Tag: Surrealism
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The Future. Dir. Miranda July. Roadside Attractions (US). 2011
The title of the film, The Future, is emblematic of the very thing the characters fear, what is the unknown. July certainly lets the cat out of the bag as she reveals her inner monologue through the narration of an anthropomorphic feline. The cat plays a central role in the drama, as it begins with…
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Sing. Dir. Garth Jennings. Illumination Entertainment. 2016
Illumination Entertainment’s Sing is a computer animated film that follows a group of anthropomorphic animals taking part in a singing competition that interferes in the contestants’ privates lives, representing society and human struggles through them. In this scene, the money heist, gorillas perform mundane human tasks like singing and driving. Johnny is a large and…
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Dir. Michel Gondry. Focus Features. 2004.
Figure 1 Memories are the foundations for the complexity of individuals. We are created by the experiences we face, and to delve into the past is to delve into the system of our personal construction. According to Bowman (2004, p. 85), themes of memory in film generate emotion because, instinctively, to lose our memory equates…
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Taxidermia (György Pálfi, 2006, Amor Far Filmproduktion).
Hungarian cinema leaves us feeling stuffed! Figure A – Lajoska Balatony surrounded by stuffed animals. Taxidermia (György Pálfi, 2006, Amor Far Filmproduktion). Pálfi’s 2006 body horror Taxidermia, follows the story of three generations of men in three acts; each concerning a different afflicted and animalistic perversion. It begins with Morosgoványi Vendel, a sexually perverse man…
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The Mask. Dir. Charles Russell. New Line Cinema. 1994.
The Mask[1] is a screwball gangster-comedy starring Jim Carrey as Stanley Ipkiss, a timid bank clerk who finds a Norse mask which turns him into a bold, charismatic and lustful character, much different to his usual self. The portrayal of his pet dog Milo, as well as the cartoon animal characters that share similarities with…
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The Mask. Dir. Charles Russell. New Line Cinema. 1994.
This scene in the film The Mask shows the protagonist Stanley in prison after being caught by police when in his Mask character. This short clip from the film allows us to truly see first-hand the love that Milo has for his owner, as well as the intelligence that he has. The pet- relationship that…
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Blue Velvet. Dir. David Lynch. De Laurentiis Entertainment Group. 1986
Lynch has made a career out of the surreal, exploring the dark and often animalistic nature of human existence. His 1986 neo-noir mystery/psychological horror Blue Velvet centres around college student Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan), who after returning home after his father suffers a stroke, discovers a rotting human ear that leads him on an investigation…
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Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Dir. Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones. EMI Films. 1975.
In the opening scene of Monty Python and the Holy Grail [1], a grassy hill is shown with the sound of horse’s hooves—only for a skipping King Arthur, and coconut-clomping servant to appear, sans horse. This sets the scene for the finest ever cinematic use of imaginary horses.