Example of surrealist cinema essay

Woman in the dunes

The ‘ woman in the dunes’ is a 1964 Japanese film whose director is Hiroshi Teshigara. It is a world class film to watch that captures the viewer’s attention with its very first scene. The main characters are Eiji Okada and Kyoko Kishida. The plot of this film is also well planned and acted out in a logical order. Eiji, a school teacher, is out on an exploration to get some insects that live in the sand dunes. It is in this escapade that he misses the last bus that leaves the village and the villagers convince him to spend the night at their place. The villagers lead Eiji down to a homestead in a sand mine using a rope ladder where Kyoko, a young widow, stays by herself. Kyoko works for the villagers in the sand mine where she digs the sand, and also protects the house from being buried by the sand.
Early the next morning as Eiji was leaving, he discovers that the ladder is missing. The village Eiji attempts to escape from the sand mine. His attempts fail, and he decides to hold Kyoko captive. Thirst forces him to free the widow, so as to get water from the villagers. As time passes by, Eiji falls in love with Kyoko. Nevertheless, Eiji is still obsessed with his idea of leaving the village. One morning he succeeds in his attempts, but the villagers chase him. He does not know geography of the place and ends up stuck in some quick sand. He is freed by the villagers from the quicksand and taken back to Kyoko.
Eventually, Eiji lets fate take course of his situation. Eiji is insistent on a mission to capture a crow as a messenger; it is in this quest that he finds a way of drawing water from the moist sand during the night. He is engrossed in the undertaking of perfecting his art and gets used to his new life. The emphasis of the film changes to the ways through which the two survive in the hands of their oppressors, and the prevailing of their bodily attraction despite their condition. The film ends with Eiji getting an opportunity to escape, but he decides to extend his stay in the dune. There is a report announcing Eiji missing after seven years shown pinned on the wall, printed by the police and signed by his mother as the film ends.
The main theme of this film is the aspiration to free oneself from a cruel and mistreating society. The film also showcases some other themes like the treatment of widowed women in the society. Kyoko is imprisoned in the sand pit to work there just because she is a widow. The theme of personal relationships is also portrayed in the film in the case of Eiji and Kyoko (Woman in the dunes, film)
The film sound effects start with urban noises of vehicles hooting and public-address systems booming. Progressively these merge with the wooden clappers and traditional sounds of drum beating. These are indications that we are about to shift from the chaos of modern living into something of the past and older.
The film connects with the traditional way of life through artistic features like pottery portrayed in the film. In the film pottery is used to give the film sculptural beauty, and is a key player in the film. The film is shot with moving lights on the stage. The endless black and white differences of flippantly dusted skin, shadows, and unstable sands are clearly and excellently brought out by the brilliantly framed shots.
The film title goes handy in summing up the content that rotates around the sand mine and the widowed woman who leads a lonely life in there. The coherent message in the film is about relationships. This is brought out in the relationship between the villagers and the entomologist, Eiji, and the relationship between Eiji and Kyoko and that between Kyoko and the villagers.
The setting of this film is in a local village away from the urban life. The whole film is based on the sand mine and the near surroundings. The costumes worn by the characters exemplify the themes and also compliment the setting of the film.
The end of the film is a happy one with the main characters discovering the value of freedom and a way out of their present predicament. This film is an excellent film work that captures the interest of the viewer from the start to the end with its captivating and sequential flow of events.

The trial

‘ The trial’ is a 1962 crime, drama, and fantasy film that was directed by Orson Welles. The film is one of the best to watch in terms of academic and entertainment purposes. The thriller film catches the viewer’s attention through its excellent settings and unique cinematography. The plotting of the film is a masterpiece with scenes flowing chronologically as illustrated in the following paragraphs. The main character in The Trial is Josef K., a bureaucrat who is accused of an alien crime.
The film starts with Josef resting in his bedroom, in an apartment that contains several other peoples. He awakes to find several strange men in his room who claim that they are policemen. Despite his requests to see the identification his request is not granted, and he is treated as a suspect and arrested. While Josef is in a separate room, he peeps outside and to his astonishment there are some people who apparently are posing as witnesses of his unknown crime. Upon asking the police why they are there or whether he has been accused of a crime the police do not tell him. To add on his predicament, the police do not take him into custody.
When the detectives are gone, Josef talks about the perturbing police visit with the landlady Mrs. Grubach and his close neighbor Miss Burstner. Later when Josef goes to his office at his work place his supervisor suspects him of having immoral relations with his female, young cousin. In the evening, Josef visits the opera, but, unfortunately he is picked up by a police officer who takes him to court. Josef tries to establish the facts of his peculiar case, but his efforts are all in vain.
When he goes back to his office, he learns that the first police officers who paid him a visit early that day were being whipped in a separate small room within the building. Josef’s uncle Max advices him to see Hastler, a law advocate. In his quest to find legal advice, he meets with the spouse of a courtroom guard and several men who are awaiting trial. He gets a chance to speak with the advocate, but the meeting turns out to be unsatisfactory.
The advocate’s lover suggests that Josef enlist the help of a certain artist, Titorelli, but he still does not get help. Running out of options, he decides to turn to a cathedral where the priests tells him that he has been condemned to death. Almost at same time the advocate arrives at the cathedral to rubber stamp the shocking news. On the evening of the eve of his thirty-first birthday, Josef K. is arrested by two executioners and is taken to a quarry. At the site, he is ordered by his executioners to take off some of his clothing. He receives a knife from the executioners and is ordered to commit suicide, but he refuses. The two executioners leave the condemned man in a quarry pit. Josef in a distance, hazily perceives the shape of a human and utter to himself that someone has come to save him. Even before the thoughts cross his mind, the knife is driven by one of the executioners through his heart. Still as he takes his last breaths he still murmurs wanting to know of his crime. The film ends with the man still seeking to know the crime he committed. The central character, Josef K., was a perfect pick to play a role as he ensures the flow of the scenes as in the plot.
The central theme of this film is the monstrous injustice that prevailed at that time. A person is arrested, judged, and sentenced without his knowledge of the crime he has been accused off (The trial, film). Other supporting themes of this film are that of a relationship, dejection, interpretation and execution of the law, and the human rights. Corruption in the justice system is the coherent message of this film. This is so because a man is killed without justification and evidence provided.
Through the shifting and switching between long and short shots, the director brings out the noticeable approaching doubt, the setting in worry, the vanishing peace and the solitude that dwells. With the lighting in the film, the image gets a different dimension: anguish. The director, Welles, incorporates American emulsion that is highly sensitive. The lighting of the film is by use of voltaic arcs that require a lot of power. The sets and the lights are the key points of the film.
The setting is also an important aspect in this movie that gets noticed from the very first scene. The office where Jose K. works portrays the modern living with technological calculating machines displayed. The setting of this film is impersonal with empty streets and scornful people. The theme song and the sound tracks in the film serve well in bringing out the themes, message, and the action in the film. Welles uses symbolism in this film to communicate his message for example; most of the items and structures that are related to law are twisted to show the twisted legal system.
The film provokes many questions in viewer’s mind. What crime did Josef commit? Who was responsible for Josef’s set up? These are some of the questions that the film trigger in each person’s mind who watches it. At the same time, the film sheds light on the justice system of the time and the level of corruption. The film ends on a sad note with a person whimpering and dying with the pain of unjustified and unknown accusation. With the flow of events and the captivating spell cast by the film, it is one of the most interesting movies to recommend to any person.

The last one

This is one film that makes even an athlete envious of a film maker. The last one ‘ Brazil’ is a satirical and fantastic 1985 film on a bureaucratic society directed by Terry Gilliam. The plot of the film is well plotted and executed. A summary of the plot is as follows. The film is about a government employee who tries to find a woman who appears often in his dreams. The film dwells mainly on Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce as is his stage name) who is the central character in the film. Jonathan is junior worker in the ranks of government employees who have continuous aspirations of offering help in a damsel, in distress.
He is assigned the duty of trying to repair a fault that resulted from a fly getting blocked in a printer. This had produced a misprinted file that cost Mr. Archibald Buttle incarceration and death as he was being interrogated rather than a suspected terrorist, Archibald Tuttle. Jonathan happens to visit Mr. Buttle’s widow and to his astonishment he discovers that the woman appearing in his dreams is a neighbor of the deceased. Jill Layton (Kim Greist), the woman neighbor of the Buttles’ family is attempting to help the widow find out what happened to his husband, but is tired of handling bureaucratic cases. Mistakenly Greist is considered a friend of the sought after terrorist. When Jonathan makes passes at her, she is afraid to give all her details because of the fear that the government might be tracking her. During this period, Jonathan interacts with the real Tuttle.
Jonathan’s interest in knowing more about Greist leads him in search of information about her. He gets the information on Greist and hunts her down before she is arrested, then gives false information on her records to help her escape arrest by the government. Jonathan and Greist share a passionate night, but are later detained by the government.
Jonathan is held in a separate room awaiting torture by his old friend. It is during this waiting time that he learns about the death of his lover, and before he can be tortured, Tuttle recue him and blows up the ministry building. He goes to his mother who looks alike with his lover, and they are united. However, this “ happy ending” is all an imagination by Jonathan. The film ends with Jonathan sited in a chair singing ‘ Brazil’ (The last one ‘ Brazil’, film).
The artistic designs of this film are neither of the future nor the past. Music use has been used in the film to emphasis on the title of the film and its theme. The theme of this film is injustice where a suspect is tortured to death without a court trial. Themes of terrorism and how it is viewed in the society are also dealt with in the film.
The film ends with a sand note of deaths and a person tending to lose his mind. The film shed light on government malpractices and satirizes its actions.

Works Cited

The Last One ” Brazil”. Dir. T Gilliam. 1985. Film.
The Trial. Dir. O Welles. 1962. Film.
Woman in the dunes. Dir. T Hiroshi. 1964. Film.