Life in a year - my doc treatment

I am making a documentary on exchange students called "Life in one year". That's what we were told before we left, that our year abroad would be like a whole lifetime of experience, so that is why I decided to call it "Life in a year".

It would be a day in my own skin, filmed from the outside. I want it to look like one day unfolding on the screen. I will add interviews of 3 maybe 4 exchange students including myself to orientate what happens. I want to make to show what we experience, what we feel, and the differences between our countries.

~ starts with me waking up in my room, just like in my routine.
~switch to an interview of one exchange student talking about what is different about their morning routine. Take shots based on what they say.
~Driving to school / interview on the first day of school in the US
~arriving to Booker T / comments on our first impressions on our new schools
~filming the dancers in their lockers and maybe a dance class / interview about what we like about the subjects we study
~film a class (?) and/or close ups from different teachers / comments on how different the relation ship between teachers and students are and how laid back the classes are
~lunchtime / filming my friends, the agitation
~following me in the hall way filming back of my head. No one pays attention / interview about loneliness. Add shots based on interview.
~After school. what we do, the mall, christmas (?), more / interview on what we like most, our favorite moments
~home and family shots / interview on how we felt when we first meet our future family and how we felt about spending a whole year with people who were then strangers.
~night time. Skype with family back home / interview on how we manage that
~as an ending, small interviews on what we love about our exchange and how amazing this year is despite the hard times.

Life in a day

Life in a day, a very special documentary unlike no others. It is made with a series of clips selected from 80,000 home videos submitted on Youtube, all filmed on the day of July 24, 2010. It is the life of human beings on earth, told in their own words. It is very poetic, beautiful really. Some clips are very hard or sad. You see the contrast between different life styles, poor, rich, Japanese, african or american. I loved it, I was charmed. I've seen it maybe 5 times. I can't say much more, I'll just let you enjoy.  

Swimming with sharks

I decided to make my review on Swimming with sharks by George Hugan. 

The title didn't sound very appealing to me at first neither did the summary. I thought "Oh I don't like business movies...". What got me to watch it was the cast, Kevin Spacey playing the role of the main character. Being a bug fan I swore I would see every one of his movies so I had to see this one. It was a very good choice ! 

It is the story of Guy (Frank Whaley), a recent film school graduate with big ideas who just got a job as the assistant of a big studio executive Buddy Ackerman (Kevin Spacey). All his ambition will soon be crushed by his boss who delights in abusing Guy. Pushed over the edge, the young man breaks into Buddy's house and takes him hostage. The film starts when Guy brakes in and then builds up on flash backs that will help us to understand what brought Guy to have such a break down. The whole film is basically about the Hollywood film industry and how hard it is to reach the top. 

It is very intense, I was tied to my seat the whole time, almost having to catch my breath. It can feel like it is being over dramatic but I still really enjoyed it and the way the movie was built was very clever. I wasn't disappointed by Spacey's performance, he was of course amazing ! He gave us a very powerful performance. 

Spirited away

This week, I've realized no one in America knew about all the cartons from Hayao Miyazaki, so I've decided to make a review on one of his cartons. I chose Spirited Away, my all time favorite. I've seen it so manny times and never get bored of it. It is not one of those cheesy disney cartons (although I have nothing against them, I actually love it), it is unlike any other. 

It's the story of ten year old Chihiro, moving in a new city. As they try to find their new house, her and her parents come acros a blocked tunnel. The little girl's parents decide to explore what is on the other side of it, as Chihiro feels something is wrong. They discover a beautiful town that seems abandoned. FInding a giant buffet her parents start eating and Chihiro goes wandering on her own. When she goes to find her parents, they have turned...into pigs. She is now trapped in the spirit world forever...until she finds her way out. 

It is just a beautiful carton with authentic water color drawings, all very pure and colorful. It is poetic, fun, wonderful. I advise it to everyone, children or adults. If you like it, watch all the other ones, they are ALL amazing.

Alright the trailers on youtube aren't very good and I really advise you to watch the movie in japanese because ANY OTHER LANGUAGE sounds awful.

I put the japanese trailer and the french one because I think it reflected the movie very well. You can watch it even without speaking french, the pictures speak fro themselves.

That's the french one.

Midnight in Paris

As a French girl, I have an unconditional love for Paris. Paris, Paris, Paris... To me, one of the most beautiful city in the world. Directed by the wonderful Woody Allen, this movie is a hymn to the city of lovers. All the shots are beautiful, filled with magic. Lead by Owen Wilson and the gorgeous Marion Cotillard, it is full of poetry and love of any kind. You can also find oher french actors like Gad Elmaleh (also my favorite french humorist, he is hilarious !) or Lea Seydoux. Very beautiful, very french. If you want to understand our culture, watch this movie. If you want to feel the admiration I have for Paris, watch this movie. If you just want to have a good relaxing time, watch this movie. To sum it up, whoever you are, watch this movie.

Into the wild - Sean Penn

Guys this is my favorite movie of all times. Well ok not really because there is so many awesome movies that it's hard to make a choice. But let's say he's in my top 5. Anyway. This movie is the most beautiful hymn to freedom I've seen. Adapted by the awesome book of Jon Krakaurer (that you must read by the way), it is about this young man who, feed up by society, decides to leave his cosy life behind to walk all the way to Alaska and live...Into the wild. Throughout his adventures he will get to meet people who will change his point of view on the human race and eventually heal him from his bitterness. Not only is it a journey of the mind, it is a journey of the soul. Breath taking shots and a perfect soundtrack make this movie complete. A critic of today's society, a spiritual journey of a young man and a hymn to nature, beautiful, touching, clever, deep, hypnotizing.

500 days of summer

I've always wanted to watch this movie ever since I saw the trailer on one of my numerous youtube searches. I fell in love with the camera work and the music. It just made me fell all fussy and warm inside.  Now I've finally seen it and let me tell you I wasn't disappointed. It was magical, this is the word. I adored it ! I advise it to...anyone ! Like seriously, not kidding.

The story starts off as all love stories, boy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) meets girl (Zooey Deschanel). Boy falls in love, girl doesn't. Dilemma. Quite common you'll say. Don't worry, it gets very original. We watch their love story begin, their ups and downs, all through a series of flashbacks very well orchestrated accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack. Cute, heartbreaking, funny, clever, their journey through love doesn't quite end as expected. A beautiful story about love and all it's little things.

Enjoy !

The Lives of Others - Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Hey guys ! This week I chose to make you discover a European movie ! One of my favorites, a german movie by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (if you managed to read the entire name, you have my full respect). Das Leben Der Anderen, the lives of others. This movie is just beautiful.

It happens Berlin-east during the cold war, a dark faze of the german history. If you don't know a lot about how european lived that period, this is the perfect movie learn (and i bet you don't because you guys only learn about america during the cold war in school). As you know, at that time Berlin was divided in two parts, west and east Berlin, one belonged to the Allies and the other belonged to the sovietocs. What you maybe don't know is that the living conditions in East Berlin were terrible. The society was controlled by the Stasi (basically the german CIA at the time). And the story starts with two caracters, good in their own way. One, Georg Dreyman, is a successful playwright; the other, Gerd Wiesler, is the Stasi officer who spies on him. The first one is handsome, successful, charismatic whereas the other appears to be the perfect caricature of the Stasi officer: cold, strict and insensitive. As the story goes on, Gerd discovers that Georg is leading illegal activities that could lead to the end of his career. But he also develops a fascination for the artist and, more globally, for art its-self. 

The atmosphere is cold and gloomy, very powerful, you can almost feel it. The beautiful soundtrack ties the whole movie together. 

This is a very touching movie on the power of art and it's impact on people's lives. Moreover it's about friendship and choices. In depth, it talks about humanity. The end is just magnificent. 

I really liked this movie. I am a big fan of historical movies but this one combined it with very strong human emotions. I recommend it to anyone. And please guys...watch it in german ! 

To the wonder - Terrence Malick

I chose to do my weekly review on "To the Wonder", a movie by the one, the only, the great Terrence Malick. As a very very very big fan of his work, I've been wanting to see this movie in ages but just couldn't find the time. Finally, I did. And I wasn't disappointed.

If you're looking for a lot of action, I wouldn't advise this movie to you because as many of Malick's movies, it's all about the beauty of the moment, gestures and silences. Almost no script, it's as you were looking at a moving piece of art. An amazing piece of art. I was captivated from the very beginning. I think his movies have the ability of touching anyone who watches it with attention. Of course, if you try to understand it, it becomes a little complicated. Everything is suggested, nothing is shown, only symbolism. Each one can interpret it as he wants. 

In a few words, To the wonder is a complex and tragic love story. It's a one of a kind movie that can be hard to enjoy but i loved it and advise it to any dreamer or lovers of beautiful pictures.

Avant-Garde Project

Hey guys ! As you may (or may not) know, we were asked to make an avant-garde movie in our film class. Here's what I'm planning on doing.

I was thinking about making a video that would be a definition of the word "missing". For that, I'd like to interview a bunch of people and ask them what this word means for them and use their testimonial to inspire my shots. The movie would be in black and white. I picture it pretty melancholic.

So far I have a few ideas for my shots.
- hands touching/holding
- hugging
- a girl sitting on stares
- a girl lying down, looking at the sky
That's not much and it really changes a lot. And as a soundtrack I'd use some parts of the different testimonials I've collected.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Hi everyone ! A new week has gone by so you know what that means... A new film review ! This week I've decided to make a review on "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", an off-the-wall romantic "comedy" (that's what internet says but i think it has mainly a lot of drama) by Michel Gondry. I've already seen it several times but i decided to watch it again for you guys. Awww I'm so committed ! First thing I thought when I saw the movie poster was "Waw, great cast ! A load of famous guys !". In fact, the two main carters are played by Jim Carrey and Kate Winsle. There is also Kirsten Dunst (The Virgin Suicides) , Mark Ruffalo (Shutter Island) and Elijah Wood (Frodo in The Lord of the Rings guys !). I'd say the atmosphere of the movie is pretty particular... Very romantic, strange, sometimes a little confusing and very melancholic. But i loved it (proof is I've seen it again and again).

It's the story of these two lovebirds, Joel and Clementine. One day, Joel receives a letter to inform him that his current girlfriend, Clementine, has erased all hints of their relation ship from her memory by an experimental procedure performed by Dr. Mierzwiak. Confused, Joel walks up to his medical office and finds out that she didn't want to hear about him ever again. In state of chock and sorrow, Joel decides to get his memory erased as well. During the procedure, he realizes he wants to keep those happy memories and has to fight in his own mind to save them.

This movie is the struggle of a man who tries to avert heartbreak. It's imaginative, beautifully made, unusual but magical, captivating and full of emotion. A movie that will leave you pensive and that you won't forget any time soon.

I chose a fan made trailer because the original doesn't correspond to the movie at all. Do not watch the original...

Film review of the week - Crash by Paul Haggis

Okay guys, English is not my main language so excuse me in advance for all  the spelling mistakes, I did my best haha. 

 I recently watched (for the third time) this movie called Crash. It was directed by Paul Haggis. Ring a bell ? I'll refresh your memory. What if I say Million Dollar Baby or Quantum of Solace ? Now you know who I'm talking about. Anyway, I absolutely love this movie. Now I'll try to explain why.

   The movie takes place in Los Angeles. The city "where people never touch". Throughout the whole movie, lives of very various characters will intertwine. All are part of different ethnic groups, blacks, whites, latinos, asians, cops or attorneys, thieves or immigrants, rich or poor. However they have one thing in common: racism. Victims or oppressors, they all end up guilty.  It contains hurt, cruelty and darkness, but this movie is all about second chances. 

    The camera work is beautiful, every picture is like a painting (and for that it got the Oscar for the best motion picture). The actors performances are very intense and on top of it all comes a magical soundtrack. 

   This movie is fascinating, unpredictable, beautiful and has the ability of reaching your soul, but it mainly is a message of hope.

Here's the link for the preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=durNwe9pL0E

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