The Searchers

The Searchers is a 1956 epic western film directed by John Ford. It tells the story of Ethan Edwards, a bitter and middle-aged loner played by John Wayne. The story takes place in the year 1868 when Ethan returned home from the American Civil War in which he fought for the Confederacy. He returned home to his brother's house in rural urban Texas. His brother and sister-in-law questions what Ethan has been up to all these years that he has been gone and they suspect he was up to no good, but they no better not to ask.

During his visit, the Camanche raid his brother's home leaving he and his wife dead, burning their home, and abducting their two daughters. Ethan and Martin Pawly, and adopted son of the family, set out on a multiple year journey to rescue Debbie. The Searchers can be viewed as a simplistic action story about the men's rescue mission for the girl and revenge for the death of their family. The film begins with a frontier cabin door opening to the wilderness, this scene presents the visual motif of the framed doorway and the threshold between the two opposite worlds. The interior of the cabin scene represents the values of a settled family and the outside exterior of represents man.

The Searchers adheres to the codes of what a typical Western film would look like. The setting is a desser landscape with a small-knit close community. Cowboys in this age always followed a stricted code of honor to always tell the truth, never cheat an honest individual, and always uphold the manners of a true gentleman. The main protagonist Ethan also struggles with his inner moral beliefs about murdering the kidnapped girl because of the exposure to the Camanche culture. The film deals with themes like racism, individuality, the American truth, and the opposition between civilization and the untamed wilderness.

The Science of Sleep

Released in 2006, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and director Michel Gondry takes audiences into a whimsical and creative world of dreams. The story focuses on the central character, Stephane, a insecure young man that has a elaborate imagination. The story begins when Stephane moves back home to France with his mother to work for a title agency. Stephane learns to deal the job his mother secured for him, but he has no input of creativity. In the midst of Stephane's crazy transition back to Paris, he meets his next door neighbor Stephanie. Stephane and Stephanie establish a connection with one another, based off both their creative minds.
Stephane's mom reveals a secret about his outward uniqueness. Since the age of 6, Stephane has inverted dreams and reality. This secret intrigues Stephanie to discover more hidden secrets behind the imagination of her counterpart Stephane.
This film kinda reminded me of Plato's Allegory of the Cave, because in some ways the plot presented the idea of dualistic views. Going back between the idea of what is real and what is reality.

The Sweet Smell of Success

The Sweet Smell of Success is a 1957 film noir directed by Alexander Mackendrick and produced by James Hill. Tony Curtis plays Sidney Falco, a manipulative PR man, who will do anything to get publicity for his clients. The main plot takes place when Falco sees the opportunity to ruin a career the career of a jazz musician who wants to marry Susan Hunsecker the sister of New York newspaper columnist, J.J. Hunsecker. There a few characteristics of this film nior that need to be recognized. I think that the themes of the film show the dark side of New York City's glamorous night life. This intense film shows the sides of greed, betrayal, and revealing brutality of what the media is really like and what any one will do to win a successful image.

The black and white cinematography shows the harsh and dark shadows of a corrupt city, which also emphasizes the corrupt environment of wheeling and dealing among wrongdoers. I believe that realism was capture through a on location shot of mid-Manhattan, which captures the restlessness "the city that never sleeps" and the hustle and bustle of big city life.