michelle

I was reading in Jake’s blog about the music in Pan’s Labyrinth which he says ties together the many parallel universes. When thinking of the lullaby, which I also found to be quite powerful, it makes me think more of the maternal role and just who captures it. Ofelia’s mother is very clearly an idllyic figure for her, however, as far as a mother, she seems rather unaccepted by Ofelia. Ofelia tells the bedtime stories and does some comforting, even carries her brother around. Mercedes, though I would not deem her an entirely maternal figure, certainly pulls into this with the lullaby. It’s clear that neither Ofelia nor Mercedes are in the habit of singing/receiving, but instead find comfort in the attempt itself. Perhaps this just amplifies the feeling that these two people have been orphaned into the wrong universe.

So I realize that the original author of Children of Men was British which is probably why the book and movie are located in England.  But, looking at it a bit more deeply, it’s interesting that this would be the chosen surviving nation considering its long reign as a gigantic imperialistic power.  For such a long time this tiny island nation was seeking out new lands to colonize and dominate.  And, finally, in the years leading to 2027, with the destruction of the world -perhaps rooted even in this legacy of imperialism not just from England- there is an international race and struggle to seek refuge in the country that so desperately tried to expand everywhere else.

I was really struck by the long take war scene last night and was excited to watch it again this morning.  Both times, the character Marika completely disappeared, and as I realized I was missing her, or at least curious as to her whereabouts, the camera all of sudden was endowed with its own head.  Yes this new camera head follows Theo’s, but it continues just slightly behind, turning and moving, trying to keep up with Theo’s actions.  I couldn’t help wondering if Marika, perhaps in death had become this companion.  The sentiment that the camera is a person is furthered of course by the physical blood that rests there for several minutes.  Marika does show up again, very mysteriously being in exactly the right place at the same time…But why does Cuaron choose to give the camera a body, but only for a few moments?

<>By the way, while I agree that this long take scene feels like a war movie where we are involved, I mostly just felt like I was in the middle of a video game where I’d toggled between camera angles…

This was my second time seeing Babel and what most struck me most were the scene cuts. I suppose this worked with the tying together of the seemingly separated lives in different countries and their ultimate link up. For example, we see images of people being tied up in Morocco then (hopefully I’m citing this correctly) we see a chicken in mexico being tortured and then killed. We see screaming people and then the silence in Japan. Inárrito is setting up the connections as we go which I found to be interesting, though super hidden the first time through. I wonder if anyone else saw this as well?

It was also interested to examine the role of the child in this film versus in the others we’ve seen. It seems that the child should constantly embody innocence, however in Pan’s Labrynth the main character is so far from innocence-at least in her own mind- she cannot spill her blood to open portals. In Babel there are two children, innocent through their American identity and then the children in Morocco who corrupt themselves through an American weapon obtained through a Japanese hunter (that is what the father ultimately is…).  There is a clear tendancy-logical in my eyes- to portray children as innocence, though it seems that ultimately these directors choose to banish this idea after presenting it.  If not with the children, where is the innocence?

    Though I have only seen three of Del Toro’s films (Pan’s Labyrinth, Cronos, and now Devil’s Backbone) there are a great number of constants or at least similarities in his pieces. For example, beginning and ending with the same scene or elements (with Pan’s Labyrinth and the Devil’s Backbone the start and finish with a child’s blood), the similar uses of gore, the deformed faces of Santi and Jesus, etc. In each of Del Toro ’s efforts to create the mystical ghost story, his sophistication grows as he seems to become more adventurous and perhaps more confidant.
What I would like to talk about in this post, though, is not really the similarities between his works, but one particular aspect in this film. The ghost-child,Santi , appears multiple times to Carlos. Each time it is as if they look at each other through a medium; a dirty mirror, or a curtain. In these scenes, Santi is surrounded by a dusty, moving bubble. The first time this is presented is pretty immediately after the first scene with the “grains of strength.” This grains are presented to the children in a religious fashion, though the woman of the house seems to take Catholicism with either ambivalence or a touch of distaste. These grains, then, seem to be their fashion to give hope and courage to these unfortunate boys in a secular, yet spiritual fashion.Santi acts similarly , certainly not giving hope, but testing the courage of the children, and attempting to help them from realizing their somewhat dismal future. In this light, could that atmosphere encompassingSanti be made of those very same grains of strength supporting him in his endeavor? Or is the wall between limbo and reality just a bit hazy?

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