Tag: Period

The Deer Hunter. Dir. Michael Cimino. EMI. 1978.

Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter explores the impact of the Vietnam War on Americans, depicting protagonist Michael’s transformation from notoriously adept hunter and Russian-roulette crazed killer to sparing a deer’s life, delicately challenging the culturally normalised human-animal hierarchy. Specifically through mirroring shots of when he is moments away from firing at the deer, one prior…

14th January 2022
Annie. Dir. John Huston. Columbia Pictures. 1982.

John Huston’s musical comedy-drama Annie follows the life of an orphan and her trusty adopted dog Sandy. The film repeatedly draws parallels between orphaned children with caged animals, inciting audiences to acknowledge the ways in which the children are treated alike abandoned animals. Huston’s shot of the bustling environment surrounding the unconcerned caged chickens works…

4th January 2021
Jojo Rabbit. Dir. Taika Waititi. Fox Searchlight Pictures. 2019.

Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi, 2019) follows a young German boy growing up during World War Two. During a sequence depicting Jojo’s education, a rabbit is used as a symbol of morality to train a group of Hitler Youth. The children unanimously agree that they would kill for Germany – this is then put to the…

28th May 2020
Of Mice And Men. Dir. Gary Sinise. MGM. 1992.

‘Of Mice and Men’ (1992) is a film adaptation of the novel by John Steinbeck, which is set in 1930s America during the Great Depression. The film follows the lives of George and Lennie, two ranch workers who struggle to fulfil their ideal of the American dream, which is to acquire their own land.

15th January 2019
Wuthering Heights. Dir. Andrea Arnold. Curzon Artificial Eye. 2011.

Andrea Arnold’s 2011 adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic 1847 romance/tragedy novel Wuthering Heights highlights the desolate and savage nature of the moors in which the love story takes place, and the violent nature of those who live within them (notably Heathcliff). This wildness is conveyed to the audience through the use of animals, particularly violence against…

14th December 2018
Inside Llewyn Davis. Dir. Ethan Coen, Joel Coen. CBS Films. 2013.

Inside Llewyn Davis, is a Coen Brothers mock biopic depicting a struggling singer in 1960s New York. The film leads the central character Llewyn to question whether or not he should continue to perform music following the suicide of his singing partner, Mike. The theme of alienation reoccurs throughout the film and is reinforced by…

15th January 2017
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. Dir. Zacharias Kunuk. Sony Pictures. 2001.

18th December 2014
The Great Mouse Detective. Dir. Ron Clements, Burny Mattison, David Michener, and John Musker. Walt Disney. 1986.

In the world of the animated feature film The Great Mouse Detective (Clements, Mattison, Michener, and Musker, 1986), Victorian-era London contains a society of talking mice that mirrors the city’s human occupants. When one of these mice, Hiram Flaversham, a single father and toy maker, is kidnapped by a peg-legged bat named Fidget, Flaversham’s daughter Olivia, along…

1st October 2014
Princess Mononoke. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli. 1997.

Princess Mononoke (Mononoke-hime) is a Studio Ghibli film, written and directed by co-founder Hayao Miyazaki in 1997. The film takes place in the Muromachi period of Ancient Japan and follows protagonist Ashitaka on his journey to locate the origins of the demon beasts. In this world, Miyazaki has chosen to depict animals, not only in a…

4th June 2014