I chose to read, "Levinas and the face of the other," for our group discussion. As I read it I thought specifically of the filming style of "Persona." In the article, it is discussed that the face is so much more than the literal way that we sometimes think of it in our culture. According to Levinas, the face of the other is not only a physical object, but almost like a doorway into the other person, connecting their body to something spiritual. The author discusses how our understanding of the word face has a lot to do with the physical images it creates. For example, the face of something could simply mean its front end. One interesting fact brought up that the word for face in Russian, lico, also means person.
As I read this article, I had the imagery from Persona stuck in my head. The way everything was filmed, with such close-ups of both of the women, often even when they were having a conversation with someone else really stayed with me. I felt this painted the characters in a completely unique light. The viewer was able to get much more insight into each character, as you could truly see their emotions through the movement and reactions of their faces. In a way, as the article described, their faces where a window into their souls, their true beings.
I really enjoyed this filming style, but I'm not sure how it would be received in a modern setting. What did yall think of this filming style?
RSD
I agree I think that alot was gained from the close up's of the face in Persona. It is truly amazing what you can read from a single facial expression and that film felt as though it had a completely seperate dialogue written in facial expressions.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The view of the face in film really reveals the characters emotions. I think with film, you're able to have that opportunity to express the characters emotions with the face than other forms of acting such as stage plays. It really brings in the audience.
ReplyDeleteHowever, speaking of the face, I once saw a movie called Eyes Without a Face by Georges Franju. It's a French film where a doctor does horrific plastic surgery on women by stealing their faces for his daughter. Supposedly his daughter was in a car accident and her face was disfigured. She lives wearing a white mask with holes for her eyes in order to see. The doctor hopes to remove the women's faces in order to find a perfect match to put on his daughter.
Youtube trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEjrg-L8lvs
It's an old black and white movie that is very interesting. It reminds me of the idea of the face, where in this movie, they show her wearing the mask most of the time in the movie. Even with this mask on, I feel like the audience can still see the emotions the girl goes through her eyes as she tries to cope with her disfigurement. And eventually it gets to her psychologically. I think it really goes to show that sometimes the image of the face doesn't necessarily have to bring in the audience like with the character wearing an emotionless mask.