Ben Ellis Film

We need to talk about Kevin is a 2011 psychological thriller, directed by Lynne Ramsey. It follows the story of Eva and her son Kevin. We follow Eva struggling to come to terms with her son and the horrors he has committed. Cinematography and foreshadowing are used in unisons within the opening shots of the film. The first shot shows a curtain being blown in the wind. Colour is also used effectively in this shot as its mainly black and dark blue which indicates sadness and also a sense of mystery. The symbolism of an open curtain also represents freedom and escape which themes are definitely explored through the movie. The following scene is a extreme wide birds eye shot of a spanish festival where the main colour seems to be red. This is deeply symbolic of blood and horror which will follow in the film. Also it ties in with the sense of freedom from the last scene as in this scene Eva is free and not tied down at all like she will be later on in the film. The film mainly dea...

Fish tank is a 2009 british drama written and directed by Andrea Arnold. The film follows Mia who is a 15 year old girl who lives with her mum and sister. One of the main things i wanted to talk about regarding Fish Tank was the cinematography. The biggest part of cinematography in the film relates mainly to the title. The title of the film 'fish tank' implies entrapment and this is shown through the cinematography by showing tight cramped shots which implies this sense of wanting to escape and traps. This is also shown through the colours used in the shots, usually they're bleak or washed out colours. This implies the bleakness and depressing situation she's in. Fish tank is clearly supposed to be socially realistic and it explores this themes through a few key ways in the film. The set design tends to be gritty and realistic of a council estate. The kitchen always seems to be extremely messy and dirty which implies there isn't much unity within the famil...

'The Journey': An Iraqi film in Iraqi cinemas after 27 years This is probably one of the smaller film stories due to the recent award ceremonies and campaigns speaking out about people in the film industry. The journey follows the psychopathic mind of a suicide bomber. The film had appeared in 15v film festivals prior to its screening in Baghdad, but its in country in cinema screenings which is the most important. The film is the first Iraqi film in other 25 years to be shown in Iraqi cinemas. The Iraqi  Independent Film Center , run by a group of young filmmakers, simultaneously  launched a movement   dubbed the “1 million viewers campaign."The film tells the story of a female suicide bomber about to blow herself up in Baghdad's only train station on Dec. 30, 2006, the day former President Saddam Hussein was hanged. As she considers her situation, she is reluctant to press the button and finds herself in a state of inner conflict. Through her psychological ...

The Shape Of Water is a 2017 American fantasy drama directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by Vanessa Taylor. Set in Baltimore in 1962, the plot follows a mute custodian at a high security government lab who falls in love with a amphibian creature. The shape of water deals with themes of voice, greed and power. Being set in the midst of military conflict with russia, The shape of water deals with the theme of war and also blame in the sense that everyone is being suspected of working for the russians and no one is safe from the scrutiny. One of the most significant parts of the film is that the main protagonist, Elisa, is mute and cant speak. This is a great metaphor for women not having much power at the time and not having a 'voice'. This is made clear of at one point in the film where the general is questioning them and half way through stops himself and says ' Why am i asking the piss cleaners' and proceeds to talk about how little they would know about t...

I really like this scene from apocalypse now as it depicts a very important conversation in the movie, also I think it’d be good to recreate as the lighting is very interesting in how the colonel is obscured. Also at this point in the film this is one of the first times we meet the colonel.

Mark Renton Mark renton is a scottish heroin addict and the main protagonist of the film. He narrates the film and we tend to root for him throughout the film. He is a typical heroin addict who always says hell get off of it but never does. He is the character who delivers some of the most iconic lines in the movie. Half way through the movie he gets off with an underage girl, diane, and moves to central london. Quotes :  Straight away he clocked us for what we were. Small time wasters with an accidental big deal It's SHITE being Scottish! We're the lowest of the low. The scum of the fucking Earth! The most wretched, miserable, servile, pathetic trash that was ever shat into civilization. Some hate the English. I don't. They're just wankers. We, on the other hand, are COLONIZED by wankers. Can't even find a decent culture to be colonized BY. We're ruled by effete assholes. It's a SHITE state of affairs to be in, Tommy, and ALL the fresh air in th...

The lobster is a 2015 absurdist dystopian black comedy film written and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. The film is set in a dystopian society where single people are forced to go to a hotel and find a relationship within 45 days or else they will be turned into an animal of their choosing. We follow Colin Farrels character of David, he has been recently divorced and is forced to in role in the hotel. Each person has a defining characteristic and has to find someone with the same one. David is short sighted. The film has a soundtrack that constantly repeats itself throughout the movie. Its one particular song, if you can even call it that, which repeats through some scenes. As a result when the sound is heard its very jarring. When its heard it makes the audience uneasy but also informs them when a major part of the plot has been uncovered. As the scene is a dystopian black comedy, its self explanatory that the colours are bleak and dull. But what the lobster does differently is r...