Take Shelter (2011) is an American independent drama written and directed by Jeff Nichols. The Film follows the main character Curtis who has been having hallucinations and nightmares about the people he loves harming him and other threats, such as car accidents harming his family. Curtis mostly visions a storm which is why he begins to build a storm shelter in the back garden, which he does in order to protect his family from the storm that he thinks is coming.
This film could be considered as Independent for a number of reasons, firstly it dealt in detail with a controversial topic such as mental illness, more specially a disorder called schizophrenia. The film also showcases the strain that Curtis’s struggle with schizophrenia has on his family who are very dependent on his ability to provide for the family finically by working full-time, which helps the family gain excess to health insurance to help their daughter who is deaf. Featuring a deaf child, in this film was a bold move but I think overall it is a positive one because minority groups like the deaf community are not represented in cinema very often. However, unlike other independent films this film had quite a large budget, according to IMDB the film had $5,000,000 to work with. This means they were able to afford to do special effects, which they had a team called Hydraulx do. They were also able to hire actors that were already well known, such as Jessica Chastain who played Curtis’s wife, Samantha. Take Shelter also made use of a large cast and crew, which is unusual for an independent film because of a small budget. According to IMDB, the film made, a total of $3,741,098 at the global box office. Like many Independent films, Take Shelter was entered into numerous Film Festivals. The film was nominated and won 3 awards at Cannes Film Festival which is the biggest film festival in the world, as well as winning an award at Sundance Film Festival. Take Shelter was also entered into other film festivals where is subsequently won even more awards. I found the cinematography and the editing in the film very simplistic. Pan shots are used frequently throughout the film, which other shots being mainly static with very little movement, this combined with the lack of cuts gives this film a very slow-paced feel. The colours in this film appear to be cold and dull with a bluer tint to the image, this could have been done to put emphasis on the fact that this family is struggling, or it could be a metaphor for the storm. Even though Take Shelter is an American film it doesn’t feel like a Hollywood film, instead it feels distinctly different and unique. I do feel as though because Hollywood is the most dominant cinema in the world and has strong links to America, when you think about American Cinema Hollywood comes to mind, but through watching this film I know that this is not the case and there are many American independent films that reject the ideology of the Hollywood mainstream. In conclusion, I liked idea of this film but I feel as though the film could have been executed much better. I think this was because for me the protagonist of the film was dislikeable which made me care less about the character and the story that was being told. References https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1675192/ https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/nov/27/take-shelter-nichols-french-review https://www.tiff.net/events/take-shelter https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4f4bb2f879e6c Moran, A. (eds), (1996) Film policy : International, national and regional perspectives, London: Routledge
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Adam and Paul is an Irish Independent film that follows the story of two homeless heroin addicts in Dublin over a single a day. The film shows a side of Dublin that is overlooked by tourists and locals, e.g the extreme poverty that exists in Ireland and the harsh cycle of poverty. This poverty that protagonists experience causes them to try and commit crimes in order to get money for heroin. An important thing to note is that this film was made after the revival of the Irish Film board in 1993. I would consider this film to be Independent because, like many other Independent films it covers topics in more realistic detail than Hollywood films would attempt. For example, this film includes, scenes of extreme poverty, crime, heavy usage of curse words, References and Visuals of Drug Use, Smoking and alcoholism and it showcases how all those things become a part of a homeless person’s life. Mainstream film would not want to take a risk on a film like this because focuses too much on social issues, which is not appealing to a large demographic. The film also touches on racism, which Hollywood film tends to stay away from because of the fear of public backlash. Adam and Paul was also funded by Screen Ireland (aka Fis Eireann) and According to IMDB the film earned $313,973 at the Box Office. Like most independent Films it was shown in numerous Film Festivals. It was shown in Irish film festivals like, The Galway Film Fleadh and some international festivals like Brussels. I would consider this feature to be Irish because, the film was shot on Location in Dublin, which is different from many Irish films in the 90s where they shot in rural areas. The film was also produced using Irish money, by an Irish cast and crew. The film also makes use of Irish words and phrases such as “Eejit” and people outside of Ireland may not understand the meanings of such words, especially when they are spoken with heavy Irish accents. Irish Humour is also used from the start of the film, e.g Paul getting hurt constantly and things constantly going wrong. According to Barry Monahan, the second wave Irish filmmakers felt that a “sense of humour” was something that was absent from the Irish films in the 80s.The film also features things that would be considered traditionally Irish, like Tayto Crisps and a scene set in a Traditional Irish Pub, which includes other brand names like Harp and Guinness. In Conclusion, I thought the dull and moody cinematography used fitted the piece very well and the film showed me a side of Dublin that I had never thought about before. I personality don’t think the film paints homelessness in a bad light, instead I think the characters in have turned to a life of crime and drug use because of the poverty that they are in, which is caused by social and political issues. Overall, I really enjoyed the film and would recommend it to any Irish filmmaker. References: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419420/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt https://homemcr.org/event/filmmaker-qa-adam-paul/ https://ifi.ie/film/adam-paul/ Monahan, B., 2018. The Films of Lenny Abrahamson: A Filmmaking of Philosophy. s.l.:Bloomsbury Publishing. The Survivalist is a feature film that is set in Northern Ireland after society falls and there is no government to imposes rules. The film follows The Survivalist, who lives alone on his farm, until one day two girls turn up at his farm asking for help and the story then follows their journey of trying to survive together.
I would consider this film to be independent for a number of reasons, the first being the subject matter and the content shown. Hollywood would not want to fund a film like this because it is too gruesome and realistic to appeal to a mass demographic. Secondly the locations used are local, according to Belfast Film Festival, The Survivalist was shot in entirely in Ballymoney and Bishopscourt. However, I do feel as though this film didn’t have to be filmed in Northern Ireland, it could have been shot in any country and it still would have had the same feel. The film also makes use of local actors and had a small budget. According to Ruth Barton, the film only made £21,575 at the box office. The Film was also shown in some film festivals and it also nominated for a BAFTA. Despite being an Independent film, the film does make use of some visual effects in the beginning. Independent films tend to stay away from using effects like this because of their smaller budget. For me the film was technically outstanding. The film may lack dialogue but it makes use of strong visuals, to tell the audience key information. E.g. when Milja is pregnant she doesn’t tell another character, instead a shot of her crying with vomit on the ground is shown. The sound design used makes you feel like you are a part of the environment. Both of these technical attributes combined makes the film feel very atmospheric and the lack of dialogue between the characters feels natural. Without having a government to guide them, the characters lose regard for human rights and the main aim of the characters is to survive, they display animalist behaviours, for example they communicate through gestures/ physical touch instead of speaking, for example trust is shown between the man and Milja during the shaving scene. The first “normal” form of human communication doesn’t happen in the film until the final scene, when Milja finds her way back to civilisation. However, the film showcases that even in hard times humans will always show and feel emotion, for example, the man still thinks of his brother and Milja catches feelings for the man. Even though The Survivalist is an Irish Film it is quite different from other Irish films e.g. it doesn’t mention Irish history, like the troubles and there is a lack of Irish Humour. However, I would consider it to be an Irish film because it is shot and produced in Ireland, by an Irish company with Irish actors and crew. In Conclusion, I thought this film was very unique. It’s also a film I wouldn’t necessarily seek out, but I thought it was very interesting and I really enjoyed watching it. References https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2580382/ https://belfastfilmfestival.org/films/the-survivalist - https://zff.com/en/archive/10949/ https://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2015/10/12/london-film-festival-2015-the-survivalist-review/ Barton, R., 2019. Irish Cinema in the Twenty First Century. s.l.:Manchester University Press. New Waterford girl is a Canadian Coming of Age film, made in 1999 and set in the 1970s. The film follows the protagonist Agnes Marie (Mooney), as she attempts to leave her small town in Nova Scotia to pursue her dream of living in New York city. I would consider this film to be independent due to a number of factors. Firstly, the themes and topics in the film such as rebellion, religion, mental illness, and teen pregnancy. Hollywood studios would not take a risk on a film that includes these topics, because of the worry that it would be too niche, especially since the main theme of the film was surrounding religion, and included explicit and non-explicit references to this topic. The Explicit being that the characters had a negative attitude to pre-marital sex/ teen pregnancy and abortion, even the village doctor disagreed with abortion. The characters also mentioned the Virgin Mary and had respect for the statues of Mary. The Non- explicit is the villager’s response to Lou, who has moved to the village from New York, when they believe that when she punches someone she can tell if they are guilty or not, one of the characters literally says she is “Sent by the Virgin”.
The film also made use of Canadian film tropes that wouldn’t appeal to a demographic outside of Canada, these include a strong Female lead as opposed to a heroic male lead like American Films, Canadian culture such as the interaction with the Canadian physical geography, born Canadians and an immigrant new comer, the use of colour to symbolise different moods/ feelings and dysfunctional families. The film could also be considered as independent due to the fact that Canadian films are made using Tax Dollars and are not distributed worldwide, according to IMDB the film was only distributed in 4 territories. It is also important to note for a film to be considered Canadian the distributor and source of funding most also be Canadian, according to IMDB the film only made a total of $774,469 at the Box Office. Like the majority of Independent films New Waterford Girl was not produced with the intention of appealing to the masses, instead it was made to tell a story that the Writer Tricia Fish wanted to tell. The film also made use of an unknown cast and crew, who were more than likely Canadian either natively born or immigrants, which is common in Canadian Anglophone Cinema, and critical for the film to be considered Canadian. New Waterford Girl, like most independent films was also shown in and won numerous film festivals. Toronto Film Festival where it won Best First Feature, Cinefest Sudbury and Atlanic Film Festival where it won Best Canadian Feature in both festivals. In Conclusion, I found this film very interesting, due to the number of different topics that it includes. For me the film didn't feel like a Comedy, it felt more like a coming of age film that included Comedic elements. Overall the film gave me a better cultural understanding of Canada and opened my eyes to the types of Independent films they produce. Bibliography https://cinej.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/cinej/article/view/72/234 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213121/ http://exclaim.ca/film/article/new_waterford_girl-allan_moyle Akser, Murat. "Nation, Genre and Female Performance in Canadian Cinema." CINEJ Cinema Journal 2.2 (2013): 149-166. An independent film can be defined by the following factors, A low budget, small team, the use of not well-known actors and a lack of advertising.
I would consider Bad Day for the Cut (2017) to be an independent film for the following reasons. Frist of all the actors used in the film are not big-name stars, they are local and likely to be starting off new actors. Independent films are also known have low budgets, which this one does for example in order to cut lighting costs in this film they mainly used available or natural light. The majority of the film is shot indoors near windows, outside or in a camper van. Even the shots at night are dark and seem to only use the light that was available to the filmmakers at the location. Something else that would lower the cost of this film is the use of Local locations. This film was shoot, written, set and produced in Northern Ireland. According to IMDB, the filming locations used for this film was Belfast and Co. Antrim. This would rarely would occur in mainstream films because they will have travel expenses in their budget and will be able to film in multiple different countries and locations. There is also a lack of special effects in this film, for example you don’t visually see the flash or bullets from the guns that are shot, which this is something that you would see in a mainstream film with a higher budget, because they will be able to afford equipment such as a Cap Gun or a crew member the specialises in visual effects like adding a Muzzle Flash. It could also be said that this film was a product of passion rather than being made for the sake of making money, like majority mainstream Hollywood films are made for. The Film, according to IMDB only made $1,510 at the Box Office. Like most independent films, Bad Day for The Cut wasn’t heavily advertised and it wasn’t available to watch in cinemas upon its release, instead the film was shown at film festivals. It was shown at local film festivals like Foyle Film Festival and Belfast Film Festival as well as other global film festivals like Sundance and Philadelphia Film Festival, before being distributed on streaming services like Netflix. I also feel as though mainstream media would not tackle a film like this and if mainstream media did, they would not do as good of a job as the director Chris Baugh. I say this because the film makes use of Irish Humour and Director and team are Northern Irish and therefore in my opinion be able to write and perform it better than Hollywood could. Another reason is because Mainstream film relays on American humour to appeal to a wider audience and Irish Humour would be too niche for Hollywood to tackle, because it would decrease revenue, however an independent film does not care about the money it makes, which is why Irish humour is used. In conclusion, I really enjoyed this film because it was not afraid to push the envelope and try something new. I liked the style of the film and the humour appealed to me especially because it is the humour that I hear everyday and grew up listening to. I hope to see more films like this in the future especially from Northern Ireland. Bibliography https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5653514/ https://variety.com/2017/film/markets-festivals/bad-day-for-the-cut-sundance-film-review-1201968765/ https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Bad-Day-For-The-Cut https://www.nervecentre.org/news/story/bad-day-cut-comes-foyle-film-festival Tzioumakis, Yannis. American independent cinema. Edinburgh University Press, 2017. ch1 |
AuthorShelby Logan. A Student a Ulster University doing Cinematic Arts. Archives
March 2020
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