Cinema Critique
This may seem like an odd film to critique because of it being a superhero movie, but the shots were well done. The opening shot is a film in space being a continuation of of Thor: Ragnarok. The film has lots of great lighting and the angles complement the facial and body features of each character in the movie.
The camera is Lower than the purple titan Thanos putting him in a powerful position holding up the infinity gauntlet.Thanos walks up to the screen with lights behind him creating a shadow on his face so he is not able to be seen. This creates mystery and makes Thanos look extremely powerful. Although a lot of the film is special effects there are lots of whip pans used to help get perspective. Also the use of props help create a sense that hulk and thanos are really a lot larger than they are. The use of smaller props make them look much bigger and a lot more threatening. I think that having a continuation of another movie also helps get a sense of where in the story you are and is a great technique when continuing a film. Throughout the opening scene, there are a ton of different cameras from all different angles that make the set seem a lot bigger that it is. The director continues to use these kind of shots during the other scenes in the movie to get a feel from different characters perspective. In the opening scene, there is a camera tracking on Thanos, Hulk and Loki.
Few Words
"Few Words" is the award winning documentary that retraces the life story of the most accomplished skier in the world Candide Thovex. This film gives us an insight into the "legend behind the goggles" and takes us to the most beautiful mountains on the planet. The film is very cinematic. The opening three minutes of the entire film is silent with sounds of nature that slowly progress into song. The opening is very powerful and cinematic. there is lots of wide shots over viewing the mountains and the forest. As the shots progressively pull into the forest it shows running water and close ups of pine needles with water dripping. Soon after, the motif of an animal occurs.
Thovex is compared to an animal in the first words of the film. He was described as being one with nature, so the opening shots that were chosen were extremely good. Thovex is seen for the first time switching between a bear and himself to but emphasis that they are similar. Like I said earlier, there are very few words, but when there are words, its about Thovex's childhood and the promise he had to become an olympian as a young kid in France. Over the interviews of other professionals, there is B roll of Thovex growing up and talking about his mogul background. Progressively, his style changed to a more freestyle and he began to ski with the snowboarders and throwing tricks that only snowboarders could do. There are more interviews of current pros talking about how Thovex and how he affected the current age of skiing. He is considered the most influential athletes to touch the snow. There are a lot of big face athletes that are talking about how influential Thovex was to their skiing. Not only was he an influential skier, but he was involved in making the jumps for his own event. Thovex got injured at his own event and destroyed his spine and back. He was extremely lucky to be alive. The doctor told him he wouldn't be able to ski in competition ever again. At this moment in the film, there are extremely cinematic shots on him on the hospital bed with the snow in the background washed out by the sun. Candide then dropped a video of him skiing powder on one of the most dangerous places to ski. When he dropped the video, people from all around the world are inspired, including me. Candide Thovex is one of the reasons I continue to pursue skiing. Although I am a racer, the impact he has on all aspects of the snow sport community is profound.
The film lives up to It's name "Few Words", but when words are spoke, the words are impactful and informational. I remained engaged throughout the entire film although there were very few words. At the end of the film, Candide Thovex speaks about his injury and how it helped him better understand life and helped him understand that "life is endless". The film then cuts to the last montage of him skiing.