The cinematography is one of the greatest arts. It combines the elements of literature, theater, music, painting, architecture, ballet, etc. As a result of the synthesis of the traditional arts appears a new type of the art - film.
Despite the fact that the cinematography is a relatively young kind of the art, it has already become extremely valuable for us. Moreover, it is simply impossible to imagine our lives without movies! After all, we are accompanied by them from the early childhood. Of course, cinematic preferences of a person may change, but it is also worth noting that the interest in films does not disappear throughout the whole human life.
There are a countless number of the film genres; and each of these genres is beautiful and interesting in its own special way. People used to simply enjoy movies and a lot of them believe that it’s very simply to shoot a film. However, it is important to understand that the movie making process is very multifaceted and complex. The filmmaking process depends on the various factors: beginning from the budget and ending with the film director, whose influence on the movie is the largest.
Of course, every movie has a certain meaning. The director puts into his brainchild some specific idea or even ideas and uses a variety of ways to make the film meaningful. However, it is very important to realize that no matter what meaning was given by the film director because the spectator can understand the ideas expressed in the movie in his own way; and it's wonderful, because the cinematography encourages the audience to fantasize and imagine, think and dream.
David Lynch, who is one of the most enigmatic and extraordinary contemporary filmmakers, is known for his movies with intricate and weird plots. Even to the most devoted Lynch's fans it’s quite difficult to understand the meaning of such his film as “Lost Highway”, for example. Fans have repeatedly asked the film director to explain the meaning of some of his movies, but Mr. Lynch refuses, claiming that the spectator should understand the meaning of movie in his own way.
The film conveys its meaning primarily via the plot. The viewer is watching the story about a particular person, group of people or even of the whole country. As the events are unfolding, the spectator can observe how life and nature of the character is changing. If the director wants to show that the man is alone, and the world is cruel, in his film the relations between the character and society will be filled with dramatic moments and conflicts. The meaning embodied in the actions of movie characters is probably the most accessible to a wider audience.
The ingenious Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman is primarily draws the viewer's attention to the actor's game, namely to the feelings, emotions and thoughts of the movie characters. Usually in his films were playing a small number of actors, but they were masterfully depicting and experiencing a whole gamut of passions and emotions.
For example, in the Bergman’s “Winter Light” the basic meaning is transmitted through the experiences of a main character Tomas, who has lost his faith in God and suffers because of it. Dialogues and monologues of the film characters play a tremendous role too. Special attention should be given to the passionate desperate monologues that inspire the audience to the philosophical reflections.
However, at the same time there are a lot of talented filmmakers, who embody the meanings in their films via the symbolism and imagery. Movies of the talented Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky are prime examples of such cinematic symbolism (beginning from the “Solaris” and ending with the “The Sacrifice”).
However, the film “Mirror” directed by Tarkovsky deserves the special attention. Reality and dreams, reflections and memories were intertwined in this masterpiece of the world cinematography. It is an amazing movie about an adult, who reminisced about his childhood and his mother. In this film the meaning is transmitted by the amazing imagery. Tarkovsky is one of the few world-famous directors, who can be called the artist. In his movies even simple ordinary things and the lighting play their roles and convey the meaning.
So, the filmmaker conveys the meaning in film via the variety of things: actors, dialogues, emotional monologues, imagery, etc. Also it’s worth noting the fact that the music is often able to help the film director to implement the ideas in his movies. Moreover, sometimes the soundtrack may become even more popular than the movie itself.
How did the beliefs of the filmmakers affect the film?
The life in all its aspects affects the person, forming his world view; and the filmmaker is not an exception. It's not a secret that the director’s world view affects his movies. The artist (in the broad meaning of this word) conveys the ideas, attitudes and beliefs in his works. As we have already recalled, the influence of the director on a movie is enormous. Usually he shoots films on the themes, in which he is interested.
It is important to note that the political views of the film director (or their absence) can affect his creative work. The political regime of the country, where lives the movie director, often influences his world view, and therefore his art.
Moreover, there are examples of how the art of cinema serve the state and its political doctrine. There are a lot films on the historical themes; and different directors may represent certain events and historical personalities in different ways. For example, a modern filmmaker, who was brought up in the democratic society, will portray the Nazis as violent unprincipled people in a movie about the Second World War.
However, let us remember about Leni Riefenstahl, who was a German film director and propagandist for the Nazis. In the 1930s, she directed “Triumph of the Will” and “Olympia”, resulting in worldwide attention. These movies are widely considered as the most effective and innovative propaganda films ever made. Leni Riefenstahl is a prime example of how the filmmaker’s political views affect movies.
Furthermore, quite often the film directors shoot films that are, to some extent, autobiographical. The filmmaker may give the movie characters his personal traits or even recreate in the movie a period of his life. For example, the movie “The 400 Blows” directed by François Truffautis is largely autobiographical. Via the film's protagonist Antoine Doinel the film director is experiencing his childhood once again.
So, the beliefs of the filmmaker directly affect his creative work. Moreover, political beliefs of the director are able to radically change his attitude towards the art of cinema. Sometimes, political views are able to turn the artist into the biased propagandist.
Can the film be classified with others like it?
The 19th century has given mankind a wonderful art of the cinematography, which has changed and continues to change a human consciousness and perception. As we have already recalled, there are a great variety of the film genres, and each of them is interesting and fascinating. The films differ from each other by the meanings, means of expression, etc. For example, a movie with fictional characters and a documentary film about war are very different from each other.
As a rule, the classifications limit and simplify the versatility and inventiveness of any kind of art, including the cinematography. Classifications of the film genres as well as the other classifications are very relative. Moreover, it is impossible to clearly define the thin line, where the melodrama ends and the tragicomedy begins. After all, in the contemporary world the majority of filmmakers combine in their movies several genres. Modern film can be a drama, but at the same time, a comedy, and even contain some elements of the science fiction.
Classification involves the comparison, but the process of comparing of those movies that are masterpieces is simply unacceptable. Furthermore, the comparison of a masterpiece with a low-grade movie is even more unacceptable.
However, we don’t want to talk about the low-grade movies, whereas there are a lot of film directors, who have their distinctive styles, for example, David Lynch, Ingmar Bergman, Emir Kusturica and mysterious Hungarian film director Béla Tarr. These masters of the auteur filmmaking are distinguished from the other filmmakers by their special styles. Their films are characterized by the specific ambiences.
For example, if you are watching a movie directed by David Lynch, you not only know that it’s his film, but you see and even feel it. The so-called art film cannot be subjected to the classification at least for the simple reason that it’s difficult or even impossible to find the analogues of a lot of the movies directed by the masters of auteur filmmaking.
However, the masterpieces can be shot in such a usual and widely popular film genre as the Western too. After “The Dollars Trilogy” directed by Sergio Leone, appeared such a new film subgenre as Spaghetti Western. “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, which became a culmination of the Trilogy is undoubtedly a masterpiece, in which there are the civil war, family disagreements, overwhelming thirst for profit, sparkling humor and a kind of strange cheerful despair.
So, the classifications of movies are very relative and changeable. Furthermore, the contemporary film directors combine in their movies several genres, making them more multidimensional. Also the comparison of films is often unacceptable. After all, there are such masterpieces of the world cinematography that cannot be subjected to the level of general classifications.
