Short Films

I thought the short films that Mr. Mayo posted on his blog were very interesting. They showed a variety of methods and plot types, and the quality varied. "Black Hole" was, I think, clearly the best that was posted. It quickly developed an exciting plot with no dialogue and only one character. I thought the cinematography was good and the effect used for the black hole was very cool. "The Man at the Counter" was filmed well, and I thought the narration added a nostalgic feeling, but the end didn't make sense to me, and I think overall it was too sappy. "Hunting" had a good balance of emotional weight, and I liked the story, but I think the overall feel of it was a little amateur. However, I think that "Hunting" is the film that the best of our films will resemble. The cut between the boys and the deer in that film was smooth and looked fine, but it was clear from the lighting that they were filmed in different locations. Because of time and logistics, I think that many of our films will require cutaways like that. This is not to say that "Hunting" wasn't good or that our short films won't be good, but I think no one will be able to make one resembling "Black Hole"

Venezuela's Loss

Hugo Chavez

Last week, on March 5th, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez died of an unspecified cancer. He had been president since 1998. Chavez was a very controversial figure in the U.S. One might even go as far as to say he was hated and feared. It was always unclear to me why Chavez had such a bad reputation here. Ever since he became president Venezuela has been slowly recovering from crippling poverty that had been present for decades. Venezuela is an oil rich country, but until Chavez became president all the profits from this industry went to the wealthy elite of the country. Furthermore, the Venezuelan government had been constantly fighting wars with obscure leftist guerilla groups as well as taking advantage of many native tribes in the country.
Chavez was an army officer as a young man, and while he was stationed at posts in trival territories he became aware of the natives' plight. He was also influenced politically by revolutionaries such as Che Guevara. In the mid-nineties Chavez attempted a coup against the corrupt govenrment. It failed and Chavez was briefly imprisoned. Despite being almost unknown to the Venezuelan public in 1998, Chavez managed to win the presidential election, defeating the dominant party's candidate. In office, Chavez pursued policies such as legislation to protect indigenous tribes and a national health care system. These don't sound like things a ruthless dictator would do, but still he was portrayed that way in the U.S. This might be because Chavez was vocally opposed to American influence, and many times publicly embarassed U.S. A more likely reason, however, is that Chavez nationalized the Venezuelan oil fields. This meant that the price of oil imported from Venezuela rose. Meanwhile, Chavez was selling oil at lower prices to the Cuban government in exchange for educated doctors and teachers. Doing this was good for his country no matter how much we hated it because it put money in the pockets of his people who had lived in poverty their whole lives. I beleive that Hugo Chavez was not some kind of demon, but that he was an admirable leader and a hero to the poor and working classes.

Henry V

Earlier tonight I went to see Henry V at the Folger theater in D.C. It's probably the best of Shakespeare's histories, and if you want to know why you should watch Kenneth Brannagh's film version. The play is about King Henry V of England and his attempt to seize the Fench crown through force of arms. This production stars Zach Appleman as Henry. Appleman is magnetic in the role, and portrays Henry as a introverted young man who is swept into war against his own will. This angle is difficult to reconsile with Henry's warlike speeches throughout the play, but Appleman pulls it off. He is restrained and dutifull, but still his soldiers are still inspired by his words. The best part of his performance, though, are the moments when he is alone onstage and grappling with the price of war and lamenting his part in it, which as king he must follow till the end. The play is heavy from the beginning and shows severe emotional pain suffered by many characters, but it is not without its uplifting moments. There is a scene making fun of a scotsman's incomprehensible accent, and another involving a hilariously crude mistranslation from french to english (read the play if you want specifics). In the end, Henry has come to a peace agreement with the French, and as part of it he is given the king's daughter's hand in marriage. Henry and the princess Kate are left alone, and he tries to express his (dubious) love to her, but his blunt military attitude and self-consciousness result in a touchingly awkward scene which portrays the enigmatic king as simply human.



Appleman as Henry