Le Cinéma... the dream catcher

Film has brought many people's dreams to reality. It has expanded mankind's imagination. Although now a days I feel like we do tend to spend too many hours before a screen, watching others live life instead of actually living it ourselves. It all comes with moderation.

In high school, being the "artsy" girl, I took different electives than the engineering, math, science ones that  most of the other kids took. Cinema was one of those classes. Learning about the early stages of film and the techniques used to create what had never been done was fascinating. 

The idea that a moving train coming towards the screen scared the audiences shows the innocence of the time. I remember sitting in Mrs. McVay's class one after noon and watching the great Georges Méliès' Le Voyage dans la Lune (entire film below). 

To think of how Méliès created such worlds at that time shows the talent that is driven by passion and imagination. I do have to say, it was inspirational to our own attempt at film making that year. 

Later on, through my studies of art in college, a focus on dadaism and later on surrealism and avant-garde brought directors like Luis Buñuel and Man Ray into my life. A quote that I love comes from Luis Bunuel's book My Last Sigh, "Our only rule was very simple: no idea or image that might lend itself to a rational explanation of any kind would be accepted. We had to open all doors to the irrational and keep only those images that surprised us, without trying to explain why." He was speaking of his work on Un Chien Andalou with Saldavor Dalí (yes, Fenix, I said Dalí). Here is the entire short film:

Foreign films are something I have come to love because they do not stay within the mold of most films that just add more CGI, explosives, violence,  sexual content, and werewolves or vampires. My friend, "Kathy with a K" (Bright Eyes reference) and I spend time sharing great music, books and films with each other. One day she mentioned a film that she knew I'd like. Once again, it was an older foreign film: 8 ½ by Federico Fellini. I fell in love with the cinematography! There were amazing shots and angles. The story line was fantastic, combining the reality and imagination. Here's the original trailer:

Then there are recent foreign films that still capture one's heart. Another friend, Golden Boy, told me to watch Valentín by Alejandro Agresti. For those Spanish speakers out there, wow... the lines written for this little boy are deep. The fact that he is so young makes a bigger impact. The entire film is below:

One of my favorite directors is Alfred Hitchcock, I think I've seen all of his films. From Vertigo (my favorite) to Marnie. Such talent for suspense and surprise. Then there are films like: City Lights, His Girl Friday, Casablanca, Rebel Without a Cause... my list can go on (if you'd like any recommendations, please comment about the genere and I might be able to help). 

Finding films, even mere television shows that display talent in the script alone is difficult (and that is my own personal opinion). Something that is happening more often are remakes. I chose to speak of some of the previously mentioned films for a specific reason. Many people identify the picture of the rocket landing on the moon's face with the film Hugo. I think that's a great film! But I also think people should watch the film that Hugo is based on. 

Le Voyage dans la Lune

Then, 8 ½, there was a remake of it called Nine. It was made into a musical. The past brought on amazing talent and amazing ideas. Many people acknowledge that and the recreate it in order to bring the past to a new generation. Such films were inspirations and influenced so many directors from our times. I think that more people should dig for these films and lose themselves in them. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate certain new films, but I also try to stay in touch with what started it all.

"Films have the power to capture dreams"- Georges Méliès