Alternative Cinema: The Film Stranger Than Paradise - Essay Example

Alternative Cinema The film Stranger Than Paradise was written and directed by Jim Jarmusch in America in 1984. The dead-pan comedy became famous inU.S. It is a story about exile concerning oneself and the state. The film won various awards in the film industry the same year it was released. In 1984, the film scooped the Camera d’Or award among other coveted awards. The following paper discusses the alternative forms of filmmaking and content and what the filmmaker achieves through such deviations and how the film contrasts to convectional Hollywood filmmaking. these deviations include performance, sound, rehearsing and cinematography. The film Stranger Than Paradise can be subdivided into three parts namely; present or ‘new world’, ‘a year later’ and ‘paradise.’ The film is a depiction of America through a foreign perspective see image 1. Willie the main character in the film speaks in English while responding to Aunt Lotte, who speaks in Hungarian (Andrew, 1999). He persuades Lotte to speak in English an indication that foreigners are not yet ready to give up their identity. Each part of the film can be said to reflect the stages that a foreigner undergoes in America. The film is shot in black and white backgrounds making the film unique since it seems to break away from the normal rule in filming see image 2. Each scene of the film is one take and after every take the screen cuts to black for a moment prior to the commencement of another take. The ‘takes are static shots, and other follows the characters. Each ‘take’ exhibits repeated emotionless sensation. The film can clearly bring out the emotions of the character. The film devises a new way whereby real lives and emotions of the characters are observed without confusing the audience. The ambient sounds in the scenes that persist even after the cuts to black and the beginning of ‘takes with silence do not deter the in bringing out the emotions of the characters. In the film Stranger Than Paradise, the effect of simplification is applied in the formal way the story is narrated as opposed to applying the idea to physical objects (Blume & Forster, 2006). The scenes are presented in a simple manner but chronological presentation and frequently independent from each other. The presentation involves the selected moments eliminating the bigger part of the theatrical action. The acting part of the film is very critical. In this order, every shot becomes a masterpiece. Selection or elimination through cutting cannot improve the performance. If a mistake arises from the actors, the entire shot will have to be reshot. In the film, Stranger Than Paradise scenes were meticulously scripted and rehearsed prior to the performance. While rehearsing, actors were at liberty to bring in new ideas. Though not highly trained in acting, the actors can bring out realistic characters without calling attention to themselves as actors (Jarmusch & Balint, 1984). The style used in this film necessitates the use of choreography. Each shot of the film has been choreographed in both the action and camera contexts. Most of the shot are static, and others trail the characters by changing composition and perception in a given shot. The central feeling of each scene is clearly brought out, and a uniform atmosphere is experienced throughout the film. The three section of the film are shot in different location in the U.S. ‘new world’ was shot in New York, ‘one year later’ was shot in Cleveland and ‘paradise’ was shot in Florida (Jarmusch & Edson,1997). These locations have dissimilar feelings, but the sameness imported through filtration, lighting and composition of shots. Shooting the film in black and white backgrounds permitted the elimination of information (color) that was not needed in the story. The result of cinematography and the film form is suggestive a photo album where each photo is enclosed by black spaces in each different page. Jarmusch is fascinated music as it shown in the film Stranger Than Paradise John Lurie who acts as Willie is a musician. Jarmusch has put musicians as the main actor in this film. The music was rarely used in the introduction of scenes. The only song used in the entire film is a song by Jay Hawkins, “I Put a Spell on You” (Jarmusch & Balint, 2008) see image 3 Every scene of the film was captured in deep focus ensuring that everything was evident. The décor was in a mess bur spacious bringing a sense of a poor person whose life is messed up and confused. The images in every scene are so emptied in such a way we can comprehend every detail of the film. The producer of the film is not interested much in plot development by the actors but rather he focuses on the development of the mood and the character (Jarmusch & Dicillo, 2005) see image 4. The film Stranger Than Paradise is not strictly a conventional film. It is not assertive in its divergence from the mainstream of filmmaking. It is considered friendly and does not in any way seem to challenge the course of mainstream filmmaking. Jarmusch is to a large extent guided by specifications of feature filmmaking more than he is guided by aesthetic objectives of the structural film. Aesthetic objectives create a critical influence on his film work. This is what distinguishes his work from that of being the more conventional filmmaker (Schneider & Blume, 2006). Jarmusch applies expedients of structural filmmaking to add new spin in the traditional layout of comedy films making the layout appear completely new by peeling off its basic features. In the film, Stranger Than Paradise Jarmusch relies on the forthright narrative structure. However, this style remains diverse compared to the rules applied in Hollywood filmmaking. The editing configuration of the film Stranger Than Paradise is to a large extent still considered different from the norm when it comes to mainstream narrative. The series of the scenes are rarely photographed in more than two camera setup, and the location of the cut is not prompted to dialogue or the swing in the actors point of view. The absence of independent camera angles brings the element of deadpan air. Stranger Than Paradise shows links to traditions of mainstream filmmaking of comedy as opposed to the present mainstream applied in Hollywood films. Compared to the vagueness of new Hollywood films Stanger Than Paradise is still predominantly noncommittal. This represents the extent of postmodernism’s skepticism and retreat into incomprehensibility. The film generated a lot of praises with its low budget. It was estimated to have only used roughly 90, 000 US dollars. These figures have since instigated American independent filmmakers. This is far different when it comes to Hollywood films that are synonymous with huge budgets (Williams & McKee Gallery, 2004). Stanger Than Paradise was an outstanding success in the independent filmmaking industry. The ‘one take style’ of narrating a story makes it unique and at the same time inspires other filmmakers that great films can be developed with a minimal budget. Jim provides a way where other produces can be able to develop their independent ideas going beyond the norm in filmmaking and come up with new ideas that people are fond and can easily relate with. The use of deviations such as performance, sound, rehearsing and cinematography has brought uniqueness of the film. The film has over the years remained unique and proved to be more prominent that its contemporary developers. References Andrew, G. (1999). Stranger than paradise: Maverick film-makers in recent American cinema. New York: Limelight Editions. Blume, E., Forster, M., Gisbourne, M., Stahel, N., Bosshardt, D., & Faix, D. A. (2006). Stefanie Schneider: Stranger than paradise. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz. Jarmusch, J., Lurie, J., & Balint, E. (1984). Stranger than paradise. S.l.: ZDF. Jarmusch, J., Lurie, J., Balint, E., & Edson, R. (1997). Stranger than paradise. London: Channel 4. Jarmusch, J., Lurie, J., Balint, E., & Edson, R. (2008). Stranger than Paradise. U.K.: Optimum. Jarmusch, J., Lurie, J., Balint, E., Edson, R., & Dicillo, T. (2005). Stranger than paradise. Leipzig: Kinowelt Home Entertainment. Schneider, S., & Blume, E. (2006). Stranger than paradise. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz. Williams, L., Gilbert-Rolfe, J., & McKee Gallery. (2004). Lucy Williams: Stranger than Paradise: September 10-October 9, 2004. New York: McKee Gallery. image 1 image 2 image 3image 4 Read More