by the other conscripts. He blames the bad treatment (psychoactive drugs, electroshock therapy) he received for his later mental illness and drug addiction. As a young gay man growing up, Laurent was shown no mercy and found little refuge within his home. The only solace he ever knew was in his drawings and his imagination. As a young fashion designer, Laurent worked for Dior and that is where he made his name and truly began his career as a designer. The film is as emotional and inspiring as Laurent himself and portrayed truthfully the fantastic things that his mind created, as well as the terrible things that his life dealt him. Tragedies such as the Algerian war, and his consequent drafting, consistent fights and betrayals by his partner Pierre Berge, as well as drug addiction made life difficult for one of the fashion world’s most influential designers. As with many true artists, mental illness and drug addiction took their toll and in his later career, they took control. This film brings to light the struggles faced by a hero of the fashion world as well as celebrating the genius that he was. Yves Saint Laurent will forever be remembered for his artistry, and for his tragic struggle.
I chose to watch Yves Saint Laurent. Yves Saint Laurent is a dramatic retelling of his life and all the troubles he faced. Born in Oran Algiers, the Algerian war took a great toll on Laurent, who was drafted into the French army at one point, though he was hospitalized after being severely hazed by the other conscripts. He blames the bad treatment (psychoactive drugs, electroshock therapy) he received for his later mental illness and drug addiction. As a young gay man growing up, Laurent was shown no mercy and found little refuge within his home. The only solace he ever knew was in his drawings and his imagination. As a young fashion designer, Laurent worked for Dior and that is where he made his name and truly began his career as a designer. The film is as emotional and inspiring as Laurent himself and portrayed truthfully the fantastic things that his mind created, as well as the terrible things that his life dealt him. Tragedies such as the Algerian war, and his consequent drafting, consistent fights and betrayals by his partner Pierre Berge, as well as drug addiction made life difficult for one of the fashion world’s most influential designers. As with many true artists, mental illness and drug addiction took their toll and in his later career, they took control. This film brings to light the struggles faced by a hero of the fashion world as well as celebrating the genius that he was. Yves Saint Laurent will forever be remembered for his artistry, and for his tragic struggle.
The film I chose for this personal pick assignment was the French movie “Dior and I”. Made in 2014, it was a documentary following Raf, the newly appointed Creative director of the famous French clothing brand Dior, and his struggles in preparing the first fashion show of the season. He was the first minimalistic designer ever to take the position at Dior, and thus faced a lot of prejudicial criticism and expectations before he even put together his first project.
I initially chose the film for one of two reasons: first, because nearly all of the other French movies on Netflix were romantic comedies (which I wasn’t in the mood for), and second because the description made it seem like it was going to be a documentary about the Dior brand itself - something which seemed interesting. All I really knew about the Dior brand was that it was considered high fashion, and rather revolutionary for its time.
The film itself was extremely interesting, even if it was about a superficial topic. Its main goal was to highlight the similarities between Raf and the original Charline Dior - who as it turns out, are both very similar people. Both of them are coming into their position during a period of transition in fashion; both of them were interesting in incorporating the feel of the modern woman into their clothing lines. It also opened my eyes a bit to the incredibly stressful, incredibly complex structure of a high fashion workforce. All of the clothing is hand-stitched, and check by multiple people before shown again to the designers. This created an odd atmosphere of family, jealousy, and intense competition leading up to the event. Even the head designer had a panic attack minutes before the show was first about to start.
As crazy as the storyline was, I loved the mixture of old footage with new footage, and the modern paris, the interesting atonal music that challenges songwriting much like Dior challenged fashion. It was also cool and interesting to see the juxtaposition of fashion styles, the importance with which French people view Dior’s legacy and the artistry that goes into each (incredibly over-priced) article of clothing. I would definitely recommend this well-made documentary to anyone interested in art.
The film that I chose to watch was called “Lolo.” It followed the love story between Violette, a woman who is an art director in the fashion industry and Jean-Rene, a man is was a computer geek. Violette has a son Lolo who greatly dislikes Jean-Rene. Throughout the film Lolo pulls off various schemes to attempt to break up the couple. Ultimately Violette and Jean-Rene stay together. I think one of the biggest themes in the film was the contrast between the love between Violette and Jean-Rene and how Lolo treated his mother. Lolo was an adult who was still living with his mother to mooch off of her and only disliked Jean-Rene because he took attention away from Lolo, not because there was anything actually wrong with him. Lolo also proved how selfish and immature he was by continuously trying to break up his mother and Jean-Rene, even so far as to get Jean-Rene arrested. I think Lolo and his mother’s toxic relationship and Lolo’s selfishness are a major theme and only strengthen the love story between Violette and Jean-Rene. One of the things that went along with what I previously knew about France was the Importance of the fashion industry. I knew fashion was a big deal in France and Violette worked in that industry so it showed through in the film. I definitely enjoyed the film because it was a comedy and I typically love comedies. I thought it was very entertaining and very funny. I would definitely recommend this film to other people.
I chose to watch a movie called Untouchable that came out in 2011. The movie is staring Francois Cluzet and Omar Sy. Omar Sy has recently become very famous in the United States for his role in the new movie Jurassic World. Untouchable is about the relationship in between an old wealthy paraplegic and a young guy from the slums. The old wealthy man hires Dris because he treats his as if he were a normal man and not incapable of anything, like everyone else does. This movie is filled with funny moments as well as a few serious ones. One of my favorite parts of the movie is that Dris sometimes forgets that the older man is paraplegic and tried to hand him things that he asks for. This film shows the amazing features of friendship. Dris saves the old man by showing him that life can still be good and the old man teaches Dris many valuable methods. Sometimes people just need a little push to see what they can do. This film also shows the most unlikely of friends becoming very close. Friendship does not see judgment, race or gender. Throughout this experience for Dris, he learned about hard work and by the end he realized he wanted to be more and do more with his life. The cinematography was very good. I liked the approach of certain scenes, which made the movie totally different. It also showed what life was like in France if you lived in the projects and didn't really want to go home.The old man basically has a castle in the middle of Paris, which I didn’t even know was possible. I also learned that people, especially while driving and parking, do not listen to any of the signs. My vision of France has not changed must, I just think that it is even more beautiful now. I didn’t think it got that cold there for some reason, but there was a scene where they looked really cold. Yes! I recommend everyone to see this movie.
Film: The African Doctor Recent medical school graduate, Seyolo Zantoko accepts a job in a tiny city in the countryside of France. Being Congolese brings up many issues for him and his family making the transition for them very difficult since the citizens there have never seen a black person before. Throughout the film he tries to gain their respect being helping them. The obvious theme of the racism. Even though Seyolo earned his title as a Dr. people didn't respect him, see him as a real doctor or even as a man in the small town of Marly-Gomont. By working hard and giving nothing but respect and interacting with the locals they slowly started to open up to him. An example is when a woman was in labor she didn't want Seyolo to deliver the baby, but he stuck with her after all the nasty remarks she made towards him. After the baby was born she respected him. Once Seyolo and his family arrived to Marly-Gomont they received a lot of hate and even his children were bullied. After time they were accepted. Everybody thinks that French speakers live in France. But the reality of that is that it's not true. Places of Africa speak French as well which is why Seyolo is fluent in French. He then takes his family out of Africa to France to give them a better life. He even mentioned to his children that they should be happy that they are receiving a French education because being black education is very very important for them to have. I really liked and enjoyed watching this film. I would recommend anyone to see it. Not only because it teaches valuable life lesson, but it's actually a comedy as well. It's a very funny film, but still does a good job getting the message across. I personally liked it so much because I am a Hispanic woman who is pre-med student so it's nice to see successful doctors in media portrayed by people of minority.
‘Les Choristes’ is a film about a failed musician who finds a job taking care of children in a boarding school for boys. The principle is a strict disciplinarian who believes in the philosophy ‘act-react’. His methods of punishment are extreme and this causes the boys to resent him. The teacher, ‘Monsieur Clement’, decides to connect with the children through music, and convinces the principle to allow him to do so. It was difficult at first but he got them to get together and form a great choir. There were obviously some obstacles along the way, but then this movie would not be as interesting if it didn’t. There were two students in particular that played a huge role in the movie, both story wise and through the impact they had on audiences. Of course, when I talk of audience, I assume they impacted other viewers the same way they impacted my experience watching the movie. One student named Pépinot believed that his parents would come to pick him up, even though they were both dead, and he would stand at the gate of the school, waiting for them to come. The second student is an older student named Pierre Morhange, a kid with serious issues but a hidden musical talent. These boys were fun to watch, as they played a huge role in the movie. Having gone to boarding school myself, I could relate to them in many ways. The punishments for us were different but equally severe. This movie was amazing, and extremely funny to watch. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and would recommend for others to watch, whether or not they speak French.
I watched “Bande de Filles” (Girlhood). It follows Marieme, a 16-year old living in Clos-Francais, a undesirable suburb of Paris, which is just refered to as the “’hood.” She looks after her younger siblings diligently, avoiding her abusive older brother as much as she can. She joins a group of three girls and they quickly become close friends.
RépondreSupprimerIt was hard to pinpoint specific topics discussed because many were interwoven in this coming-of-age story. Her three new friends definitely showed their influence on her, getting her to steal, smoke, and lead her to violent acts. But also, there was such a bond of friendship and support, and you could see the joy in Marieme’s eyes as she was empowered and inspired. Control was explored as well through her family. A key scene was when Marieme caught her little sister stealing a purse, and in anger and disappointment hit her. “You’re just like him,” her sister spat, and Marieme realized how far she had gone from her dutiful, tentative self and the beginning of the movie toward the actions of her abusive brother. She then gains her brother’s respect by winning a fight against a girl from a rival group. Marieme also tries to hide the fact that her grades are too low and she can’t go to high school from her mother, and this leads to her threatening those who would tell. She explores sexuality and gender, going by “Vic” and dressing more masculine when she was dealing drugs so that the other dealers wouldn’t think of her as a sexual object (angering her boyfriend). I reckon the overarching moral was to find your individuality and inner strength, and it’s okay if that takes time to find. Marieme finds her courage, standing up to the druglord by refusing to let him kiss her. This courage was emphasized in the end, when she cried attempting to go home after she quit drug dealing, but couldn’t manage to do it. She composed herself, set her expression, and continued. She also turned down her boyfriend’s marriage proposal because she “didn’t want that life.”
The movie’s climax revolved around the scene when Marieme tells her friends she was asked to start dealing. “Wanna tell me where my dreams are?” she yelled. “You need to wake up. You’re going nowhere … nowhere.” Her friends didn’t get angry, but softened their expressions. “Come here,” they said, and they all hugged. “Make me laugh,” Marieme pleaded, and before long they were all laughing about “hot gossip.”
I thought the film was pretty slow-paced overall, but allowed for very real scenes celebrating youth (lip-syncing to Rhianna’s “Diamonds”) and showcased the subtleties to the main character’s acting. I also didn’t understand a few things or found them confusing: Lady/Sophie, the leader of Marieme’s friend group, dressed up for her scheduled fist fight, and the camera often focused closely on Marieme’s shoes – I think to show that they were stolen. Hair length was also a symbol of pride, and when Lady/Sophie lost a fight her father cut it off.
I learned about rough Parisian neighborhoods and how they affect young black girls, but also that teenage banter is so universal. Their comebacks, subject matter, and idea of fun are identical to what I see in my own life, and it was fun to watch but provided important social commentary.
I would watch it :)
SupprimerTom K- 201
RépondreSupprimerFilm Response- Mon chois
I chose to watch Yves Saint Laurent. Yves Saint Laurent is a dramatic retelling of his life and all the troubles he faced. Born in Oran Algiers, the Algerian war took a great toll on Laurent, who was drafted into the French army at one point, though he was hospitalized after being severely hazed by the other conscripts. He blames the bad treatment (psychoactive drugs, electroshock therapy) he received for his later mental illness and drug addiction. As a young gay man growing up, Laurent was shown no mercy and found little refuge within his home. The only solace he ever knew was in his drawings and his imagination. As a young fashion designer, Laurent worked for Dior and that is where he made his name and truly began his career as a designer. The film is as emotional and inspiring as Laurent himself and portrayed truthfully the fantastic things that his mind created, as well as the terrible things that his life dealt him. Tragedies such as the Algerian war, and his consequent drafting, consistent fights and betrayals by his partner Pierre Berge, as well as drug addiction made life difficult for one of the fashion world’s most influential designers. As with many true artists, mental illness and drug addiction took their toll and in his later career, they took control. This film brings to light the struggles faced by a hero of the fashion world as well as celebrating the genius that he was. Yves Saint Laurent will forever be remembered for his artistry, and for his tragic struggle.
Tom K- 201
RépondreSupprimerFilm Response- Mon chois
I chose to watch Yves Saint Laurent. Yves Saint Laurent is a dramatic retelling of his life and all the troubles he faced. Born in Oran Algiers, the Algerian war took a great toll on Laurent, who was drafted into the French army at one point, though he was hospitalized after being severely hazed by the other conscripts. He blames the bad treatment (psychoactive drugs, electroshock therapy) he received for his later mental illness and drug addiction. As a young gay man growing up, Laurent was shown no mercy and found little refuge within his home. The only solace he ever knew was in his drawings and his imagination. As a young fashion designer, Laurent worked for Dior and that is where he made his name and truly began his career as a designer. The film is as emotional and inspiring as Laurent himself and portrayed truthfully the fantastic things that his mind created, as well as the terrible things that his life dealt him. Tragedies such as the Algerian war, and his consequent drafting, consistent fights and betrayals by his partner Pierre Berge, as well as drug addiction made life difficult for one of the fashion world’s most influential designers. As with many true artists, mental illness and drug addiction took their toll and in his later career, they took control. This film brings to light the struggles faced by a hero of the fashion world as well as celebrating the genius that he was. Yves Saint Laurent will forever be remembered for his artistry, and for his tragic struggle.
The film I chose for this personal pick assignment was the French movie “Dior and I”. Made in 2014, it was a documentary following Raf, the newly appointed Creative director of the famous French clothing brand Dior, and his struggles in preparing the first fashion show of the season. He was the first minimalistic designer ever to take the position at Dior, and thus faced a lot of prejudicial criticism and expectations before he even put together his first project.
RépondreSupprimerI initially chose the film for one of two reasons: first, because nearly all of the other French movies on Netflix were romantic comedies (which I wasn’t in the mood for), and second because the description made it seem like it was going to be a documentary about the Dior brand itself - something which seemed interesting. All I really knew about the Dior brand was that it was considered high fashion, and rather revolutionary for its time.
The film itself was extremely interesting, even if it was about a superficial topic. Its main goal was to highlight the similarities between Raf and the original Charline Dior - who as it turns out, are both very similar people. Both of them are coming into their position during a period of transition in fashion; both of them were interesting in incorporating the feel of the modern woman into their clothing lines. It also opened my eyes a bit to the incredibly stressful, incredibly complex structure of a high fashion workforce. All of the clothing is hand-stitched, and check by multiple people before shown again to the designers. This created an odd atmosphere of family, jealousy, and intense competition leading up to the event. Even the head designer had a panic attack minutes before the show was first about to start.
As crazy as the storyline was, I loved the mixture of old footage with new footage, and the modern paris, the interesting atonal music that challenges songwriting much like Dior challenged fashion. It was also cool and interesting to see the juxtaposition of fashion styles, the importance with which French people view Dior’s legacy and the artistry that goes into each (incredibly over-priced) article of clothing. I would definitely recommend this well-made documentary to anyone interested in art.
The film that I chose to watch was called “Lolo.” It followed the love story between Violette, a woman who is an art director in the fashion industry and Jean-Rene, a man is was a computer geek. Violette has a son Lolo who greatly dislikes Jean-Rene. Throughout the film Lolo pulls off various schemes to attempt to break up the couple. Ultimately Violette and Jean-Rene stay together.
RépondreSupprimerI think one of the biggest themes in the film was the contrast between the love between Violette and Jean-Rene and how Lolo treated his mother. Lolo was an adult who was still living with his mother to mooch off of her and only disliked Jean-Rene because he took attention away from Lolo, not because there was anything actually wrong with him. Lolo also proved how selfish and immature he was by continuously trying to break up his mother and Jean-Rene, even so far as to get Jean-Rene arrested. I think Lolo and his mother’s toxic relationship and Lolo’s selfishness are a major theme and only strengthen the love story between Violette and Jean-Rene.
One of the things that went along with what I previously knew about France was the
Importance of the fashion industry. I knew fashion was a big deal in France and Violette worked in that industry so it showed through in the film.
I definitely enjoyed the film because it was a comedy and I typically love comedies. I thought it was very entertaining and very funny. I would definitely recommend this film to other people.
RépondreSupprimerI chose to watch a movie called Untouchable that came out in 2011. The movie is staring Francois Cluzet and Omar Sy. Omar Sy has recently become very famous in the United States for his role in the new movie Jurassic World. Untouchable is about the relationship in between an old wealthy paraplegic and a young guy from the slums. The old wealthy man hires Dris because he treats his as if he were a normal man and not incapable of anything, like everyone else does. This movie is filled with funny moments as well as a few serious ones. One of my favorite parts of the movie is that Dris sometimes forgets that the older man is paraplegic and tried to hand him things that he asks for.
This film shows the amazing features of friendship. Dris saves the old man by showing him that life can still be good and the old man teaches Dris many valuable methods. Sometimes people just need a little push to see what they can do. This film also shows the most unlikely of friends becoming very close. Friendship does not see judgment, race or gender. Throughout this experience for Dris, he learned about hard work and by the end he realized he wanted to be more and do more with his life.
The cinematography was very good. I liked the approach of certain scenes, which made the movie totally different. It also showed what life was like in France if you lived in the projects and didn't really want to go home.The old man basically has a castle in the middle of Paris, which I didn’t even know was possible. I also learned that people, especially while driving and parking, do not listen to any of the signs. My vision of France has not changed must, I just think that it is even more beautiful now. I didn’t think it got that cold there for some reason, but there was a scene where they looked really cold. Yes! I recommend everyone to see this movie.
Ce commentaire a été supprimé par l'auteur.
RépondreSupprimerFilm: The African Doctor
RépondreSupprimerRecent medical school graduate, Seyolo Zantoko accepts a job in a tiny city in the countryside of France. Being Congolese brings up many issues for him and his family making the transition for them very difficult since the citizens there have never seen a black person before. Throughout the film he tries to gain their respect being helping them.
The obvious theme of the racism. Even though Seyolo earned his title as a Dr. people didn't respect him, see him as a real doctor or even as a man in the small town of Marly-Gomont. By working hard and giving nothing but respect and interacting with the locals they slowly started to open up to him. An example is when a woman was in labor she didn't want Seyolo to deliver the baby, but he stuck with her after all the nasty remarks she made towards him. After the baby was born she respected him. Once Seyolo and his family arrived to Marly-Gomont they received a lot of hate and even his children were bullied. After time they were accepted.
Everybody thinks that French speakers live in France. But the reality of that is that it's not true. Places of Africa speak French as well which is why Seyolo is fluent in French. He then takes his family out of Africa to France to give them a better life. He even mentioned to his children that they should be happy that they are receiving a French education because being black education is very very important for them to have.
I really liked and enjoyed watching this film. I would recommend anyone to see it. Not only because it teaches valuable life lesson, but it's actually a comedy as well. It's a very funny film, but still does a good job getting the message across. I personally liked it so much because I am a Hispanic woman who is pre-med student so it's nice to see successful doctors in media portrayed by people of minority.
‘Les Choristes’ is a film about a failed musician who finds a job taking care of children in a boarding school for boys. The principle is a strict disciplinarian who believes in the philosophy ‘act-react’. His methods of punishment are extreme and this causes the boys to resent him. The teacher, ‘Monsieur Clement’, decides to connect with the children through music, and convinces the principle to allow him to do so. It was difficult at first but he got them to get together and form a great choir. There were obviously some obstacles along the way, but then this movie would not be as interesting if it didn’t.
RépondreSupprimerThere were two students in particular that played a huge role in the movie, both story wise and through the impact they had on audiences. Of course, when I talk of audience, I assume they impacted other viewers the same way they impacted my experience watching the movie. One student named Pépinot believed that his parents would come to pick him up, even though they were both dead, and he would stand at the gate of the school, waiting for them to come. The second student is an older student named Pierre Morhange, a kid with serious issues but a hidden musical talent. These boys were fun to watch, as they played a huge role in the movie.
Having gone to boarding school myself, I could relate to them in many ways. The punishments for us were different but equally severe. This movie was amazing, and extremely funny to watch. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and would recommend for others to watch, whether or not they speak French.