Motifs in Cinema: The Dichotomy Between Fantasy And Reality

"Motifs in Cinema is a discourse across several film blogs, assessing the way in which various thematic elements have been used in the 2012 cinematic landscape. How does a common theme vary in use from a comedy to a drama? Are filmmakers working from a similar canvas when they assess the issue of death or the dynamics of revenge? Like most things, a film begins with an idea - Motifs in Cinema assesses how the use of a common theme across various films changes when utilized by different artists." 

- Andrew K.

Andrew has a knack for providing us with great motifs to explore for this series, but for the second year running, nothing piqued my interest as much as the dichotomy between fantasy and reality. At the risk of coming off as incredibly conceited, let me quote myself from last year's article to illustrate why I remain so interested in this topic: "Fantasy, in the strictest sense of the word, is inseparable from the cinema. What are fictional films if not the fantasy of those who imagine them, write them and act them? What is fantasy if not the imaginary world we immerse ourselves in for a few hours in the dark?"

All cinema can essentially be boiled down to that word: fantasy. It's all unreal and imagined. Take a film like Argo, for example, that tells the true story of a landmark political event, and yet, remains so infused with the glorification of the proceedings that it becomes difficult to suspend disbelief when the Iranian forces are chasing the airplane on the airport tarmac. On the other end of the spectrum is Holy Motors, so unhinged from reality that all presumptions about the real world are destabilized and fantasy becomes the default mode of thought. Monsieur Oscar permanently lives in purgatory between fantasy and an alternate reality.

Magicians: 2012's Best in Crafts

In my review of the year's best in acting I mentioned how difficult it was to narrow the performances down to a list of 20. In a foolish attempt to put myself through even more struggle, I've decided to limit my choices in the crafts categories to just ten. Most people seem to think that the below-the-line elements are apples and oranges. How can one compare the work of the sound engineer who mixed the final tape of Les Misérables with the costume designer who designed the hats in Moonrise Kingdom? Where is the common ground between the artistry of Alexandre Desplat and the wizardry of the team who worked tirelessly to create Richard Parker?

The reality is that the work they do shares little but their purpose is the same. They all want the film to succeed. For me, the quality of crafts work in a film comes down to the answer to one question: how does it serve the whole picture? The below-the-line elements have to be at the film's service. They should all gel. They should enhance each other and the performances. And often times, it's a sign of their strength if they don't call attention to themselves individually. With that in mind, I decided to group them all together here and try to judge them on that basis. Naturally, a list this short doesn't allow me to include everything I like. The sound design and music in Tabu, the cinematography in Amour, the sound design and cinematography in Killing Them Softly, the editing in Zero Dark Thirty, the sound work in Looper, and the musical score in Beasts of the Southern Wild were the biggest among the exclusions. In the end, here are the ten I simply could not do without:

10. Production Design and Costume Design in Moonrise Kingdom

Filled to the brim with memorable individual frames, but also coherent as a fully realized universe of its own and a visualization of the youthful energy of the film's leads, the design team bring to the screen Wes Anderson's unique vision with remarkable artistry and colorful pizzazz.

9. Production Design in Beasts of the Southern Wild

The bayou-set world of Beasts is so integral to the narrative that it becomes difficult to distinguish the design as a separate entity a few minutes into the film, but that's the greatest triumph of the designers. The low-key, knots-and-bolts quality of the production enhances the authenticity of The Bathtub.

8. Production Design and Costume Design in Anna Karenina

The costumes and settings in Joe Wright's visionary adaptation not only evoke mood and emotions, but very often they become the storyteller. That Wright manages to conceal the financial limitations of his film with such creative energy is in large part thanks to the contributions of his design team.

7. Cinematography in Skyfall

Roger Deakins relishes the opportunity to flex his muscles in several showy sequences - the neon-lit tower in Shanghai, the lantern-clad casino - but his true mastery of lighting and his painterly instincts are also evident in Skyfall's more understated moments.

6. Musical Score in The Master

Building on the same platform that shaped his indelible score for There Will Be Blood, Jonny Greenwood's string arrangements are appropriately dissonant. The compositions are fragile and haunting, like a window into Freddie's soul.

TIFF Lineup...So Far

Nina Hoss in Barbara

The way I approach my ticket selection at TIFF every year is not to jump to films that I most want to see, but to first go for titles that I suspect will be sold out quicker. More often that not, there are some overlaps between these two sets of films, but just as often, my wish list includes films that go unnoticed for the first few days of ticket sales, allowing me to get to them once I've got the loftier titles out of the way. Although, as I've mentioned several times before here and on The Film Experience, the festival's biggest attractions usually aren't close to the top of my list. I came this close to being tempted by seeing The Master at the fest - for many people the experience of watching Boogie Nights is their best TIFF memory, though I think that's partly because Paul Thomas Anderson was more of a surprise package back then - but eventually I decided against it because of its pre-determined October 12th release in Toronto. I can always wait longer when there are other options at hand with no release date.

Ryan Gosling in The Place Beyond the Pines

Anyway, for now, there are ten films that I will watch for sure as I just finalized my ticket package. I'll be adding maybe another ten or so in the coming days and I'm hoping that my hunch that films like Ernest & Celestine, Like Someone in Love, The Central Park Five, Mea Maxima Culpa, The Suicide Shop, The Hunt, etc. will not sold out by Monday proves to be correct. I'd hate to miss out on any of those. We'll see. But you can look forward to my coverage of all of this at The Film Experience, where since last year, Nathaniel has been nice enough to invite me as his Toronto correspondent.

Christian Mungiu's Beyond the Hills

In the order of their screening dates:
The Place beyond the Pines,  At Any Price, Berberian Sound Studio, Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang, Lore, Beyond the Hills, Barbara, Dormant Beauty, What Maisie Knew, To the Wonder