Homework #10: Endings

It seems fitting to discuss endings as our class draws to a close. For this last homework assignment, please consider the importance of endings to films and discuss one of your favorite endings. Note how the ending to Truffaut’s 400 Blows ended with the freeze frame of Antoine facing the camera, an ending that is intentionally ambiguous, forcing the viewer to continue the story. The ending to Truffaut’s film is so iconic that it is frequently quoted or parodied. See this short clip that shows how Truffaut’s ending was used for the final shot of Nelson’s film in a Simpsons episode. To complete this homework assignment, please submit your favorite endings in a comment.

Homework #10 is DUE by Tuesday December 15th (2 days BEFORE the in-class Final Exam). ‹Everyone should submit a COMMENT to my post.

Homework #9

The science fiction film “La Jatee” is a post-apocalyptic documentary from the future. The audience follows the journey through a set of images and narration. The protagonist is a man who is sent back and fourth in time to somehow save the world. The man then pursues a woman only to witness his own death. Time travel films are the best but they are very hard to follow because time travel is very complex. My favorite time travel film is “Looper” a very underrated film with Bruce Willis and Gordon Levitt. The film takes place in the future in which, time-travel exists but is only available for the rich in the black market. Mobsters put hits on people and send them to the past in which a hit man knowns as a “looper lies” kills the target. Everything goes well until the hit man ends up killing there own future selfs or ends up being hunted known as a “closed the loop”. The hit man can never know who they kill because the target always wears a sack on there head. If the target get’s away the hit man is dead and is hunted. One day the main character Joe is sent to kill a man without a sack only to realize the man, is his future self and escapes from him.

 

Homework #9: Experimental Film – Chris Marker’s “La JetĂ©e” (1962)

Time traveler in Chris Marker's "La Jetée" 1962
Time traveler in Chris Marker’s “La JetĂ©e” 1962

In 1962, Chris Marker released an experimental film that he described as a “photo roman” (a photo novel), which was comprised of editing together individual photographic stills rather than film shots. The result was La JetĂ©e, a groundbreaking short film of science fiction about time travel in a post-apocalyptic world. Marker’s film inspired Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys (1995) and a recent TV series of the same name. Watch Marker’s film (it is 28 min) and the trailer of Gilliam’s movie, and discuss the use of cinematic time travel. Is it successful in La JetĂ©e? What movies have you seen that deal with time travel?

To watch an English version of La Jetée, you need to watch it in two parts:
Watch the important opening sequence of La Jetée by here (click on World War Three)

Watch the rest of La Jetée here (this version is missing the  very important first 3 min)

Watch the trailer of Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys here.

Homework #9 is DUE by Tuesday December 8th.‹ Clubs and Hearts Post, Diamonds and Spades Comment.