Throughout the history of film, a series of rules and conventions have developed that form the guiding principles of what we consider cinema. In its simplest form, a film is an audiovisual medium, a sequence of images accompanied by sound, presented in a certain order to tell a story.
However, not all movies adhere to these simple terms. As with any art form, technological and cultural developments give way to innovation. As a medium invented in the 19th century, cinema has seen more than 100 years of innovation. Now, in the age of advanced technology, inventive gimmicks from filmmakers are challenging the definition of cinema as we know it.
‘Tron’ (1982)
Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is a video game developer who, after being digitized by a laser, is trapped in the digital world of a computer. In this digital hellscape, the programs suffer under the tyrannical rule of the Master Control Program, and in order to return to reality and free the other programs, Flynn is led by a security program called TRON (Bruce Boxleitner).
While the special effects may not matter much these days, Steven Lisberger’the 1982 movie Tron upon release, it was one of the first movies in theaters to use extended computer-generated imagery (CGI). As a medium that had historically praised itself for its ability to capture realism, Tron‘s use of CGI revealed the threat computers posed while also unveiling the new world of possibilities CGI offers.
‘Black Mirror: Bandersnatch’ (2018)
Set in 1984, Stefan (Fionn Whitehead) is a young programmer who turns a dark fantasy novel into a video game. However, as he becomes more and more absorbed in his work, he begins to lose touch with reality.
David Slade‘s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch was marketed as a Netflix special event because, unlike traditional content on the streaming site, bandersnatch is an interactive choose-your-own-adventure film. Requiring audience input that actively influences the story in real time disrupts the conventional viewing distance of traditional cinema by engaging the audience in a more participatory way of spectatorship.
‘Hardcore Hendrik’ (2015)
Henry (Andrey Dementjeva) awakens in the lab of an airship after being revived after an accident that involved replacing much of his body with cybernetic prosthetics. Hunted by mercenaries, Henry runs for his life as he tries to save his wife from the clutches of a telekinetic tyrant.
While the plot of Hardcore Henry seems relatively simple, it really shines in the way it was filmed. Directed by Ilya Naishuller, Hardcore Henry is filmed solely from a first-person point of view. This first-person perspective works to embody viewers in the world of the movie by adopting a style more akin to video games.
‘Unfriended’ (2014)
On the anniversary of their classmate’s death, six high school friends video chat on Skype. However, when an uninvited user joins the chat under the name “billie227” – the account that belonged to their late classmate Laura Barns (Heather Sossaman) – ancient secrets are brought to light, with each of the six friends pitted against each other and wondering who was really responsible for Laura’s death.
Directed by Leo Gabrielze, unfriended is a film about bullying for the modern age. Entirely rendered by a screen cast from a MacBook, the film replicates the experience of using a computer with the image quality, sound effects, and buffering that all add to the realism.
‘Time Code’ (2000)
The stories of four groups of people in Los Angeles intertwine as they prepare to shoot a movie. With conflicts between cast and crew members, everyone has a side of the story to tell.
Mike Figgis‘ Time code is an experimental film made possible only by the rise of digital video. Shot as four continuous takes in real time and with no edits, the four stories play out simultaneously on the screen through the use of split screen. While certain quadrants demand the attention of the audience at some point, the events on all four screens converge and unify the story into a cohesive whole.
‘Memory’ (2000)
Unable to make new memories after an accident, Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) can’t remember what happened 15 minutes ago. To help him track down the man who killed his wife, he leaves clues—Polaroids, notes, and tattoos—to remember his discoveries and guide him through his investigation.
Directed by Christopher Nolan, keepsake manages to align the audience with the character suffering from short-term amnesia through the way the story is told. While nonlinear storytelling is nothing new, keepsake isn’t just non-linear, it’s told in reverse, with the current scene providing context for the scene that preceded it.
‘Young people’ (2014)
12 years in the making, boyhood follows the coming of age of Mason Evans Jr. (Ellar Coltrane) and his divorced parents trying to raise him. He follows Mason from age six to 18, growing up on screen through his experiences of love, life and family.
While we often see different actors cast as the older or younger versions of themselves – some more convincing than others – Richard Linklater‘s boyhood instead, he chooses to stretch the production 12 years and capture each of the adult actors right in front of our eyes.
‘I’m Not Here’ (2007)
Inspired by the life of Bob Dylan, I’m not here follows six personas that represent the different stages of the singer’s life. From a poet to a prophet, an outlaw or a born-again Christian – every facet of Dylan’s public persona is reflected in these six personas.
Musical biographies have had a lot of success in recent years, but none approached their star as creatively as Todd Haynes‘ anthology film. With another actor representing a different facet of Dylan (including Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett), I’m not here shows that representations of a real person need not be limited to a single actor, persona, or even gender.
‘Cloud Atlas’ (2012)
Consisting of six interconnected stories ranging from the 19th century to a post-apocalyptic future, cloud atlas examines how actions and consequences of individual lives cause ripples through time.
Directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis, cloud atlas is an ambitious science fiction film ahead of its time. Since actors are not limited to a single gender or race, the film instead focuses on the idea of the transcendence of one’s soul being able to defy such rigid boundaries.
‘Mommy’ (2014)
Diane (Anne Dorval) is the mother of her troubled teenage son Steve (Antoine Olivier Pilon) who she is trying to raise on her own to avoid new legislation that allows parents of troubled children and limited financial resources to place their children in hospitals. With the help of her new neighbor Kyla (Suzanne Clement) the two team up to raise Steve and put him on the right track for life.
Xavier Dolanthe drama movie Mom follows his signature story of mother-son relationships, but Dolan tells the story in a unique style. While most modern movies are shot in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 to get the most out of the widescreen format, Mom was shot in a 1:1 square aspect ratio. Limiting the film’s space added to the limiting aspects of the story, but also allowed for moments of release, where characters in the film actively interacted with each other and stretched the film’s aspect ratio during moments of freedom. Dolan’s film changed the way we look at cinema into something more tangible, proving that cinema can be manipulated both inside and outside the box.
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