#tbh character deaths coming to a cinema near you

[sufilmbologna]

Fare Thee Well (Dink’s Song)

So this will be my Final Long Post. No Ifs ands or Buts. I’ve wrote 8-9 of these suckers at this point (shame those other ones didn’t count but ya know you gotta write about film in the film program *color me shocked) but here is my last one.

I’d like to do an overall review of this program and the Film Festival. I haven’t been this happy in a long time and I’m sad to leave. I’m really gonna miss Italy. Alex talked about how when you go to a film festival you feel like you’re home that is exactly how I felt. Home.

I’m gonna have this be an extra long post (when had that stopped me from going over 3k characters before) so I can fulfill my obligation of talking about film whilst I talk about the program as well.

So a brief overview:

We started off viewing a few Italian Neorealist films (Rome Open City, Momma Roma) and being given readings to help us better understand the films. Many of the readings were great if you could sit down and get into them. When you’re in Italy it's very hard to do that when you want to explore. They could also be quite dry. I’m more of a spark notes kind of guy tbh; I’m impatient.

For those going into the program in the future do the readings before you come if you have the chance. It will give you time to process the information and more time to explore Italy.  

Then we watched 4 Months, 3 weeks, and 2 days by Cristian Mungiu a notable Romanian filmmaker who we would later meet and watch said film a second time. I don’t think any of us asked any questions of him - either because some of us chickened out and others of us had no questions (I thought the film was clear to me and he’d explained enough).

I don’t happen to have the syllabus on me at the moment but if I recall correctly right before the film festival started we went to Turin’s National Cinema Museum. It was a sight to behold. The view uptop was great but the real treasure was what laid inside the building. Film peraphinalia from a myriad of different famous films.

They had several exhibits where you could see how sound affects a scene with the option to change the music and notice a tonal and/or mood change. Sound as we’ve been taught has a huge effect on the overall experience. Telling you what to think and feel.

They also had an exhibit that was a first person virtual reality but you had to work it with your hands on a screen to look around 360 degrees. However my favorite one, because it got Anna dancing, was one that played different music to a beat and created a missenscene using lights.

The props were cool too stuff from the old horror Frankenstein days, Aliens, Jaws, etc. All films near and dear to my heart. Even films I wasn’t too familiar with it was still a pleasure to see the love and passion to maintain the films legacy for generations to come.

Then the film festival happened. It was essentially as I stated on one of my posts. We all watched at least 3 films a day (or went to events) that Alex and Donato had selected from the overall list. A greatest hits list so to speak; apparently so good the grad students started following ours.

There were a wide variety of films on offer - Mexican, French, Italian (of course), Japanese, Chinese, American, etc. A little bit of flavor for everyone. Truly the spice of life.

We gotta chance to have an audience with Martin Scorsese. Who spoke to the auditorium about his life, what he did to get where he was now, what he thought of filmmaking, where it was going, and how it needs to be preserved for future generations.

Martin Scorsese I believe is one of the greatest filmmakers of his time. He looked frail; age sadly is catching up to this great so I’m humble and happy I got to have that experience. Not many people can say they have.   

I talked of the other highlights for me in my other reviews. However I didn’t speak of a particular actor who caught my eye at the festival. Marcello Mastroianni who appeared in a couple films that had elements of dark comedies (up my alley). They had 8 ½, Divorce Italian Style, and Il bell'Antonio.

I never was aware of this actor, but now that I am; I’m checking out more of his filmography and loving it. The films were an experience and it was nice to hear them talk (when it was translated) about how they made it or other fun anecdotes.

The best way to  experience cinema is to see it in theatres with other people who share your passion and enjoyment of the medium. The restorations offered were varied and they did justice in their restoration to make it as much like the original releases. The SU Program offered so much it's really hard to do it justice in one post.

A restored film from Mexico (1940s) was shown that acted as a rom com. (it was very serious at first but then changed to a comedy imo to catch you off guard). People in our group had a crush on the main protagonist after - which I got a kick out of.  

The most thought provoking film I believe we saw at the festival was the Swedish Seventh Seal in which a knight returns from the crusades and plays a game of chess with death. Obviously I’m selling it short but I can tell you it asks many philosophical questions and has moments of darkness and levity. Worth a watch.   

It was truly an experience and I got to meet people from around the world (people from Belgium, Africa, France, Italy, England, even West Coast Counterparts). They all loved cinema and had their own or similar experiences we could bond over. It was nice talking to people who I felt understood me and shared the passion.

Once the festival was over we got to go to the lab where they restored everything and saw all the work that went into what we got to view (taking it for granted tisk tisk). It really makes you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into these endeavors. I also took away some useful information to preserve your film the best way is film.

The whole festival is something I’d love to do again. Certainly makes me think I need to get out there more. Now I just need more film buddies to go to these things with…

After the festival we didn’t stop we continued to watch more films and learn about what layed beyond Italian Neorealism (the successors to the crown). We learned about Antonioni and Fellini.

There were two “big” projects during the course of this program - two films made with groups. The second one will go to the last day of class so be prepared to pull an all nighter. As long as you guys take turns it will be manageable.

Alex and Donato can be demanding but they’re not merciless they’re there to help and make you a better filmmaker. I suggest you heed their advice and ask for any help you can.   

This program is something I’m never gonna forget. It was a great time and something I’ll look back fondly on. Save for my missing watch it was a great adventure.

Christopher Purcell Class of 2019 Signing OFF

Final Post