Monday 5 November 2007

Film- Corpse Bride


Tim Burton again, this time with a film in stop-motion animation. I like the attention to detail with the Victorian costumes and gothic architecture of the town. Like many of Burton's films, this is set in winter time and deals with another world- the world of the dead. A pretty dark theme, but dealt with in a light-hearted way that makes this film so enjoyable.

Film- Edward Scissorhands

I loved everything about this film. It is a classic Tim Burton film about an eccentric outsider, this time a man created by an inventor who died before he had chance to give him hands. Edward is sweet, quiet and completely naive about the way society works. He is taken in by a perky 1950's housewife and falls in love with her daughter.

The visual language in the film is very strong- the gothic castle of the benign professor who uses his great machines to make cookies is a direct contrast to the pastel coloured neighbourhood of the bored and bitchy housewives. Burton demonstrates the damage caused by narrow-mindedness and the sheep mentality in society and proves that outsiders can be loveable.

Film- This is England

This film is set in the north of England in the 80's and follows a young boy who becomes invloved in the National Front. The acting from a group of unknowns is amazing and really brings home the disturbing reality of skinhead culture in Thatcher's Britain. The locations used are often bleak- generic housing estates that could be anywhere and stretches of wasteland that make the film unmistakably English. On a lighter note, the wardrobe department have clearly had a lot of fun recreating the era that taste forgot!

It is interesting that although the film is rated an 18 (understandable considering the language used and graphic violence), some local councils decided to overturn this in order to reach the target audience of teenagers. Although set in the 80's, the theme of racism is very much relevant to teenagers and Im sure many won't be strangers to swearing and violence.