Film Analysis

A film’s style often expresses the film’s themes, by visual and aural means. Pick one of the recent films we watched in full (Bicycle Thieves, The 400 Blows, Murderball, 8 ½, The Lives of Others) and analyze some of the film’s themes, examining specific stylistic aspects that convey the themes. The paper should show your grasp of a variety of elements of film (sound, mise-en-scene, editing, narrative structure, subjectivity, genre, etc.) that we have discussed in class this semester. (You don’t have to discuss all of these elements.) In your analysis, you should pose a clear, compelling, precise thesis about the film and then discuss what stylistic evidence supports this thesis. Using close examination of two or three sequences, explore something that you find compelling about the film. You may want to include comparisons to other relevant films that you have seen this semester or that are by the same director. You should also include some outside research on the film, from Closely Watched Films and other sources, with proper MLA citation. (Look for analytical commentary on the film or production facts relevant to your thesis.) Key screen shots from the sequences may be attached at the end of the paper. The paper should be structured like a standard analysis: intro/thesis, close analysis of various relevant sequences, conclusion. Remember, a good thesis explains what you are arguing and why it’s significant.

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