The Grand Budapest Hotel - Weekly Film Analysis

'The Grand Budapest Hotel' is a 2014 comedic coming of age adventure drama directed by Wes Anderson, the film inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig. The film follows the adventures of a renowned concierge 'Gustave H'  and his lobby boy 'Zero' in the legendary 'Grand Budapest Hotel' in the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second world war. After watching the film it becomes very clear why the feature film had won 4 oscars in Production design, costume design, hair and make up and best achievement in written music. The impressive use of the micro features; mis en scene and sound created a believable fictional world giving the audience a particular feeling into what the atmosphere would actually be like in this stunning hotel allowing the audience to become completely absorbed by the story and lost in the stunning visuals/audio displayed by the film. The film included themes of love, friendship, greed, and pride as we follow the two protagonists (Gustave H and Zero) in their past adventures during the film as a writer recalls the events told to him by the owner of the hotel Mr. Mustafa, the story is told (narrated by Mr.Mustafa) with a non linear structure in the form of chronological flashbacks (part 1 to part 5 in the film). 

Firstly the oscar winning mis en scene used from the outset of the film was key in providing us with information about the characters personality , but how and why the hotel had transformed over the years. We instantly realise the change as the flashbacks begin and the various bright vibrant colours put in place by production design completely change the atmosphere inside the hotel as we see it return to its former glory, thriving with happy customers and immaculate mis en scene indicated the success of the hotel at the time and conveyed the important theme of 'pride' as we soon find out it is all down to legendary concierge 'Gustave H'. Sound was also very important in the films success as not only did it add suspense to certain incidents by emphasising and indicating the possibility of danger or severity of a situation, it was also key in creating a particular atmosphere reflecting different locations, characters and events that occurred throughout the film. For example Alexandre Desplat composed music used inside the hotel (when it was at its peak) that was busy and fast paced reflecting the atmosphere and mood of the characters and in some cases the current event that was occurring in particular scenes throughout the film. The incredible cinematography displayed throughout the film from Robert D.Yeoman was perfectly measured in order to capture the various shots (particularly the hotel) in almost symmetrical composition, this allowed the full extent of the beautiful mis en scene created by production designers Adem Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock to be captured in a completely unique way, resulting in the unbelievable visuals making the film a one of a kind . A variety of shots were used during the film in order to create suspense (often zooming into a character from long shot to medium or close up shots) to reveal their emotions and allowing the audience to see their facial expression in detail giving us a clear indication of the different individual personalities. 

In Conclusion I think all of these micro features were key in the films success as they allowed the audience to become completely absorbed by the purposely colourful complex mis en scene displayed beautifully by the intelligent cinematography , and a particular mood was created with the help of the purposely suited music allowing the viewer an almost escape from reality as the clever combination of micro features gave you a real insight into what this fictional hotel would be like in reality. 

12 Years A Slave - Micro features Analysis (2nd Draft)

12 Years a Slave is a 2013 drama adaptation of the 1853 Slave narrative by Solomon Northup, a New York born state free African-American man who is kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery.Solomon works on various plantations across the state of Louisiana for 12 harsh years before his release. The film directed by Steve McQueen was nominated for 9 oscars and won just 3 in total, the film also won another 223 various awards.12 years a Slave was produced by a number of people including Brad Pitt (who was also featured acting during the film) and director Steve McQueen, various production companies included; Plan B Entertainment,Film 4 Productions and Regency Enterprises, in 2013 the film was distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures and Summit Entertainment to soon achieve a box office of $187.7 million with a budget of only $22 million. 

 I chose to analyse this particular scene in '12 Years a Slave' as it was one of the most hard hitting moments for me in the whole film, the scene features the protagonist Solomon as he fights for his life after being hung by the slave owners assistant Tibeats. Within the scene there are many micro features that are used in order to portray how a horrifying situation like this would of been viewed as normal for many people at the time. I will be looking at how performance,cinematography and sound is effective in doing this throughout the 3 minute scene. 

Firstly the use of cinematography is very effective through out the scene as a variation of shots are used in order to show the surroundings of Solomon but also to give the audience an idea of how long he had to endure the severe pain for as the day continued. The establishing shot was purposely dragged out for the first 1 minute,24 seconds of the scene to emphasise the length of time Solomon has to endure this horrifying pain and suffering for, but also using this shot constantly builds up suspense as we (the audience) become unsure if he will survive this possibly fatal occurrence, we are finally relieved as we change to a close up of him receiving water providing us with hope of his survival. I think the composition of this particular shot was purposely constructed like seen in the film in order to display the complete juxtaposition of the bright colours in the trees and the grass compared to what Solomon was experiencing as he tiptoed in the dark muddy pit in order to stay alive, I thought this conveyed the theme of major injustice as he suffered this extreme punishment for standing up against a man who intended to whip him for no reason but because he enjoyed doing it. A medium long shot is also used pointing the camera towards the slave owners house as we see Solomon hanging ,I think this again shows major injustice and  hatred as we know if the slave owner was stood on his balcony he would want Solomon saved immediately but the overseer acted completely oblivious to him even being there, suggesting he isn't fazed by watching such a horrific act like this shows pure hatred. A close up of Solomon is used when someone attempts to help save his life by giving him water, in the close up we see him covered in mud where he has been thrown around by the group of men who hanged him, this for me showed how some people(Tibeats in this example) completely dehumanised Black people as Tibeats treated him inhumanely by hanging him in a dirty muddy pit to die. I think the grand white house in the background of the shot is purposely in this scene to again show how unfairly and disgustingly Black people were treated during this time compared to White people, we know Solomon really should be at home with his loving family in his own house, but instead has been hung outside someone else's for something so little as standing up for himself. Finally a long shot is taken in which Solomon is placed central still hanging as the day becomes evening, I thought this again emphasised the normallity of this situation for many people back then as he was ignored during the day then forgot about as people went to sleep, the weather in this shot also possibly symbolising his life as the sun goes down and his life runs out. 

The performance of all the actors in the scene made it seem like this horrifying event was a normal everyday occurrence (which is possible) as all but one person acted almost completely oblivious to what was happening to Solomon, other slaves probably avoided aiding Solomon as they also did not want to suffer the same severe punishment. One of the best examples of this is were we see an over the shoulder shot of Solomon which includes young children playing in the background, we see the young innocent children laughing and playing with each other not even acknowledging Solomon's situation. This could suggest that they are so used to such traumatic incidents that it no longer bothers them, or more likely that most people just faced the tremendous fear of such punishments happening to them and therefore did not become involved. Chiwetel Ejiofor who plays Solomon Northup was also key in making this scene all the more accurate as he did not attempt to struggle or escape the noose as he knew no one apart from the Slave Owner would help to save his life. This could possibly portray the theme of loneliness Solomon endured as a slave as he clearly had no one willing to risk their own lives in order to save his, this is made obvious by the other actors in the scene(due to their convincing performances) as most of them do not even acknowledge him, never mind attempt to save his life. 

Finally I thought sound in the scene was key in providing the audience with an accurate description of the severe pain Solomon endured throughout the incident and how his surroundings completely juxtaposed with what he was going through. Throughout the scene we constantly hear the buzzing of the insects in the fields surrounding Solomon, this buzzing could usually be associated with a hot summers day, which in this case it is for many people not having to suffer Solomon's punishment, in contrast to that we hear Solomon chocking quitely as he struggles to stay alive. I thought this comparison could possible represent the insignificance of Solomon's life to many people on the plantation as they probably couldn't even hear him as the buzzing of the insects was louder than him chocking. This could also show how many people at the time attempted to avoid and forgot about the horrors happening in the world, just like how the noise of the insects was louder than Solomon dying allowing people to block out what was actually happening to him. A lack of sound was also evident through out resulting in the scene being possibly more shocking than if dialogue/sound was included , this is because focus is completely kept set on Solomon, due to the audience paying close attention to the minimal sound used as they are concerned if Solomon will survive due to his fading chocking, his life threatening situation was made clear by the quite realistic chocking noise put in place. 

In Conclusion I think the cinematography,sound,and performance used in this scene was very effective as it allowed an insight into how badly Black people where treated during the Slave Trade era ,and gave an accurate visual description of some of the sort of horrific incidents that many people endured and experienced in that time. I personally think the main theme this scene presented was the major injustice many people suffered due to the evil hatred and power of others,just like Tibeats who was clearly not as well educated as Solomon but had complete power and authority over him due to the laws of Slavery at the time. The combination of these micro features used in this scene resulted in a highly emotional experience for the audience as suspense is created leaving the audience in general concern for Solomon as he continues to fight for his life through out the traumatic scene. 

Key Case Study Information

'Living With Crime'- British Film Case Studies 

FISHTANK (2009)

Director: Andrea Arnold  
Producer: Nick Laws, Kees Kasander. Executive: Christine Langan 
& David M. Thompson
Cinematographer: Robbie Ryan 
Film Editor: Nicolas Chaudeurge 
Key Characters: Mia (Katie Jarvis), Conor (Michael Fassbender), Joanne (Kierston Wareing)
Budget: 1.8 million
Challenges:  poverty, violence, survival 



THE SELFISH GIANT (2013)  

Director: Clio Barnard 
Producer: Tracy O'Riordan
Cinematographer: Mike Eley
Film Editor: Nick Fenton 
Key Characters: Arbor (Conner Chapmen), Swifty( Shaun Thomas), Kitten (Shaun Gilder)
Budget: £1.4 million 
Challenges: poverty, exploitation, violence, survival, discrimination 



MY BROTHER THE DEVIL (2012)

Director: Sally El Housani 
Producer:
Cinematographer:  David Raedeker 
Film Editor: Iain Kitching 
Key Characters: Rashid (James Floyd), Mo (Fady Elsayed), Sayyid (Said Taghmaoui)
Budget: £650,000
Challenges: discrimination, poverty, survival, violence 



71 (2014)

Director: Yann Demange 
Producer: Angus Lamont, Robin Gutch 
Cinematographer: Tat Radcliffe 
Film Editor: Chris Wyatt 
Key Characters: Gary Hook(Jack O'Connell), Thommo (Jack Lowden)
Budget: 8.1 million 
Challenges: survival, discrimination, violence 

Ex Machina - Weekly Film Analysis

Ex Machina is a 2015 sci-fi/drama directed by Alex Garland in which a young programmer is chosen to take part in an experiment where he will determine weather the A.I (artificial intelligence) possess human qualities, the film displays themes of mystery,loneliness,identity,love and murder as Caleb (the protagonist) attempts to help Ava (the A.I) as his communication with her begins to form a unusual relationship. 

I thought the mis en scene used through out the film was very important in reflecting the intelligence which the film revolved around as we see mostly straight geometric shaped corridors giving the house a very modern expensive feel to it. The particular house used also provided the audience with a sinister feeling as the house was extremely spacious and mostly made out of concrete possibly symbolising a prison like environment in which Ava is trapped inside and unable to escape from due to the clear high tech security systems which have been installed. From the outset the audience gets an insight about the experiment as it is clear a lot of money and intelligence has gone into the project in which Caleb will participate in, this almost happens immediately when Caleb arrives at the house and his picture is taken by the hidden camera and he is given a keycard. This use of expensive, eye-catching mis en scene as we proceed to see the interior of the house could possibly foreshadow the ironic plot twist to come as the audience gets an idea of how the house is run by intelligent technology, later on in the film we see the house literally being dominated by the immensely intelligent technology that the house was designed to restrain. Cinematographer Rob Hardy did an excellent job in using various shots in order to accurately portray the tension between Caleb and Nathan throughout the film, but also to create the eery sinister environment contained inside the house. Low angle mid shots were used to reinforce the effect of the enclosed prison like environment, these shots could make the audience emphasise with the trapped situation as the moody grey concrete walls and thin corridors add to this almost claustrophobic like set.  

In conclusion I thought Ex Machina uniquely delivered the message of how increasingly advanced technology may be dangerous to humans as the various micro features used emphasised just how intelligent A.I's could possibly be in the future leaving the audience thinking about the film and if such advanced technology is possible in todays current world.