25th Hour Response

25^th Hour is a beautiful film directed by Spike Lee set in post-9/11 New York. It features a brilliant cast consisting of the very talented Edward Norton, Barry Pepper, Phillip Seymour, and female lead Rosario Dawson. There are so many positive aspects of this film that I enjoyed but the thing that sticks out the most about this film is the focus on the post 9/11 New York City landscape. During the opening credits we are shown different angles of where the Twin Towers once stood from across the river. Instead of the enormous twin towers, there are only two spotlights that shine in the sky. It’s a really lovely way to open up the film and was quite memorable. Further along in the film we are shown another angle of Ground Zero, which sits just outside of Barry Pepper’s window and beside the assumed future home of Edward Norton’s character, Monty.

Monty was a big-time narcotics dealer in New York City before he was busted by the DEA. His assumed future home is prison. 25^th hour covers his journey through his assumed last 24 hours as a free man for quite some time. I found the journey to be very personable and felt myself identifying with Monty. What would I do with my last day as a free man? I considered all of the emotions and fears that Monty must have been going through- disappointing his father who he loved, having to accept that he would most likely lose his girlfriend who he also loved, parting with his dog whom he adored greatly, being separated from his friends, and all of the other great things that go hand in hand with freedom. I couldn’t imagine losing so many dear things and having nothing to look forward to besides time in prison where a small Caucasian male will most likely not fare well. Spike Lee was able to direct this film in such a way that it really made me identify with the main character, Monty, and even made me feel sympathetic towards a man who had surely caused much pain and suffering as a narcotics dealer.

Overall this was a very touching movie with a surprisingly happy ending. The original soundtrack was incredibly powerful and blended in perfectly with the film. In addition to a great soundtrack the camera work was also amazing. I love the opening scene in which Monty is zooming down a bridge in a big body muscle car. He stops along side of the bridge to find a dog that is very close to death. Instead of leaving the dog to die like most Monty decides to rescue the dog and adopt him as his pet. Its small actions like this that endears me to Monty. At the end of the film I felt like Monty was a good-hearted man who meant well but just happened to be a drug dealer. So, on one hand he’s a nice guy that I could identify with but on the other hand, he’s a convicted narcotics dealer who has been sentenced to prison. I thought Spike Lee did a great job of luring the audience into feeling sympathetic towards a character that most would feel the exact opposite towards.

One last thing that I would like to comment on is the theme of the film. It’s a very positive and attractive theme to me. At the end of the film Monty decides (with the help of his father) that instead of reporting to prison (like he was supposed to) he would make a run for it and get a fresh start with a new identity. He decided that he would find work (legal this time) and move far away from New York City to start over. In time he would contact his girlfriend to join him out west. The film showed him and his girlfriend as grown adults with a large family, all happy and sitting together in a living room. It pretty much said to me that every day is a new day and no matter what happens a new day is just another chance to turn everything around for the better.

Let The Right One In

The first thing that really struck me about this film was the brilliant acting by the two young main characters, Oskar and Eli, as well as other minor characters played by young actors. The talent captured in this film is nearly unbelievable considering the age of the actors. But there is far more to this film than brilliant acting from young actors. It’s an interesting twist of romance and horror and it may be so interesting because I have never seen anything quite like it. I would like to note that I did see the American remake of this film and thought it was boring but the Swedish original was so much better it left me scratching my head why anyone would consider remaking this masterpiece.

This film stays true to all the original vampire folklore, which rarely ever happens. My favorite genre of film is horror so I have seen quite a few vampire movies and this one truly separates itself from the rest. There are gory scenes but the film doesn’t concentrate on the blood to frighten you. All of the scenes that I recall from the film were cut short and could have been dragged out longer if the director chose to. This is what I love about this film and other horror films that use this same style of cutting scenes after some gore/scare and then cuts to another scene which is usually tranquil. It leaves us wondering what happened. I think this style in horror films allows the audience to have an authentic frightening experience.

While many will label this a “vampire movie” there is much more to it than just vampires. The story is about two lonely children (a male and a female) who become friends and eventually form a romance. The young boy, Oskar, is bullied and reads about violent crimes in order to deal with it. Through each other’s friendship they find their own strengths in themselves. One of these characters (the female, Eli) is a vampire but that’s not important to the story, it just makes it a little more interesting. It’s a beautiful dark fantasy world with a vampire, a bullied child, and a brutal serial killer. All of these components mixed with melodramatic music and incredible cinematography created a unique atmosphere that is unlike any other film I’ve seen in the horror genre.

The cinematography of this film was beautiful. There were some amazing shots that were a real pleasure to watch. One scene in particular was near the end of the movie when Oskar is in the pool. I loved the way the scene was shot with no cuts. The camera was constantly rolling and focusing on different subjects all at the same time. I know I have said this about many of the other films I have posted responses to but this film is truly a beautiful work of cinematography.

This film can be interpreted different ways by different people and that’s another reason that I enjoyed this film. I watched this film with my girlfriend and we both had different interpretations of the ending. I love films like this that are thought-provoking and encourage discussion about the film. This is another thing about the film that separates it from other horror movies. It’s just not that simple. It’s much more complex. Most horror films are very simple and the storyline is very clear with little room for controversy regarding the storyline. Let The Right One In isn’t like the majority of horror movies. It’s unique and maybe that’s the reason that this film will find it’s way in my personal film collection.

No One Knows About Persian Cats Response

First of all, I want to note that I really liked the way that this film was shot and produced. I’ve only seen a handful of foreign films but I’ve seen plenty of low-budget films. What separates this low-budget film from the others is the quality of the production. Not only does this film have great shots but there is also a great soundtrack that accompanies it. No One Knows About Persian Cats was a true joy to watch just because of the beautiful music and shots. I don’t know how many other low-budget films that I can honestly say that about, but No One Knows About Persian Cats is certainly one of them.

This film really opened my eyes to some of the sad problems associated with Iran. It was almost surreal to me that this could happen anywhere in the world. Why would a government or establishment restrict their citizens from creating music and showcasing their talents? I assume that the government is afraid of freedom of speech as music can be used as a tool to circulate ideas and thoughts that may be dangerous to the current establishment. In No One Knows About Persian Cats, we see how hard it is for Iranian musicians to pursue their love and passion for the art of music.

One particular scene that made an impact on me was the underground concert. Here in the United States there is no restriction on music and concerts happen every night across the country. Not only do they occur on a regular basis, but they are often filmed to be later broadcasted on various telecasts and DVD’s. It is insane to me to think that people are being imprisoned or perhaps even murdered for engaging in musical creativity. No One Knows About Persian Cats not only shows the struggles of young Iranian musicians but it also shows how the Iranian government is corrupt. The young musicians in the film know that they can’t succeed in their music careers in Iran so they go to the extreme of obtaining a visa and passport to escape to freedom.

It’s sad to think that such a thing could be restricted but I had no idea that this was happening in Iran prior to viewing the film. I think that it’s great that the filmmaker (who apparently is now locked up) brought this issue to international attention. Without this film I would have no idea about this important issue. I appreciate the filmmakers sacrifice to enlighten the world about the injustices that are happening in Iran. Perhaps this film could be the spark to make people in Iran to fight the establishment in order to make changes to the restrictions of musicians. People should be allowed to express themselves in speech, art, and music no matter where they live. There are certain things that shouldn’t be restricted and the freedom to create and perform music is definitely one of them.

It’s a complete restriction of music, no matter the genre. In No One Knows Persian Cats we see a variety of Iranian citizens performing different genres of music. Everything from Indie Rock to Hip Hop is showcased in this film. I just want to keep asking, “Why are these people being subjected to these rules?” But I already know the answer. There is too much power in the freedom of speech. It threatens the current hierarchy from having control over the masses. This is why the Iranian government has forbidden these musicians from performing. They are simply afraid of the thoughts and ideas that could be circulated from such freedom.