Films journals:Monty Python Flying circus

Films journals:Monty Python Flying circus

British humor is way too far from American fun. I can confess that I am a fan of British comedy. I have watched Monty Python several times, and it is incomparable to most American comedies due to the creativity used in drafting are the comic jokes. American humor contains humorously embarrassing events. I enjoy American comedians though I cannot think of any at the moment except Chris Rock. British skits are more enjoyable for the jokes tend to be of different levels (Landy, 2005). From the Monty Python, we have open tricks that tend to be more and more involved. In this case, we have the act on The Life of Brian in Monty Python Flying Circus. In this case, Brian tries to escape and a mob that mistakes him for a prophet, in the chaos, he gives one of his followers a gourd, and as he tries to flee, he loses his shoe.

At this point, the crowd of followers divides into two. The first groups start yelling, “All hail the gored,” and the second group claims that the prophet wants people to walk in his shoes. This joke is more profound when you come to think of it. It does not reflect on people worshiping gourds or shoes. However, this joke reflects on Abrahamic beliefs or religions that began in different ways and have changed to where they are now. From Monthy python, it is clear that British comedy consists of intelligent humor or multi-level humor, for it is evident in most scenes. American comedians cannot make jokes at this level. Most American comics include themes that are not funny at all. Some opt to use music to highlight important topics, but they do not do it to make people laugh. Monty Python Flying Circus is an intelligent cosmic joke that I can never stop watching.

Jeremiah Johnson

Young men in Jeremiah Johnson film are so much willing to go into the mountains and endanger their lives to seek a more peaceful life. They do not move their due to money or any material things (Pollack et al., 1992). These young men emulate Jeremiah Johnson’s decision to opt for a more solitary life, full of peace, by spending his time with nature in the mountains. Jeremiah Johnson was a US army who decided to like in the frontier part of West America. He plans to find a place or a piece of land where he can build a house. The desire ends up drawing more young men in this activity, a thing that envisioned. He amasses friends and acquaintances along the way, and all these people become more critical parties in his life as he had thought and planned. The most vital role that these men play is instilling Jeremiah with essential skills on how to co-exist with other Indian tribes.  These skills are necessary since Jeremiah decides to live in their land. He works so hard to build a good neighborhood and obtains this land. Indian crow soldiers murder Jeremiah’s wife and daughter after realizing that he violated the rules of Indian burial.

The troop sent attains the assigned duties, for they are so much willing to preserve the Indian culture. They are not after material things, but they are after fighting for their learning. They are after killing Johnson, but he fights them back, killing them one by one. All the soldiers sent to fight him. They do not succeed, but he conquers them all. By so doing, Johnson becomes a respected legend in this community.  After so much struggle, Johnson can sit down and enjoy the peace he so much yearned. Johnson is indeed yearning to obtain an order.

The Wizard of OZ

The term self-actualization perfectly applies to the characters of this film. Self-actualization is evident from diverse characters in this film. The producer depicts several images of characters that have the desire to satisfy their needs or seek contentment.  Some of the examples of these characters are Dorothy, Tinman, who lacks a heart, straw man who lacks both the spine and brain and the cowardly lion who has neglected his courage and anger.  These attributes result from the negative experiences of these characters.

From my point of view, Dorothy’s encounter with the great Wizard can be termed or defined as a significant time of realizing oneself and initiation (Fleming et al., 2005). The moment transformed Dorothy, for she opened her eyes wider before. Her desire to get a wizard brought her to a new place. At this point in life, she realized that the rest of the journey was up to her. In this case, Dorothy was not the only one transformed. Other characters were changed too. The other characters had the desire also. For instance, Lion yarned to be brave; the Tin Man desired to have a heart, and scarecrow wanted to possesses a brain. The entire journey that Dorothy went through behind Oz’s curtain was all part of the process of self-initiation. She encounters witches; she goes through such scary places and mingles with new friends.

All the characters in the Oz once prepared to look for the Yellow brick road. They realized that all of them were talented, and they had all the features that they were yearning to obtain. This act is an essential lesson for all people seeking self-actualization. Dorothy leads a journey to the Yellow bricks road in search of attributes that were actually inside them or that were where they were. In the end, they learn that they disowned all the qualities they so much desire.

Oz the greatest and powerful

Theodora is one of the greatest witches in this film that possess unique personalities. For one, she is a beautiful and naïve or uninformed witch who seeks her sister’s protection (Raimi, 2013). Theodora’s past is not known or mentioned apart from the fact that Theodora has an older sister Evanora.  She opts to spend most of her time alone.  Before the transformation, Theodora had fair olive skin, and she had long dark-brown hair. Theodora’s greatest desire is peace in the land of Oz. She believes that the prophesied wizard will one day come to restore order.

Theodora possesses significant power and abilities. She is a powerful witch who possesses magical powers. Her strength is similar to her sister’s and Glinda, for it originates or animates from a very unique and special place. This power comes from a ring designed with a red ruby that glows as she uses magic. Some of the magical powers she possesses are; she has the potential to create and manipulate fire at will. This ability is her significant means of offense. Strong emotions like anger triggered this power. She embraces her ability to conjure flaming balls of fire on her hands and introduce them to all parties that oppose her.

Moreover, she can move objects with her eyes. She could fly by herself after being converted into a wicked witch. She stole a broom from Quading, which emits a black smoke when she flies it. Also, she possesses superhuman strength that she displays when drafting a marble table.  Above all the provided details, Theodora is peaceful, good-hearted, polite, loving, and friendly. Being a witch, she is scary, jealous, impatient, jealous, and hot-tempered. All the magical power sum up her negative personal attributes. She reveals the evil version of herself, which makes her scarier.

The Royal Tenenbaums

Every single character in this film is fascinating. However, the title of this film matches the style of Royal (Gene Hackman). His family is unique. All families have a secret, for they are not like other families. His family is named after him In American society way. He is always away from his family home. His acts perfume the title of the film with irony, for he neglects his responsibilities. The Tenenbaums are indeed like disowned central European monarchy with all their possessions packed in their briefcases and are unhappily exiled from their home (Anderson, 2001). Gene is indeed royal, for he lives in a hotel suite after he separates with his wife. He lives all his three children with his wife, Etheline (Anjelica). These children were prodigies, but later they become adult neurotics.

In this case, Royal does not take his responsibility as a parent. Instead, he lives all the duties and responsibilities to his wife. From this film, it is not a secret that Royal lives royal life. In the movie, we can see that there is a certain lady who ensures that all his needs are well taken care of or provides his contentment. In a real sense, he leads a royal life by living in this hotel suite though he does not show any concern to his family. He only thinks of going back when he realizes that Etheline is in a relationship with Henry. Royal feigns a terminal illness to be his wife and children together. The term Royal is ironically used in this film. At the end of the film, Royal is chased from his latest hotel suite, and he has no option but to go back home. His wife rejects him Royal or Gene moves in and requests to meet his grandchildren, where he teaches them not to take chances. This family seeks attention through unveiling diverse strategies to find love and carve out. He gradually seeks peace with his wife, Etheline, and his children.

Big fish

Big fish is a critical story that reveals how people neglect culture. In this film, one of the notable characters, Edward Bloom, tells tall tales. He is an exemplary character who depicts how people wrestle with customs and traditions. Bloom has always loved telling people quite tall tales about his early life experiences, not forgetting his most loved story on literal giant fish (Burton et al. 2004). By the time Will Bloom reaches adulthood, His father’s act of retelling his stories bore him. This act has affected their relationship to the extent that Will thinks that his father talks about himself and not other critical topics.  Also, he believes that all that his father tells are amusing lies about himself.

The primary reason as to why Bloom tells his experiences is that he is so much determined to show how people struggle with life and lessons that we ought to learn from what we go through. For example, Edward narrates the story of how he fell in love with his wife, Sandra. Bloom reveals how he struggled to obtain this love. Bloom befriends a giant and indulges in a slippery marriage, and later, Bloom spends months trying to find her love again. He narrates how His childhood enemy attacks him on love issues. From the story he describes, it is evident that Edward goes through many trials. I can say that his adventure takes him away from his experiences. Will cannot keep a distance forever for his father’s story is part of who he is. With time, his connection to his father becomes stronger. He compares his father’s story to a familiar joke. He learns that in the Big Fish, the relationship between father and son is restored when the son is not figuring out what is happening. I can say that this story depicts how people fight and ignore their traditions and beliefs introduced from an early age, and later they come to understand their importance as they mature.

Dead Again

Dead Again is a complex film that revolves around themes of death and marriage. One of the major characters that I will explore is Roman. Roman is Margret’s husband in this film (Branagh, 1991). The two enjoy their marriage life though there are issues of infidelity surrounding their companionship. For instance, Roman believes that Margret is in love with Gray Baker, a man she met on their wedding day. However, it is not easy for Margret to convince him that she is faithful and submissive in their marriage. Margret catches Frankie, a son of their hose keeper staring at her jewelry box. She is so pissed off and decides to request his husband to release the two, but he turns her request down by claiming that the two parties saved his life.

I can confidently say that Roman kisses Gray Baker on the right cheek before he is taken to the electric chair because he believes that Gray has been flirting his wife, Margret. He whispers something on his ear, maybe informing him that he murdered Margret for her infidelity. Again, I can say that he might have whispered a threat if he discloses the truth. That is why Gray does not reveal what Roman says or whispers to him. Roman is taken to this electric chair, for he is the primary suspect of Margret’s murder. Did you commit this act? Most people will believe that he murdered his wife. The act of whispering on Gray’s ears is a signal sent to the audience that Roman is indeed the murderer who was provoked by Gray and Margret’s relationship. Jealousy resulted in this fatal act. There is uncertainty in determining Roman’s Guilty though I feel he might have stabbed Margret. Truly, infidelity can cost one life. Faithfulness in marriage is essential. If Margret was indeed faithful, she could not have died, and Roman would not have been taken to the electric chair.

Caligari

`Caligari is among the fascinating films in the Germany history of cinema. It contains unique visual styles that all the entire audience can testify. In this film, the use of cameras is perfect in recording reality. The story of Caligari comes narration of the prologue.  Caligari arrives at a fair and introduces a certain man he claims to have been sleeping with since his birth. The protagonist,  Francis, attends the show with his friend Alan who confidently asks when he will die (Wiere et al., 2000). I find the response so chilling. The answer is that this character will die at dawn, and honestly, he dies at the start. Suspicion is evident through Cesare, who is fed by the doctor. This doctor is struck by the fact that Caligari’s fiancé jane is abducted. I feel that the plot of this story is not surprising. The design of this film is a little bit weird for Cesare to carry Jane when unconscious and a mob follows him.

However, this chase is so involving. People ran through the streets where sharp lights and shadows appear. I find the activities a little bit shocking. For one, Francis follows Caligari as he returns to his residential home. Again, both Francis and the local police obtain evidence regarding Caligari’s influence, which evoked his desire to look for Somnambulist to submit him to his will. Some issues raised in this horror film are not apparent. Why is Jane unconscious? Why is Cesare in trouble? There are various adjustments needed in this film to make it more appealing to the audience. However, The only topic I find appealing is Caligari’s act of embracing a subjective psychological imagination. Imagination used in this case makes the unspeakable possible. What people cannot say occur.  The use of visuals initiates different feelings from the audience. They feel squeezed, Turned, and adjusted by the visuals that the director uses.

Being John Malkovich

I find this film so innovative and endless. The writer of this film, Charles Kaufman, provides gleaming inventions and very wicked paradoxes. The director of this film, slyly reveals each of the twisted events. This more is among the rare films that contain extraordinary circumstances at the beginning and the end in ways that the audience does not expect. This movie has numerous ideas applicable in more than six films. The producer casts these ideas in a creative way that does not make the audience feel so much pressed. The development of one plan enchants the audience after another. This film is so costly, but its floor is full of unusual activities. For instance, Craig meets a co-worker called Maxine and desires to have her. He enquires about her marital status (Jonze et al., 1999). Crag gets inside the mind of John Malkovich and advises him to start a business by charging people for staying inside Malkovich’s mind for fifteen minutes. This act is a beautiful experience.

Malkovich is so quiet and musing, and this makes him play the most significant part of the magic. Why are people so much willing to get in his mind? Whatever happens in this skit is hard to explain. Various characters enjoy entering John’s Mind, thus creating suspicion on what makes it fascinating? The movie keeps on getting better through numerous surprises involved.  For instance, Charlie feels inspired when Malkovich enters him through a particular portal.  The trips revealed in this context show the most strange skits of this movie.  Ultimately, opening one’s mind is an excellent experience. Again, this film colonizes our imagination by taking us to a new world with different backgrounds.  I can nominate this show for its best pictures that draw the attention of the viewers. I love watching it for its excellent features.

References

Anderson, W., & Wilson, O. (2001). The Royal Tenenbaums. Macmillan.

Branagh, K., Garcia, A., Jacobi, D., Schygulla, H., & Thompson, E. (1991). Dead again. Paramount.

Burton, T., August, J., Wallace, D., McGregor, E., Finney, A., Crudup, B., … & Cotillard, M. (2004). Big fish. Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment.

Fleming, V., Garland, J., Morgan, F., Bolger, R., & Langley, N. (2005). The wizard of Oz. Turner Entertainment.

Jonze, S., Cusack, J., Diaz, C., Keener, C., & Kaufman, C. (1999). Being John Malkovich. Universal Studios.

Landy, M. (2005). Monty Python’s flying circus. Wayne State University Press.

Pollack, S., Rubinstein, J., Milius, J., & Wizan, J. (1972). Jeremiah Johnson. Warner Bros. Sanford Productions.

Raimi, S. (2013). say, Oz the Great and Powerful. Walt Disney Pictures.

Wiene, R., Janowitz, H., & Meyer, C. (2000). The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Famous Films Productions [empresa de producció].