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Review about the Godfather Part ii

——- How the narration and editing shape the story the change of Italian family with American dream

The Godfather Part ii (1974) is the sequel of the Godfather. The director is Francis Ford Coppola. It is a gangster genre, refers to the original “black” and can also be extended to “dim” (dark) and “depression” (gloomy). It was called “a new classic in a classic American film genre” by The Washington Post. And in 2000, David Cook called the Godfather Part ii “probably the most distinguished sequel ever made”. The success of this film is partly due to the stature of this ambition – to make a film about a family of gangsters, make them sympathetic to the audience and draw parallels with contemporary society. In this movie, the Statue of Liberty appears more than once. It seems to have any contact with story, actually, it has a more profound meaning and influence on the film’s goal. If the Godfather focus on building an American family based on American dream, the Part ii charted the death of the American dream. Up to here, I will discuss this classical movie from three factors: how the narration and editing skill contribute this film and historical culture between the Italian family and American dream.

Narration of this film:

Film narrative is the telling of a story through sounds, dialogue, music and imagery. This movie applied a parallel structure in the narration, switches back and forth in time. One hand it showed us how the young godfather made his mark in an increasingly brutal competition; on the other hand, it showed us how the last godfather opened his own business at the beginning, and to tell the audience the young godfather’s struggle inside. In sharp contrast the two generation of godfathers with the same status but different emotions. Although the whole plot consists of two narratives running simultaneously throughout the film and has flashback of the film, the Godfather Part ii still as linear structure, follows cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space. There were sixteen times deaths and six times deaths are the main clues in this movie. We can look for causal motivation about these six times deaths.

Coppola said: “I thought it would be interesting to juxtapose the decline of the Family with the ascension of the Family: to show that as the young Vito Corleone is building this thing out of America, his son is presiding over its destruction”.

This film follows three act narrative as well. The setup introduces the Vito’s childhood, Michael’s situation and their antagonists. This play shows the overall situation and a number of foreshadowing in Act i. Then, the first plot point is the question of Cuba investment and from a series of plot about Michael deal with others, the next plot point is coming, Fredo betrayed Michael. It is the Act ii. The next, climax is coming. And the Godfather Part ii also regards as the classical Hollywood narrative. The goals and desires are established early in the story, Vito wanted Michael to make their family’s business legalization. But many elements retarded their goals includes the human nature and different values. In the ending, all the major conflicts and issue in the story are resolved. The people who betrayed Michael, all dead in the ending. And from this narrative structure, we can see Michael’s characters and values in this movie.

The ending flashback of the scene symbolizes the contrast between Vito and Michael. The argument is interrupted as Vito is about to arrive and the family rushed to greet him, with only Michael staying behind. We can hear cheers and song off-screen as the family surround Vito. On screen, Michael sits alone smoking, resolute but isolated. There are three family members – Tessio, Carlo and Fredo – whom Michael has had killed. Through the shot of the contemplative Michael, that flashback is his own reminiscence. This ending has the task of satisfying the expectations prompted by the film as a whole. Comparing with present, it is very warm and may be the last warm for whole movie.

Editing Method：

From the formal style perspective, it keeps the compact narration by continuity, with the traditional melodrama of expression, continuing outstanding expressionist film noir techniques, such as focus close-up way with lighting: black background, only the primary object is bright. The presenting of Vito, Coppola used much extreme long shot, presented a sense of history. For the close-up of Michael, the camera language looks like the part 1: backlighting, small elevation, background and dim lighting. Those shots form the unified image of two godfathers and heighten the atmosphere for the film.

The music and picture of the Godfather, part ii shows the high level of filmmaking as the same as the part 1. Familiar and low melody from the beginning of the film, cello likes dark light, opening the film, also across the Michael’s face. In this film, good music works with good pictures and powerful control the rhythm of the film. It is worth mentioning when Vito assassinates Fanucci, the city is celebrating the festival with bright music. His behavior was continuity. He took the gun apart calmly, safely destroyed them one by one and then picked up his little son with the crowd. And the music did not stop. It was the first time for Vito to assassination. This continuity editing presents the birth of a godfather, a legend. Besides, from the strong contrast of cheerful music and Vito’s emotion, this film still shows the decisively emotion for murder, the killer’s heart cannot influence by outside noise. So the music sometimes as contrast factor worked for the film, help for depicting character.

Clipping at the ending of this film, continued the Part i ’s classical rhythmic cutting. The montage sequence combines three scenes about the most important assassination for Michael: Hyman Roth’s deadpan speech to the press, Fredo finishing on a still lake and Pentageli dead in a bathtub, and has an average shot of 9.5 seconds. In here, the shots moved more slowly compared with the part 1, it can full of more emotion and created heavy atmosphere for the ending of Michael. Especially the last time, Michael’s bother, Fredo deaths. We can see the grey lake which different from the tan tone of this film. The gun exposed humble corner in the right side of the screen, and then cut to the Michael who was independently stay at the window. It waves three different ways together, includes the screen about Michael alone with dark tone. Seemingly clam does not.

The culture of this film:

The New York Time called it is a movie that describes a sorrowful American Dream as a slam-bang, sentimental gangster drama. From this film, it also reflects the history issue about Italian immigrants to American. The godfather family is an exaggerated symbol for these groups. It depicts the conflict with the traditional value of Italian and American dream. American dream is the one part of their family’s goal. The Statue of Liberty is the one of important imply about American dream. Vito was an Italian lived in America, he respected Italian customs from his heart, putting the friendship and family in the first place in his life. However, Michael was an American lived in the Italian family. Although he followed the Italian customs, actually, he agreed d with the values of America. Family was important, but order, authority and business regards as heavy values more than family tie. The Godfather Part ii more widely shows the the developing history of Italian Mafia in the United States, therefore, people can contact with the combines of the Mafia culture and the American dream.

Besides, it also described the environment and the behavior of people are in a gray area between the state system and the anarchy between the right and crime. As the film, it has clear aware of the concept of the regional countries, but the concept of the government system is extremely vague, it seems that all of the authority are being challenged. The godfather was struggling with uncertainties and humanity that also is the center of this film. Apart from the gangster and violence, it is also an excellent ethical film about the essential and important elements of family, domestic affection, love and responsibility in life.

In a word, the film is dark, sometimes we can feel this dark from the soul. From the editing of the shot, light, space and time, we can find something hiding in the narrative structure, it is the challenge for right, and it is the changing of the American about the right. In this right, Italian immigrants struggled their local value and American dream and the evil from the rights and violence.

 

Film Review — Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Here, I would like to share a movie with you. The movie called Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. It is a fantasy film. The director is Tim Burton. Action at February, 2015. Film adapted from Ransom Riggs’s novel. The major actors are Eva Green as Miss Peregrine and Asa Butterfield as leader character, Jack.

The movie talks about Jack was growing with grandpa’s fanciful story which talks about peculiar children and Miss Peregrine who use time loop to protect their life. Until the death of grandpa, he destined to met Miss Peregrine and others, understood and protected them. The director used his talent the building of screen to create a real, vivid world for us although it is a fairy tale. Therefore, I want to analyze this movie from narrative method and skills of filmmaking to explain to the director how to create a “real” world via a screen.

Narrative Method

For the whole movie, the narrative structure is a linear chronology. Although the film has an old castle in 1943, it is only the special power which calls time loop for those peculiar people. All characters and events are still following the normal timeline. The narrative can divide into three acts: setup, development, and resolution. The story happened after villain killed grandfather, then jack found peculiar children are living in the real world based on grandfather’s absurd story. Finally, he found his ability and saved them and loved with Emma. In the meanwhile, it used narration interposed method to complete the reason for the process. Such as jack’s memory about his grandfather’s story to explain the relationship between Jack with Miss peregrine and peculiar children, and the reason why those monsters want to kill them. Every interposed narration all are seamless, audiences won’t feel strange. Besides, there is a loving line to completes the story line and enrich the cause and content. And develops in the film into more romantic and warm. To sum up, whole movie narration has complete elements, has given audiences a clear story line of the movie, liking a logical experience by self.

Skills of Filmmaking

For shots, when they talk with each other, it always used the medium shot. We can see Jack with peculiar children become more closely from the strangers. There is interesting and beautiful long shot in this movie: Jack was a rope tied to Emma who floating in the air liking kite were, making their first love become more romantic. And using close up to show different emotions for characters when they were happy to meet Jack or fear for monsters, reinforcing spectator involvement in a screen. For editing, it has using cross cut when Jack and peculiar children are playing monsters. It could enhance the fighting of tension. Besides, the director used CG skillful such as invisible monster and sea, all are especially wonderful. And stop motion, it is going to be a very visually.

The Mise-en-Scene creates the visual “world” of the movie and overall atmosphere. It is the most important for this black fairy tale to provide a sense of realistic as well as fantasy. For costume, the story clearly provided the magic child’ clothes style were old-fashioned taste and unique setting because they lived in the endless cycle of a special one day in 1943, which has a great contrast for jack’s cloth in now. Besides, the clothes show their special powers. Such as Emma wears a heavy shoe as her power relates to air, Olive’s hands could make the fire so she must wear gloves. For staging, Emma does not have gravity, so the actor need learn body shape without heavy state using a graceful approach. Barron acts cold-blooded, brutal villain, he wore gray head and white eyes to add a little more sense of terror. Others like the old castle, it is classical, beauty, it just like home for peculiar children. Besides, there are many trees and a grand, it creates more a sense of home, and the light is clear to strength the color of the film. There is a big beautiful glass house with the castle, it just like a bird cage for Miss. Peregrine as she was a bird in the movie. The look and the feel of the atmosphere of the movie mean that all of these real elements can really be emphasized.

In conclusion, the whole movie not only has clear narration structure but also use various film skills properly. The director clear know what is he really wants, making audience found the pleasure of cycles of time and bizarre magic. The movie is a very successful blend of strange and unusual making the whole adventure are very entertaining, clever and funny. Besides, almost all of the elements in the movie have alluded to the social environment. Both castles were bombed when a bomb the Nazi symbols painted on, or Jake across the pub back to 1943 were welshed criticisms is a US spy, makes the meaning more than a layer of film.

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