Inception, Memento, and Christopher Nolan as an Auteur

“Let me ask you a question. You never really remember the beginning of a dream do you? You always wind up right in the middle of what’s going on,” is the description of the beginning of a dream given by Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) in the film Inception. Christopher Nolan’s Memento (2000) and Inception (2010) are, in a sense, Nolan’s thoughts on the relatively unknown subjects of dreaming and memory visually manifested on the screen. These films have intriguing structures and interesting underlying ideas about psychology and philosophy, which act to bind both films in a deeper ways to Nolan’s distinct filmmaking. Nolan’s creative direction as both a director and writer played a large part in both films and his auteur characteristics are apparent.

Nolan is an expert at throwing the viewer right into the middle of a situation, much akin to the dream. At the beginning of Inception, viewers are put unknowingly into the middle of a dream. While an intense firefight commences it is quickly established that the scene is taking place within a dream, there is some sort of espionage involved with a safe and papers, and there is some sort of device allowing the dream to be shared. In Memento, the first scene is that of a picture un-developing as time progresses in reverse then a man is shot. One only later discovers that this scene actually occurs at the end of the timeline of events of the film. There is no narrator as the concentration is on the diegesis, pulling the viewer in with ideas, actions and an accompanying atmosphere. Nolan has the uncanny ability of being able to introduce many unknown and interesting elements while keeping everything coherent and letting the audience uncover and discover answers scattered throughout.

Nolan seamlessly adds mysterious elements to both films. One must use some degree of deductive reasoning to discover what is occurring through interpreting conversations and finding the small clues Nolan provides. For instance, noticing small details like in Sammy Jenkis’ story in relation to Leonard can give the audience a different perception and insight of the film. It can determine if the viewer believes Leonard or Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) near the conclusion of the film. Nolan uses elements of mystery in both films to raise the tension and give the viewer a sense of discovery and a feeling of investment in the film as the narrative progresses. Some of the mysteries are left open ended without giving conclusive answers. Like Leonard, Nolan himself has specialized in setting puzzles that can’t be solved. It’s not only the case that Nolan’s work is about duplicity; it is itself duplicitous in the sense of both deception and doubling, drawing the audience into labyrinths of indeterminacy (Fischer, 37).

Both films share formal and thematic characteristics which lend to the idea that they were both heavily influenced by Nolan’s design. There are repeating elements in both; a traumatized hero and his antagonist; a dead woman; a plot involving manipulation. Both use primarily medium shots of the characters and both contain realistic looking environments and colors. The “rules” established in both films are crucial to Nolan’s method which determine restriction on the characters. In addition, a physical symbolic element of great importance and meaning is also present in both. The totem in Inception is what allows one to differentiate reality from a dream, it becomes representative of reality. The Polaroid pictures Leonard uses to determine who is who and how he makes decisions, they become a physical representation of memory and a representation of the truth according to Leonard.

Ideas about psychology and philosophy are of great importance to both films and the unique structure of each film plays to this point. Inception explores issues of the conscious and subconscious mind through a form of a new dream sharing technology. It involves various mentally constructed settings shown “spatially” discontinuous in the progression of time. Entire new and malleable realities are created through using the completely blank canvas of dreaming. In the scene where Cobb is teaching Ariadne (Ellen Page) what it takes to be a dream architect and she subsequently alters of the surrounding world it induces the viewer to ponder the very fabric of reality and physics and different realties which could exist. Mal (Marion Cotillard) and the train are projections from Cobb’s repressed memories and like Freud hypothesizes, these repressed thoughts are expressed in dreaming. Inception challenges the viewer to think of grand, universal ideas in addition to specific ones.

Memento is shown as two separate timelines in a discontinuous fashion which are eventually linked together in a consistent, logical way and deals with memory. Leonard is completely unsure of reality and due to his inability to make new memories his reality has similar characteristics to that of a dream. Thus, in a film such a Memento, the past/present/future are no longer in any semblance of succession, but are implicated simultaneously. What Nolan achieves is a utilization of the concept and feel of memory without impoverishing it by simply making it the object of flashbacks (Gargett, 4). The unique structure of the film, in a sense, places Leonard’s disability on the audience. Nolan aims to involve his audience in an overtly disorienting experience analogous to short-term memory loss, emulating the condition suffered by Leonard. How Nolan proceeds to do this can only be through the assembling of a system of relations which once unfolded chronologically and thereby become the objects of memory, but these objects continually fall from under the viewer via the very structure of Memento's presentation: an inversion of time with effects preceding their causes (Lyons, 127-128). Leonard lives his life in discontinuous segments of time for which his memory allows and the film progresses in a discontinuous fashion. Also, the short length of each scene in Memento illustrates Leonard’s short memory span. Leonard attempts to connect these unconnected instants in time by writing down events on the back of Polaroid pictures. Feeling the need to assert his own sense of power and control over a threatening world Leonard constructs repeatedly theories from inadequate information and these theories are invariably at odds with the actual situation, making him ultimately responsible for the disaster that concludes the action (Gargett, 6). Thus, the unique structuring of each film plays an important role to the perception of the movie itself. The boundary of filmic narrative structures is expanded by both films.

Nolan’s films are preoccupied with, to paraphrase Teddy as he says to Leonard, “the lies that we tell ourselves to stay happy” (Fischer, 38). Leonard’s desire to get revenge for the murder of his wife was what keeps him going and gives him passion and meaning in life, so that’s what he continued in searching to do even if he must lie to himself after killing other men. At the ending of Inception Cobb did not care whether his totem fell or remained standing as what he desired to be true, to be with his kids, superseded the absolute truth.


The 10 years of time between when Nolan made Memento and Inception and the large budget disparity between films (~$155 million) did not effect the creative aspirations of Nolan; his ideas continued to thrive. Nolan maintains that, however intractable or ambiguous his films might appear, they are always based on a definitive truth (Fischer, 37). These films contain creative, philosophically and psychologically thought inducing narratives through structurally innovative methods which have clear connections to Nolan’s impact and style. These qualities, by definition, command Nolan to be designated an auteur.

References

Gargett, Adrian. "Nolan's Memento, Memory, and Recognition." CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 4.3, 2002 Web.

Fischer, Mark. "The Lost Unconscious: Delusions and Dreams in Inception." Film Quarterly 64.3,2011: 37-45. Web. 

Lyons, Diran. "Vengeance, the powers of the false, and the time-image in Christopher Nolan's Memento." Angelaki: Journal of the Theoretical Humanities 11.1 (2006): 127-135. Web.

Do the Right Thing

Do the Right Thing (1989) produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee is a day in the life of a Brooklyn neighborhood and the racial tensions contained within. This film highlights the dynamics of a modern urban neighborhood through a cast of distinct personalities.

This film has a main theme of peace and conflict competing with each other. The opening scene with the female dancing aggressively in a boxing outfit while "Fight the Power" is playing sets a violent and intense tone. The following scene of "Mister Senor Love Daddy" (Samuel L. Jackson) at Love FM in contrast is peaceful and accepting. He acts as a sort of mediating overseer of all events throughout the neighborhood and tries to resolve any conflict and mitigate any tension. Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) directly contrasts the personality of Mister Senor Love Daddy with his never ending enveloping stream of "Fight the Power" blaring out of his boombox. His overbearing presence is clearly felt and even the camera angles make him appear larger than life. Raheem is a source of tension throughout the film and he can be interpreted as the instigator of the fight. Furthermore, when Lou's Famous Pizza store is burnt down there is a physically manifested division between understanding and conflict between the pizza store in flames and the neighboring Korean store shopkeepers who were able to calm the men looking to attack their shop. Yet, Raheem tells a story with his brass knuckles "love" and "hate" in which the conflict between the two is intense but in the end love comes out victorious. Also, at the close of the film there are two quotes, one by Martin Luther King Jr. which is in opposition to violence in protest  and the other by Malcom X which states that violence can be used in intelligent ways. This theme of love against hate may be used to represent modern society in many ways. Thus, the struggle between love and hate, violence and non-violence is prevalent throughout the film.

An interesting aspect is about the title of the film. Da Mayor (Ossie Davis) tells Mookie (Spike Lee) to "...always do the right thing," but the movie makes it appear that right thing is not so clear. To Mookie, the right thing was to throw the trash can through the window of Sal's Famous Pizza, igniting the conflict further, leading to the arson of the store. Was his intention to get revenge for the death of Raheem? Although he was like a son to Sal, his cultural upbringing must have been more important to him. He felt no remorse for his actions either, as he returned the succeeding day after the arson took place asking for his pay. To Mookie, even money superseded his respect for Sal. To him it seemed like the right thing to do, but some viewers might think otherwise. This may suggest the idea that "the right thing" is in some sense subjective and demonstrates that ethics and morals vary from person to person.

Singin' in the Rain

Singin' in the Rain (1952) is a meta-musical which captures the struggle a silent film production company has in the process of transitioning into "talkies"(films with actual sound dialogue between characters). This film has a generally joyful and uplifting mood throughout, somewhat of a norm for musicals. The situational humor within and the "making a musical with of a musical" make this movie very entertaining.

As Doane talks about in The Voice in the Cinema: The Articulation of Body and Space, films contain three types of "spaces": the space of the diegesis, the visible space of the screen, and the acoustical "envelope" of the theater itself. She states that most films with a typical narrative only uses the first type of space in order to keep a self-contained, believable narrative. In contrast, Singin' in the Rain uses each of these spaces to great effect. For instance, in the scene where the main characters are in an audience together watching the first "talkie" pre-showing version of "The Dueling Cavalier," the latter of the two postulated spaces are used. In this scene, knowing that you, as a viewer, are watching the actors and actresses watching themselves on a screen within the movie induces a heightened awareness for the viewer of the actual dimensions, composition, projected image, relative placement/orientation, and surroundings of the physical screen itself. This effectively makes the film obviously seem less realistic (not the goal of this musical anyways) as well as adding to the parody/satire that this is a musical about making musicals. Additionally, the aural aspect of this scene, with the idea of actors watching themselves in a theater, makes one aware of the theater in which they are sitting and the acoustics withing. Thus, Singin' in the Rain contains all three types of postulated spaces and therefore certainly is not a traditional film as Doane puts it.

Singin' in the Rain contains a strong sense of humor and satire and as a whole is essentially a parody of the process of making a musical. Lina is the source of much amusement throughout. Lina repeats multiple times "What do you think I'm stupid?" and then soon later she says a clearly erroneous statement and looks around awkwardly. Her shrill voice clearly is at odds with what an audience would want to hear in addition to the directional microphone problem causes the "Dueling Cavalier" pre-showing to be disappointing and humorous. Another example is when Kathy Selden's (Debbie Reynolds) resists Don's amorous advances and he car he leaves the car while talking in a poetic tone and says "...I must tear myself from my side" while his jacket rips on the car door showing irony between what is said and what takes place.

Run Lola Run

Run Lola Run (1998), directed by Tom Tykwer, is an intense, fast paced action film with a rather simplistic plot and unexpectedly deeper philosophical implications about fate, chance, time, choice, and consequence. Not a second in this movie is boring as it is as high paced as the title implies, both physically and mentally straining.

At the beginning of Run Lola Run, two quotes are shown, one about time and exploration as sort of a cyclical process and the other is a philosophical statement about what a game is. These two statements taken together give rise to idea that life is like a game, an important concept of the movie. Then the pendulum of a clock is shown swinging back and forth. The camera enters the "mouth" of the expressionistic looking clock. The concept of time in this movie is invariably important and this action of entering this strange looking clock implies that the audience is entering a place where time is different from what we experience.

Interestingly, the film treats life (or at least in the universe of the characters) as if it were a type of game. There is a reference to the rules/theory of a soccer game at the beginning. Two references to roulette, implying how some things can come about by chance. The sort of instantaneous re-spawns Lola is capable of and the cartoon cut scenes are reminiscent of video games. This idea in addition to how the movie plays out illustrates the multitude of choices one is faced and the various consequences which can result, including butterfly effects (where one choice effects the outcome of another), with some chance and probability thrown in.

Andre Bazin in the "Evolution of the Language of Cinema" postulated two distinguishable aspects in film: plastics and reality. I would argue that this film puts its faith in reality. Though Run Lola Run certainly has plastic elements, the reality in it is what really makes the movie memorable. The prime example of reality in this film are the philosophical underpinnings of this film as discussed before. It allows for deeper thought and really drives the action and gives a greater sense weight to every action and consequence in the movie. In addition, the verisimilitude of time and space in each of Lola's run (each approximately 20 minutes as expected for temporal consistency) plays out to give a more realistic feeling. The mise en scene of much of Run Lola Run also seems to be based in reality. All of the lighting seems realistic, Lola's clothing dirty with a messy room, she lacks make up, the locations are realistic, and consistent spatial distances. All in all, Run Lola Run is like a mix between reality and a video game. The video game aspect gives it a stylistic appeal, but the reality aspect is what really makes the film what it is.

Let's analyze more closely a scene from near the start of the film to greater understand the methods and concepts of this film. Just after the introduction of the film, the basic narrative of the story is constructed by a telephone conversation between the two main characters of the film Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) and to Lola (Franka Potente). As they converse, chronological flashbacks of first Lola's then Manni's memories introduce the narrative of the film.

The scene begins with a stationary establishing satellite shot of Berlin which then flies continuously through Lola's window finally focusing on Lola's ringing phone. As Lola picks up the phone, a camera flies to the phone booth where Manni is. These two initial flying shots set a sense of urgency. Manni is clearly in a panic and asks Lola why she was not there for him. Lola explains how she was not able to pick him up as her scooter was stolen when she was purchasing cigarettes, as a flashback to this action is shown in black and white on the screen. This action facilitates the film's underlying philosophical idea of chance, coincidence, and the causality which becomes more important later in the film; if Lola did not stop to get cigarettes, then the scooter would not have been stolen and the entire situation would very likely have been averted. Then, Manni talks of the process of trading the cars for diamonds and then selling the diamonds for cash which is shown in black and white as well. He tells of leaving the bag of cash on the subway in a more grainy black and white film stock. This grainy film serves to give a greater sense of realism. When Manni tells of his dire situation, his panic becomes gradually mirrored by Lola as the bag is lost and the weight of the situation becomes recognized. Then, Manni panics about the missing money and wonders where the homeless person could have traveled to by now with the money. Pictures of possible cities are flashed on the screen as Manni says them. Then Manni's gangster "boss" is shown in the punishment Manni received in the past for stealing a carton of cigarettes. Though the job Manni took is likely illegal, there is a sense of sympathy in favor of Manni knowing he is under large pressure by an overbearing boss but, also a feeling of hopelessness is present knowing that his story would not be believed and the punishment for losing such a large sum of money will be much more brutal.

This scene consists of an overlay of two different actions separated temporally. They are shown talking on the phone in color while past events are shown in black and white with a slightly quicker progression of time. The black and white aspect indicates the action is in the past while the faster time progression contributes to the important concept of the time anomaly in the movie while also portraying the racing thoughts and panic both characters have.

Initially, Lola's knowledge of the situation is on the same level as that as the viewer. Thus, naturally, Lola is more composed than Manni, which quickly changes as Manni's situation becomes clearer, presumably also acting to gradually increase the tension felt by the viewer. The presence of the deep connection and love between them both (the image of their strong love recurs several times in the film) is established to the viewer by Lola's unwavering motivation to help Manni in any way possible. Primarily close-ups are used as Lola and Manni are on the phone to capture the strong emotion in both of their faces due to the situation. The anger and fear possessed by Manni is also reflected in these camera shots. The shots of Manni on the phone are relatively intermittent and many different perspectives are used really acting to encapsulate his angry emotions. In contrast, the shots of Lola are for a longer duration and are steadier reflecting her composure. In the flashback scenes medium shots and long shots are employed as a way to better show the progression of events. The backing techno track raises the tension and carries the fast pace of the film as well as establishing the main musical genre employed throughout the film.

The mise-en-scene of the entire film is set up in this scene. Lola becomes associated primarily with the color red. Her hair is red, she has red candles, a red phone, and red posters. Manni is associated with yellow. The phone booth is yellow and has blonde hair highlights. The spatial distances are all realistic and the phone booth and room dimensions are typical. The phone booth Manni is in has a close, claustrophobic feeling, reinforcing the tension filled “tight” situation that he has found himself in, while Lola’s room is has a typical apartment size. The main characters are wearing realistic clothing for the era and the lighting is natural and realistic. Lola’s room is messy with dark with tattered blinds only letting in a small amount of light. Meanwhile, Manni is in a phone booth in the light of day. Everything is realistic and expected for a typical day in a German city. This realistic mise-en-scene Run Lola Run possesses importantly puts the viewer in the same frame of thought as the characters. This both adds tension to the scene and makes a deeper connection the viewers have with the characters about choice and consequence.

This flashback visual narrative works as a great introduction to set up the rest of the movie. It is basically the “establishing scene” for the entirety of the movie. This scene establishes the mise en scene of the film, it starts the narrative, and gives a good sense of the two main characters in the film. In addition, it sets the setting, the high tension, and the fast pace of the film. Tykwer used a large amount of editing techniques, the character’s visual and verbal emotion, realistic mise-en-scene, and backing techno music to this effect. Conclusively this flashback scene serves an incredibly important role in its ability to set the fast pace of the film while introducing the general aspects of the film.

M

M (1931) is a German thriller that was created just after the technological union of sound and film. Thus, as a sound film, M had room for opportunity and innovation movies before it did not have. The sound in this film plays an important role in that it not only makes things more realistic, it makes the interaction within more human and palpable for the audience. In addition, important consequences arise from the presence of sound in the narrative. The drama and emotion conveyed are heightened in comparison to silent films which largely relied on exaggerated facial expressions to express emotions and title cards to continue forward the narrative.

A prime example of this new use of sound in M is within the editing and use of a voice overlay called a sound bridge. There is a shot showing people in the streets crowding around the news bulletin of the recently discovered murder of a child. Paranoia was clearly ever increasing. One man in the crowd said "you in front, read it out loud!" from which a voice began to read the flyer. A voice which one would assume to be that of a person in the crowd. The voice stops and someone even yells "Louder, we can't hear a word" something which further implies the voice emanates from a man within the crowd. The shot stays on the crowd while the voice begins reading and then suddenly switches over to a shot of several men smoking and drinking at a table with one of them reading the same news from the paper. The voice was that of the man sitting at the table throughout. This is certainly an innovative use of sound and editing. This scene really gives a sense of the large scale paranoia and fear the murderer has induced in every citizen throughout the city while also showing a smaller scale discussion and argument of the matter, relaying to the audience the absolute feeling of contempt everybody feels for the murderer. Therefore, as well as having innovative sound use, this scene serves two very important roles of imparting the feelings of citizens onto the audience in addition to continuing forward the narrative in an efficient manner.

Another interesting facet of this new usable technology in film is one of contrast. Sound is now an additional option, thus the lack of sound (silence in film, which earlier been thoroughly explored) can add intriguing effects. A definitive example of this is the scene where the mother's daughter has gone missing. She yells her daughters name while searching for her, giving a certain sense of  helplessness and terror. Then suddenly the shot cuts to the chair where she usually sits to eat now empty, and then shows her ball rolling down a slope, and then her balloon flying away and becoming entangled in power lines. There is not one bit of sound during this set of shots. The silence gives a feeling of something missing, of something being not right. Therefore the lack of sound in this case serves to reinforce the atmosphere and sense of the wrongdoing taking place. Hence, sound serves as an additional dimension  with room for contrast and more possibilities.

Furthermore, sound is what leads to the ultimate demise of the antagonist. The recognition of his distinctive whistling song "In the Hall of the Mountain King" (the first use of leitmotif in a movie which is used to indicate the presence of the character) by the blind balloon salesman really plays to the fact that sound adds an additional layer to both the film and the narrative.

The ending of the film is quite perplexing aspect and leaves room for imagination. It ends rather abruptly does not give a sense of closure. It almost seems in a way a forceful attempt to add a moral or message into the movie. The apparent sorrow of the victims' mothers and their words of self-guilt serves to fuel the disdain the audience has for the murderer even further. A verdict is not given which causes one to wonder what degree of justice has been served (given the relatively inept police force) in relation to the thieves "kangaroo court".

Man with a Movie Camera

Man with a Movie Camera (1929), directed by Dziga Vertov, is a unique film. It has no actors nor story. It takes place over the span of one day and is a montage of the urban life in and around a Russian city. It follows an apparently avid (and brave considering the dangerous lengths he would go to in order to get the desired shot) camera man and his camera. It is largely about film techniques and the various processes required in making one.

There are a wide array of interesting camera angles and editing techniques employed throughout, demonstrating movie capabilities and methods that had been developed and explored at that time (1929).

An important aspect of this movie is in the ways scenes progress and the types of montage employed. Man with a Movie Camera contains both of what is known as series editing and collision editing. Series editing is the method of compressing time by the way of only showing the important things which happen in sequence to quickly show a progression and carry on the story. This editing was prevalent throughout the movie and served its purpose well. Many times it would show the man carrying the camera then it would quickly progress to the point where he finds his perfect spot for filming things. Film theorist Sergei Eisenstein argues that series editing is "merely one possible particular case" of editing. He views montage as a collision, where the collision of two factors gives rise to an idea (Eisenstein, Beyond the Shot, page 19). A conflict of two somewhat similar (to a varying degree) things to enhance a message and induce thought in the viewer. A clear example of this in the film was when a woman, apparently just waking up for the day, started to wash her face. The film cuts to high pressure water cleaning off a pole. These two things correspond in that they both include water and cleaning but differ in such a way to elicit thought as in the style Eisenstein favors.  As the scene progresses the woman begins to wipe herself with a cloth and then the film cuts to a woman wiping off a window with a similar cloth. Then as the woman cleans her face and starts blinking her eyes the blinds on the windows start opening and closing in unison to her eyes. These again are examples of collision editing utilized in this movie. This example of collision editing may have several interpretations as to meaning. It may imply that the life of a person (in this case a woman) is analogous the life of the city, in that both go through daily cycles and processes.

An interesting aspect of "Man with a Movie Camera" is that it is a universal film in the sense that there are no title cards and no needed prior knowledge of anything. It can be viewed by any person in any country without language or cultural barriers. Though this film does not have any overtly motivated messages it appears to have are a few themes throughout. Differences between the working class and a sort of upper class or people free without work for the day is implicitly shown in several scenes. For example, in one scene a woman is getting her hair washed and groomed at a hairdresser while the camera flashes to someone cleaning clothes outside in similarly soapy water and then to another working person doing a corresponding job to what is shown on screen (also an example of collision editing). Furthermore, the busy lives of workers moving throughout the streets and working in factories contrast to those enjoying the beach and sports. Another theme is that of the union of machinery and humans. Machinery is shown throughout in all forms. This lends to the idea the growing importance of machinery and highlighting the fact that machinery is an important component in film and that the only way a film (as well as many other things) can come to fruition is the combination of humans and machines.

Something that really struck about this version of the film was the accompanying music. Eerie combinations of chimes and xylophones being played while showing industrial parts of the city gave a distinct sense of coldness and unnaturalness. Fast and upbeat songs play as the busy streets of the city are shown. Rhythmically galloping music starts as horses are taking the camera for a ride. Poly-rhythmic beats are being produced by people at work at various jobs of the time while the camera quickly switches between them creating new and changing sounds. The sound in "Man with a Movie Camera" corresponds very well to what is being portrayed on screen as well as acting to enhance the atmosphere. It is important to note though, that the original movie had an accompanying orchestra and this soundtrack was added at a much later time than the film was released (2002), adding a compelling layer for moviegoers.