The film is about the main character Carol, who at first glance, is a shy and timid woman, but later on we learn she that she is struggling with her sanity. Everyone around her knows something is wrong with her but she doesn't say anything. Carol just tries to carry on with her life knowing that she is not right mentally. Suddenly when Carol's sister went on a vacation with her boyfriend, she is then left alone in the flat. That is when her sanity takes a turn for the worst. Carlo is then hallucination about cracks on the walls, hands coming out from the walls, a man who keeps raping her when shes in bed and later she develop, what I think, is another personality.
To me this film is not much horror but more of a type of mystery drama. Wondering why Carol is so distant from everyone, especially men.
Repulsion uses a lot of objects to represent Carol's sanity. The dead rabbit for example. When Carlo left it out of the fridge for too long it started to rot away, which is happening to her sanity. Another are the potatoes, their roots are growing and the potatoes are also dying, maybe to so that Carol is slowly slipping away while something else is growing inside her. But the one main object that reflects her the most is the flat she lives in. Everything that's happening in the flat represents how her mind is changing. It starts off nice and clean and ends up a total wreak.
Besides the objects that represent Carol's sanity, there are also some signs that talks about her history also. First lets look at the raping, it is obviously someone she knows, but who is he? Is a relative? A man who made believe he is her friend but isn't? could be someone close? And so on. The hands that grow from the walls could be the hands of the rapist. And the picture at the end has a young Carol looking at her farther with such disgust, could he have anything to do with Carol's mental state? All of this gives the film that mystery atmosphere, trying to uncover the history of Carol's life and to understand her a bit more.
What I like most about the film is how Carols Hallucination around the flat treats it like it is haunted. Like the house is alive and it is mimicking the helpless Carol's state of mind to the point of insanity.
I really like the use of effects around the flat, mostly the growing cracks on the walls and the hands the comes out from them. The story is good also, it has a weird effect, treating the world like it is normal but not normal at the same time.
Repulsion is defiantly a different film. It felt like a biography of a victim who suffers from sexual repression and soon loses her mind to the point of insanity.
Online Interim Review 16/12/09
ReplyDeleteMorning Shahbs - and apologies for the delay.
It's good to see you resolving the details of your room in terms of time period and style; this will make your life easier and guard against your producing a generic 'nowhere' space.
I'm still not precisely sure of your intentions regarding the use of the mirror - you might want to check out Ethan Shilling's blog - http://aflockofpixels.blogspot.com/ - as he's also using mirrors, and I've left some comments that you might also find useful in relation to your own scene.
I'd like to see you commit to a few ideas through some confident thumbnails - see Leo's blog for some nice examples of using quick sketches to explore possibilities - http://ltsang.blogspot.com/2009/12/thumbnail-concepts.html
Please see following posts for general guidance re. the written assignment for unit 3.
Written assignment Unit 3 Part 1
ReplyDeleteConsider carefully the following learning outcomes for your essay and structure your assignment accordingly. You must demonstrate:
1) Knowledge and understanding of ‘the Uncanny’.
You should begin your essay by defining ‘the uncanny’ in theoretical terms (i.e. according to Sigmund Freud, Jentsch, and anyone else with a helpful or clear definition). You will be expected to include a quoted source by which to demonstrate your understanding; the essay, ‘The Uncanny’ by Freud is rich in useful observations – so use it; you’ll want to consider the concept of the ‘unheimlich’ and the sorts of motifs/artefacts that create the uncanny experience.
2) A developed ability to engage in research.
At this stage of your course, you are expected to research your subject area in order to enrich your discussion and corroborate your analysis. No essay at this stage should be written ‘off the top of your head’ or without a clear research agenda. Research might include a variety of film reviews, artist statements, images, books, critiques and articles. Research requires that you READ and take notes! For instance, if you are looking at Invasion of the Body-Snatchers in relation to the uncanny, first cross-reference lots of reviews/articles about the film. Make a note of any recurrent terms or ideas and when you come across a term you don’t understand or are unfamiliar with – investigate it! Try google searching associated terms together– for instance ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers & uncanny’ – as you may find research material that relates very specifically to your discussion.
There are no short-cuts to an intelligently written assignment – focused research = successful essays; without research and a body of evidence, your essay is simply ‘chat’ and of no academic significance. Be significant!
3) The ability to synthesise a range of research applied to arguments.
Put more simply, this means that once you’ve completed your research and gathered together your key ideas, you are then able to use them to ‘unpack’ your chosen subject; think of your research as a precision tool-kit especially selected by you to ‘dismantle’ your case-study or studies (i.e. the film, image, programme, artwork you’ve chosen to discuss)
4) The ability to clearly and academically communicate ideas.
This is all about your writing style and your ‘voice’ – too many of you are writing as if you’re talking, and it’s a habit you need to lose asap in this context. So you must avoid slang and clichés; you’re not on the street or down the pub, you’re in a formal space with formal conventions.
Avoid the first person; instead of writing ‘I think that Invasion Of The Body-Snatchers is about the fear of conformity’, consider instead ‘It is arguable that Invasion of the Body-Snatchers is about the fear of conformity’.
The idea for my mirror scene is to show it as a type of spiritual window, or a type of eye that spies on people. Something like Ethan's idea, but making the mirror look at both the inside of the house and the out side through the windows.
ReplyDeleteI could make the mirror act like a thing that controls people. Example woman who uses mirrors to check if they look perfect. The object that judge if you are pretty or ugly.
What do you think Phil or anyone throw in some of your reacctions to this idea.
what do you think Phil or anyone, is this a good idea or do I need to work on it a bit more?
ReplyDelete