Posts tagged Film Criticism
Krefting On | Louis Malle’s, The Fire Within
Louis Malle’s The Fire Within (1963) is a perfect film in every way. Malle wrote the script in part as a reaction to his early success and acceptance, basing the tale of Alain Leroy (hauntingly portrayed by Elevator to the Gallows star Maurice Ronet) on the real life story of the depressive Jacques Rigaut, a barely-published writer with connections to Dada and Surrealism (and the subject of Pierre Drieu La Rochelle’s 1931 novel Le fue follet). Malle treated the story with just the right amount of poetic license: moving the action to the early 60’s, putting a lot of himself in it (Ronet even wore Malle’s own clothes), changing the protagonist from an opium addict to an alcoholic, and peppering the story with enough prescient political material for our hero to not care about.
The result is one of those beautifully and elegantly morose works of art that the French really do do better than anyone. Leroy moves through his day in an unbelievably morose cloud. Hopeless, dejected, utterly completely unable to connect with anyone. He mopes about his room in a halfway house, visits old friends (including a brief and magical appearance by Jean Moreau and one of the most uncomfortable dinner scenes this side of The Celebration), and wanders the streets of Paris. Malle soundtracks these melancholy moments with the gorgeous music of Erik Satie. So beautiful! So soaked in atmosphere! It is so heartbreaking to watch Leroy’s inability to get close to people rear its ugly head time and time again. “I’d have liked to captivate people, hold on to them, bind them close. So that things would stay still around me. But it always went to hell… I wanted so much to be loved, that I feel I do love.” It’s absolutely breathtaking, one of those rare films I felt was speaking directly to me the first time I saw it.
I will hereby echo Mr. Newman’s earlier call to utilize the inter-library loan. How else are you going to see this excellent film? You either pay $30 to The Criterion Collection (you are students and should spend your money on textbooks and things) or you could come over to my house (I won’t invite you), so it’s to the library with you! Get! GET!
-krefting
Matt Krefting is a hamp alum and current employee in the alumni relations office who loves you very much.
Hoffman On | Film/Video at Hampshire.
I just graduated from Hampshire. I concentrated in film studies and French. I wasn’t a typical film student because I didn’t do very much production, and the work I produced was mostly film criticism of one kind or another. But because I did do both, I developed a unique perspective on the study of film and how it can be a part of the production of film.
Navigating the film/photo/video program at Hampshire can be complicated. With the exception of a few courses, all involve production. Most of these involve weekly meetings and weekly screenings. Most of the time, there is a reading component, and professors assign theoretical and sometimes historical writings. Class time is initially used to discuss the readings and screenings. To some extent, the technical aspects of production are dealt with, but for the most part students learn that stuff on their own along with the course’s TA (with the help of media services). As things move on, it becomes increasingly about workshopping the students’ films, and this is probably the most rewarding part of the course.
Anyone can conceivably take production courses, but to actually be in the film program, one has to apply for a film faculty advisor. Students have to apply for Division II and III. What this means is that more than just being in production courses, students can work closely with advisors to discuss course selection, independent studies, and more. Then, at the end of Div II & III, the film faculty advisor evaluates all of the student’s work (including work not related to production).
The other side to film studies at Hampshire is, of course, the historical and theoretical side. Intro courses look at different ways films have been approached. A lot of the time in intro courses are spent learning a language to use to talk about film. The technological advances of cinema are discussed, from a historical, social, theoretical, and technical perspective.
The reason these kinds of film studies courses can be frustrating for production-oriented students is because some of the topics – especially certain types of film theory – can seem so abstract and divorced from cinema itself. But everyone feels that way sometimes, even those who’ve never touched a camera. And there are a lot things about film studies courses that are important for production students. By watching and studying films closely, one develops a sense of how films relate to each other – and if you’re making your own films, you get a sense of where they fit in.
I realized how important studying film is for making films when I discovered how steeped in cinema history so many of the greatest films are. I also realized that some of the greatest directors – Jean-Luc Godard, Wim Wenders, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder, to name a few – were also critics. As Godard put it, writing film criticism is actually a form of making films.
To study films and learn how to write about them, there are several options at Hampshire. There are two our three courses offered each year. In addition, there is the time and flexibility in the divisional system for film students to watch as many films as they can – I did several independent studies and these afforded me a lot of time to just watch.
Within the four other schools in the Five College network (going to hamp, you can take classes at any of them), there are a lot of resources for film students. Smith and Mt. Holyoke Colleges have film studies departments directed by film studies Ph.Ds. In addition to courses taught by these professors, other departments often offer film courses (such as the English department, American studies, language departments, etc.). Amherst does not have an official film department, but offers course by English teachers and different language teachers (sometimes not in English). Finally, UMass has an interdepartmental film studies program. UMass might be the best place to take courses on national cinemas, history, and directors while here at Hampshire.
dan hoffman is a recent hamp grad and a lover (of film)
The Stacks.
This summer, we’re migrating most of our beloved VHS collection out to the wild open stacks of the Harold F. Johnson Library. Titles that we have prints or newer DVDs of are going up there, alongside other anachronistic oddities & old classics. The Media Open Stacks will be located on the second floor, to the place where obsolete media drift into oblivion - at least, that’s what happened to the scratchy old LPs. Our more precious & rare video works are still going to be with the rest of the DVD & 16mm print collection, at Media Services. While we’ve been shifting these stacks around, we’ve been unearthing some interesting titles of note:
- “The Bloods of ‘Nam” Frontline’s documentary on African American soldiers’ experiences in the Vietnam War - very intense interview footage.. HC VIDEO 123
- “Future Safe” a 12 minute lecture made by the Union of Concerned Scientists from cold-war era slides pleading policymakers toward the path of nuclear arms reduction. (this one has a wonderfully ‘dated’ warbly synthesizer soundtrack!) HC VIDEO 096
- “Fuses” Carolee Schneeman’s joyful, notorious experimental erotic short film features quaint blasts of tumbling aroused genitalia in washes of abstract psychedelic color & film scratches. Our old VHS print is definitely in better shape than the version you can see on UBUWEB, so get closer to the real thing in VHS! HC VIDEO 177
More picks from our green box collection to come!
-Young
