Monday, December 3, 2018
Amarcord
Amarcord is essentially a coming of age film. Choose one scene in Amarcord and another scene in a coming of age film of your choice. Compare and contrast the two scenes cinematically with coming of age as the film focus. Here is an article on Amarcord and another by Roger Ebert. Be sure to include at least one essay on the film of your choice.
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Directed by Federico Fellini, Amarcord is a semi-autobiographical reflection on growing up in Facist Italy, centering on a teenaged boy named Titta. What is interesting about the film, however, is the lack of focus on the location and time period itself - though aspects of facism during this time in Italy as it relates to different citizens of the village are explored, the primary themes and events of this film center around more universal aspects of growing up, such as having a crush. The mixture of universality with aspects of things that are now inaccessible to most modern audiences (such as the knowledge of what growing up in a facist area would be like) results in a film that “is like a long dance number” (Ebert) in the way that it flows from one event to the next. I chose to compare Amarcord with a more modern coming of age film, Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, which is more straightforward in its focus (centering around a senior girl in high school who calls herself Lady Bird) but no less universal in its themes or reflections on childhood. Unlike Amarcord, which portrays many characters through the fantasies of others, “there are few caricatures in Lady Bird” (Dowd). As a result, though the two films are equally honest about growing up, they are honest in different ways - Lady Bird uses realism to “[capture]...the brilliant extinguishing flame of...childhood” (Dowd) while Amarcord’s usage of fantasy and lack of linear storytelling makes it “a work of caricature, but…[also] a work of identifiable human beings, and a humanistic one at that.” (Rowin).
ReplyDeleteBoth films’ differences mean that the way that they tackle one particular aspect of coming-of-age - sexuality - is very different. The majority of sexual scenes in Amarcord are shown through fantasies, but one notable scene is one of the only (in a sense) “real” encounters - where Titta attempts to seduce the tobacco store lady. After he enters the store asking for a cigarette, he claims to be stronger than she thinks - during which he is larger in the frame than she is, reinforcing his confident claim. She walks up to him, making them about equal in the frame, and subsequent cuts from there all have her larger in the frame than he is as he continually lifts her. After he puts her down, he becomes very small in frame, especially as compared to her shadow, which dwarfs him as she moves closer to him. This disparity in size continues until the sexual encounter inevitability fails and he goes to leave, and the scene ends with Titta alone outside, the rest of the frame darkened while he is illuminated by the light outside the shop. In essence, the whole scene reflects the intimidating nature of sexuality as you are growing up - Titta gradually realizes that the situation is more out of control until he is left with the disheartening, but illuminating, revelation that he is not yet prepared.
Lady Bird’s discussion of sexuality is much more grounded in reality, mainly present in conversations between friends or family. Like Amarcord, Lady Bird only contains one “real” sexual encounter, between Lady Bird and her second boyfriend, Kyle. The scene opens with the two of them sitting on the bed, with her wearing bright yellow, contrasting the dark blue that he is wearing (which blends in with the color of his bedsheets). He kisses her arm and there is a sudden cut to the two of them making out, both partially naked as Lady Bird (believing them both to be virgins) tells Kyle that she is ready to have sex. The next shot positions Lady Bird in the middle of the frame, facing the camera, while Kyle, to the right of frame faces away from the camera - reflecting their different views on the situation. The next few shots all have Lady Bird as the largest object in frame, showing that this is a much bigger deal for her than for Kyle, until they finish and the scene cuts to Lady Bird looking at a photo of Kyle as a kid. She makes some comments on how much of a difference 10 years make, at which Kyle expresses confusion, which causes the shot type to change from a straight-on medium close-up of the two next two each other with equal importance in the frame to a long shot from a different angle that places the two of them, much smaller, towards the left of frame. After Kyle reveals that he was not a virgin, Lady Bird stands up and walks towards the right of frame, cutting between close-ups of her and Kyle, alone in frame, reflecting their separation as a result of this misunderstanding. As the situation esculates and then de-escalates as a result of Kyle’s indifference, Lady Bird eventually leaves (framed by a darkened stairwell with her partially lit), still upset. Though both films have different cinematic methods of getting their point across, the overall message ends up being the same - growing up is confusing and stressful, and it’s easy to get in over your head.
DeleteSex is often a very plot driving action in a film of any genre. In coming of age films as well as horror movies, sex is used often to show the weakness of vulnerability of a character. In the two films: “Amarcord” (Fellini) and “It Follows” (Michell) the main characters have their first sexual experiences. In addition, both films portray these sexual encounters as less than they are made out to be. In “It Follows”, the encounter gives the main character an STD that follows her around in the form of a person. In “Amarcord” the main character is sexually assaulted by a woman whom he thinks is very attractive. Cinematically, the main differences between these sex scenes is the cinematography. The choices in cinematography relate to the culture content in which the films were made as well as the other thematic content of the film. In “Amarcord”, the cinematography is incredibly explicit- the shot composition has full breasts and/or full faces showing the direct sexual action. This contrasts greatly from the sex scene in “It Follows”, in which the content is very implicit. The sexual act isn’t directly portrayed and it is cut short. “It Follows”, both explicitly and implicitly is about the danger of sex. The sexual act isn’t directly portrayed as it relates to how the transferring of diseases via these acts often go unnoticed. It is cut short because the lives of these people will be cut short by this sexual act. In the modern age, sexual diseases are incredibly taboo, and virginity is an undefined, muddled mess. As the film later goes on to show how the unprotected sexual encounter is a negative experience ,it shows that “it is assumed that a person’s judgement is poor because[] she decided to fornicate” (Nicole Wellington). “Amarcord” portrays the acts very explicitly. I believe that Fellini uses explicit cinematography to deliver the message of the bluntness of the time period and how fascism was like a punch in the face to world stability.
ReplyDeleteFederico Fellini’s Amarcord is comparable to Sidney Lumet’s Running on Empty through the lens of the coming of age genre due to their similar endings. Amarcord ends with Gradisca driving away from her wedding and away from the village she’s been in for the entire movie. Running on Empty ends with Danny Pope watching his family drive away as he decides to stay where he is to build his own life there. While Gradisca is technically an adult, the ending of the film can still be considered her coming of age because she is maturing and moving on to a new stage of her life. It is her wedding that “brings the movie to a seasonal, cyclical close” (Rowin). Danny is turning 18 and the ending of Running on Empty is him becoming independent from his family. He is “losing his parents, but gaining a life” (Peter Tonguette).
ReplyDeleteThe final shots of both films are explicitly similar in the fact that they both show a car driving away. In Amarcord, Gradisca is in the car while in Running on Empty, Danny’s family is in the car. Even though this detail differs between the films, the two shots still hold the same implicit meaning. The shots of cars driving away is symbolic of a transition into a new stage of life for these two characters. The cars represent driving away from the old life and towards the new one. This transition from the old life to the new life is characteristic of the coming of age genre, and clearly shown in the final scenes of these two films.
Running on Empty article by Peter Tonguette: https://www.indiewire.com/2011/11/pictures-of-loss-running-on-empty-directed-by-sidney-lumet-132664/
Sexuality is a main focal point in many coming of age films, and there is no mystery as to why. Sexuality is seen as an incredibly important aspect in one’s rise from youth to adulthood. However, most of these films also portray the stark contrasts between the sexual fantasies and the sexual realities which plague their young characters. Such is the case in both “Amarcord”(1973) and “The Edge of Seventeen”(2016).
ReplyDeleteBoth films present young, teenage characters who often fantasize about sex. However, both characters eventually find themselves in sexual situations which they are unprepared for and defy all expectations which they previously held. The character Titta in “Amarcord” often fantasizes with his friends about the woman who runs the tobacco shop in town. However, when Titta is suddenly thrust into a sexual encounter with her late at night, the experience is far from what was imagined. Titta is overpowered by the larger woman who is climatically portrayed to be dominant within the frame. It could be argued that this entire encounter could be considered an act of sexual assault.
Like “Amarcord”, “The Edge of Seventeen” is a coming of age tale, which deals with the harsh realities which young people face as they move into adulthood. Robert Ebert comments that the film “hits many of the relatable notes and angst-filled moments that are staples of the teen dramedy genre.” A somewhat similar sexual situation can be observed in “The Edge of Seventeen.” The main character Nadine fantasizes about a boy in her grade named Nick. However, despite her fantasies, when she is thrust into a sexual situation with him she finds herself put off and intimidated. The scene takes place in a parked car at night. Both characters are bathed in shadow, which highlights the stark contrast which the scene presents to Nadine’s expectations.
Both scenes conclude in very similar manners. The sexual encounter ends very suddenly and suddenly the main character is thrust outside into the night, alone. This conclusion to both scenes demonstrates how disillusioned the two characters find themselves, and how the encounter has left them more alone than ever before.
Amarcord and Alex Strangelove are both coming of age film focused on boys. The two movies both have heavy themes of sexuality. Amarcord and Alex Strangelove both have central plot points of the respective main characters first times. In Alex Strangelove, the movie is focused on a couple wanting to experience their first time but it failed, which caused Alex to be very confused about himself and his sexuality, while in Amarcord, our main characters first time almost made him realize his sexuality even more, as his first time was with a woman he very much was attracted to. The “experience” in Alex Strangelove we get very offset shots as to show the awkwardness of the experience, where we get shot and reverse show from the two sides of the couple that cause us to not feel like we are there but to let us get uncomfortable as the couple is. The cinematography in Amarcord sex scene is much different though as Fellini wants us to experience it in much more of a personal way which I find uncomfortable but at the same time it lets us truly understand the feelings through the scene
ReplyDeleteA central theme in most coming-of-age films is sexuality. In addition to Amarcord, I will be looking at But I’m A Cheerleader which is a 1999 film about a girl exploring her sexuality at a gay conversion camp. Both films offer an authentic portrayal of youth and the exploration of sexuality. The majority of the teens’ actions take place without any parents or adults present. So, the stories are told from the point of view of the teenage characters, often contrasted with the view of the authority figures. This method of storytelling manifests itself in different ways in each film.
ReplyDeleteIn Amarcord the story is told through the eyes of Titta and his friends. A scene that exemplifies this point of view is the scene at school. The teachers, who are the authority figures, are portrayed as clueless and boring. In the shots of the teachers in each class, they are by themselves. The wall behind each teacher is empty, making the shot very uninteresting. This reflects the teenage view of authority as dull and unexciting compared to their lives of mischief. This mischievous trait is presented through things such as color, for example Titta’s sweater that he often wears which makes him stand out. This school scene is at the beginning of the film, before he matures. At the end of the film, when he goes out to the water after learning about his mother’s death, the shot is much simpler and clearer, perhaps indicating his maturity as the blankness of the sky is reminiscent of the blank wall behind the teachers. The color of his clothing is also more muted instead of the bright colors he wore when he was more rowdy.
But I’m A Cheerleader also showcases teenagers coming of age in the face of seemingly boring authority figures. One way that the film does this is through the use of color. At New Directions, the gay conversion camp, the main colors are pink and blue. It is very strictly controlled, so any breaks from this color scheme indicate defiance. A notable scene is when Megan, who originally struggles with her sexuality, starts to accept it and falls in love with another girl Graham. In this scene, she is kicked out of New Directions. When she is being kicked out, the color scheme is very controlled. The walls are also very empty and clean. Megan leaves and goes to live with other former members of New Directions. In their house, the color scheme is more free. The house is also messier as opposed to the spotless place she lived in previously. The shift in mise en scene through set design shows Megan becoming more free by accepting her sexuality.
Both films show characters coming of age through sex. They also feature power dynamics between teenagers and adults. In Amarcord, the adults are blatantly disrespected and made fun of by the mischievous boys. In But I’m A Cheerleader, the adults are shown to be strict and oppressive, to an almost absurd degree. Both films side with the teenage point of view as the characters come of age.
In contrast to what my film teacher, among others, would consider, my interpretation of Federico Fellini’s semi autobiographical film, Amarcord, is that it is not a coming of age film. I would like to present the idea that, rather than a coming of age film, rather, the film focuses more on the location of Amachord itself. There are elements of coming age, such as children confronting adult themes, love and sexuality, but these themes are not the main focus of the film. Amachord, Italy, is the focus of the film, as each scene does not really follow the last in any sort of sequential manner. Rather, the runtime is filled with moments and confrontations that involve members of the town, but not any sort of protagonist. Tito, a teenage boy discovering his manhood, is the closest the film itself has as a protagonist. His screen time does not hold greater significance than the other characters which are focused upon. Fellini shows the town of Amarcord through the progression of seasons, signified by some significant change of weather in the town. Cotton balls appear at the beginning of the film, and at the end of the film, suggesting that the town is in a cycle, and the events and behavior of the inhabitants is influenced by the yearly change. Gradisca, a hyper sexuallized woman of the town, is the only character to really go through any sort of arc, as she learns to settle down. But this does not make her one of coming of age, as she is already middle aged, and the time for discovering adulthood is long past her. Titto and his friends are the closest the film arrives at themes of coming of age, as he discovers sex and the complexities of adulthood, but these themes and characters are not at the focus of the narrative. Portraying teenagers coming of age without consistently retaining this main idea, takes away from the premise of the coming of age narrative. The 400 Blows, for example, is only about a boy losing his innocence in a transition brought upon by mature scenarios and mature consequences, while using Paris as a backdrop for these events to take place. Amarcord, the location, is the focus, and the characters, such as the adolescent Titto, act as one of many different backdrops for the setting. These characters however, experience trials and tribulations that are not related to the transition of adolescents to adulthood.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of sex in coming of age narrative is portrayed in Amarcord, as well as in Alfonso Cuaron’s 2001 road trip film, Y Tu Mama Tambien, where two 17 year old boys in Mexico embark on a road journey with an older woman. The scenes in particular, are when these boys experience a sexual encounter for the very first time, which are trademarked by a certain level of impotency and inexperience by the boys. Titto’s encounter is with the cigarette lady, as he fails to please her out of having no understanding of what one is supposed to do in this sort of situation. The tobacconist commands the encounter with her size and prominence in the frame, and attempts to guide Titto through his first time, to no avail. The scene is shot with Titto small in the frame, and the tobacconist's breast squishing the space her and Titto share, emphasizing how uncomfortable he is. Likewise, in Y Tu Mama Tambien, Julio experiences sex for the first time with his travel companion Luisa, a much older woman. This scene is in a cramped motel room, is shot in an extreme wide static long take, which heightens the realism of the scene, therefore making the encounter uncomfortable on the basis of how real it appears. These two episodes are reflective in nature in context of the encounters as “first times”, but different techniques are used to cinematically communicate these roads not traveled.