INTOTHEIBFILM
1. Realism refers to the verisimilitude of a film to the believability of its characters and events most evident in the classical Hollywood cinema. NAME ME SOME AND WHY?
Realism in Contemporary Cinema
Realism has become one of the most contested terms in the history of cinema.
How do we specifically define what realism is, if we can define it specifically at all
Realism has been an extremely useful concept for asking questions about the nature of cinematographic images, the relation of film to reality, the credibility of images, and the role cinema plays in the organization and understanding of the world.
There are now two distinct modes of Realist filmmaking
2. Realism takes as its starting point the camera's mechanical reproduction of reality, and often ends up challenging the rules of Hollywood movie making. NAME ME SOME AND WHY?
AS we know...
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Realism brings to the screen individuals and situations often marginalized by mainstream cinema and society.
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Raymond Williams has called this the "social extension" of realism, its intention to represent not just people of rank but also the spectators' "equals“.
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Realism makes visible unseen groups, and makes audible unheard voices. In this sense, realism has been considered a fundamentally political art form.
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Realism situates its characters socially and economically, and economic hardship is often one of the motivating forces of the realist films' plot, from F. W. Murnau's Tabu (1931) to De Sica's Ladri di biciclette ( The Bicycle Thieves , 1948) to Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's Rosetta (1999).
And on it Goes...
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A realist will try to preserve the illusion that their film world is un-manipulated, an objective mirror of the actual world.
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We rarely notice the style in a realistic movie.
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They often aim for a rough look, with the idea that "if it's too pretty, it's false."
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Often handheld camera or simply a camera on a tripod. They use available light (often just the sun).
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They use non-professional actors (real people playing themselves).
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They don't build sets, but instead find existing buildings or outdoor locations.
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Their films are about everyday people and everyday situations.
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Their films often deal with social issues.
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Hollywood is however jumping on the band wagon with the realization that the realist stylistic approach is heavily favoured in todays society.
Break it Down - beginning with Formalsim...
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´Formalist directors have no desire to show reality. They want to show their personal vision of the world. They are concerned with spiritual and psychological truths that can best be represented by distorting and exaggerating the image.
A Trip to the Moon: (Melies)
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Formalistic films are often dream-like.
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They have detailed, exaggerated sets and costumes.
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They have complicated camerawork and symbolic lighting. The style draws attention to itself., as if the director is saying, "Look at me! I am an artist and I made this!“ ANYONE COME TO MIND?
Classicism - Our old Favourite...
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Classicism is all about ideal storytelling.
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The goal of a classicist is to tell a story in the best way possible.
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Want you get caught up in the characters and their problems, to feel what they feel, but not be distracted by the filmmaking techniques.
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Classicists will build sets that resemble reality and get them exactly right for the story.
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Make polished pictures with the camera, but nothing that will make you gasp "look at that camerawork!“
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They will use professional actors who can portray the characters emotions, and who will bring in a big audience.
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If there are special effects, they will look as realistic as possible.
Gone With The Wind
Contemporary Cinema Stir-Fry of Styles to create modern Realism in Film
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Remember, each of these terms refers to the style of the film, not the content. It is completely possible to have a realistic film with mechanical and technical realism traits that takes place in a made up world (District 9), just as it is possible to have a formalistic film about a true story with (Raging Bull). It all depends on how it is made.
District 9
Raging Bull
In Short
Realism: how things really look
Classicism: how things should look
Formalism: how things feel
Example of Realist Classicism -
The Bourn Ultimatum
Example of Traditional Classicism -
Empire Strikes Back
How does it compare to contemporary Star Wars? - The Force Awakens
Example of Formalistic Classicism - Scott Pilgrim vs The World.
Everything in the film is over the top and exaggerated. Slow-motion, Fast-motion, graphics, constant self-referential reminders that this is a movie. The filmmakers aren't trying to be realistic, they're trying to show how the characters feel.
Pure Formalism - Blinkity Blank
Neo Realism Contemporary Influences - Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s very Own ‘Neo-reaslist' is Ann Hui. One of her most famous films is Boat People, about the people who fled Vietnam in 1979, some of whom ended up in Hong Kong. The film is 'neorealist' in intent and mood more than style.
Boat People - Ann Hui
The Way We Are - Ann Hui
More obviously neorealist in style, perhaps, is Hui's The Way We Are, a wonderful film which reveals some of the nature of life in one of Hong Kong's poorest districts, Tin Shui Wi.
The Class - 2008
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One of the more famous neorealist-style films of recent years is Laurent Cantet's The Class.
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This is closer to the original neorealist ideal as expressed by Zavattini in Some Ideas on the Cinema; we see the democratic impulse in the unknown actors, the narrative which turns on small, seemingly unimportant details and so on.
Latin American Cinema Influence
A huge advocate in realism and storytelling centered around social
economic problems
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City of God
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Amores Perros
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Y Tu Mama Tambien
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Man of the Year
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The Motor Cycle Diaries
Amores Perros
The Motor Cycle Diaries
Alejandro González Iñárritu - Influence
Director Inarritu ozzes a realist approach to all his films.
Most recent as you know is ‘The Revenant’ – Shot in natural light with a real avalanche etc… Mechanics of handheld camera lean towards Realist style.
“The difference between doing it for real and resorting to electronic fakery, Iñarritu says, is like that between organic produce and GM food. “The avalanche, you can do it digital, but I swear, but if you put it back to back…” – he extends his arms and does a little mime of someone comparing avalanches. “We have lost the taste for the real”.
His debut film Amores Perros focused on the Social and Economic lives of those in Mexico City through 3 stories that collide with each other.
