Two Little Boys - Landscape in World Cinema

Two little boys is a film set in New Zealand, in the Catlins, and is about a guy who accidentally runs over a backpacker, and asks his best friend to help him, because he does not want to go to jail. The two best friends travel to the Catlins to try and get rid of the body and make sure that they do not get caught. The landscape within this film is utterly spectacular (obviously it is beautiful because it is set in New Zealand). The landscape of the Catlins creates a symbolic connection, for the main character Nigel. It is about him and the fact he hasn't changed in such a long time, and that he wants to be free, and become so much more confidence in himself, because he does not feel like he is a strong person. What the landscape does in the film, is it creates drama, and allows Nigel to think about the things in his life. With the breathe taking views, and the placement of each scene, it is hard not to catch a second glance. The landscape may seem isolated, but in closer look, there is so much to take in, and the characters do not feel so isolated, and they feel much more free, because the landscape allows them to. The landscape adds to the emotion of what Nigel is feeling throughout the film, and allows each character to grow in his own way. It pushes each character to its limits, to test them, in order to free them from the isolation and stress they have been feeling within their lives, and pushing it onto the other people, not allowing any of the characters grow.

The Third Man - City in World Cinema

Within the film 'The Third Man', the city portrays so much, and if you read between the city lines it becomes much more clear on what those things are. The Third Man is set in Vienna. What The Third Man does within its view of the city, is that it sets it out to be a place where not many people come and go to. It has a trapped and also most prison feeling, especially within the day time, with all of the guards from the different countries, surrounding the city, and patrolling the areas. It also had people smuggling and trying to get things to each other without the authorities to know. The main character is also very politely interrogated by a guard, before he enters Vienna, and when he comes in the station is surround by a fence, so that people do not or cannot run away. Vienna is set post-war so it has an unsettling feeling to it, especially those times where you do not see anyone else around but one character. It shows the city as a place that is not seen as a tourist spot, considering the circumstances. It shows theme parks empty, during the day time, and night time to be very scary and ominous. Not many people came out in the night, and so it creates a feeling of fear, because of the lighting and lack of people within the city. The city in world cinema, has two sides to it; it always begins with a sense of hope, and excitement because the character is in a new place, with more people, and so much more to see because they grew up in the country or suburbs. Then it turns into the city, being a trap, and isolating people with the sense that they are not going to get out, and instills danger within the character and the audience as well.

Hard boiled 1992 - H.K Woo

Hard boiled is film about a police officer who morns the death of his partner, after a shooting that took place in the beginning of the movie. He is assigned to a case that is extremely dangerous, involving one particular group who has no mercy for other, with an undercover cop by their side. This film is very much about loss, because of the events that follow the shooting at the beginning. The main character in the film is a extremely tough cop, that does everything in his power to make sure that the bad guy is caught, whether it be dead or alive. He has lost so many things in the film such as; his communication with his girlfriend, which might have suffered because of his loss of feeling and showing emotion to other people. He had lost his partner which resulted in him being even more tough, and loosing his sense of empathy for other people. Not to mention throughout the film itself, it has a sense that people within the film has lost their humanity, not caring whether people live or die, especially the evil guy in the film Johnny. The undercover cop has lost his sense of identity, because of the things he has to do in order to keep his cover from being blown, which leaves him in a very emotionally vulnerable state. The tough cops girlfriend has lost the idea of having a family until the end of the film, because of the unstable connection of their relationship. The lines are crossed very often in this film, especially when it came to the hospital scenes, where Johnny's men begin to kill the patients in the hospital, and shooting the police officers outside the hospital, not to mention the innocent bystanders who are watching it happen. Politically for the film, it means that everything is out of order, and their is no boundaries or rules that people follow, especially when it comes to the innocence of others. Culturally it is a big deal because of the amount of issues it faces. The final scene in the hospital was a little bit strange, because of the fact he had a baby in his hands and he was still killing people. But what the baby added to the film that seemed to be missing, was that perception of purity and innocence, which everyone in the film had lost. There was also humor added when the baby came into the film, which is not seen before hand. Hard boiled is similar to almost every single action film from the 1990's up until now. It has explosions, innocent people dying, a cause to fight for, and the main character has a strong personality and background. It is a important film to the action genre, because it is like a set out blue print for all the action films from then on. There is nothing about the film that makes you feel like it isn't an action film, because it never has a break, and it leaves you wanting more, but with a resolution at the end.