Yasujiro Ozu andAventurera and the cabaretera

Lecture 27

OZU’S STYLE• Camera height vs. camera angle

– Low camera height– Straight-on camera angle

• Intermediate spaces (within a shot/within a scene/ between scenes) vs. establishing shots– “spaces between the points of narrative action” ex: landscapes, empty rooms,

“actionless spaces” (Bordwell/Thompson, 1976, 46)• Methods

– Focus (within a shot)– Cutaways (within a single scene)– Series of transitional shots (between scenes)

• 360 degree shooting space– Multiples of 90 degrees– Two kinds of circular space

• Camera circles around people and objects• Camera rotates on its axis at the center of the circle

• Objects in space (sometimes symbolic, often not)– “hypersituated” (Bordwell/Thompson)—objects divorced from function

• Graphic matches from shot to shot

180-DEGREE RULE (FROM BORDWELL/THOMPSON)

Low Camera Height

Late Spring (Ozu, 1949)Intermediate spaces

“Hypersituated object”

• Bordwell/Thompson, 1976, p.64: “In Hollywood, any objects which are not used

as props or externalisations of character traits are simply there to be minimally noticeable as part of a general verisimilitude [appearance of being real] –a background for the narrative…. But in many Ozu films scenes, the objects in the space of the scene vie successfully with the narrative action for attention.”

Problem of National Cinemas• Ana Lopez (2000): “One way or another, all other nations aspiring to produce a

‘national’ cinema have always had to deal with Hollywood’s presence[…] Perceived as the industrial ‘vanguard,’ Hollywood always seemed to lead the way in technology, capital investments, and pleasure-producing innovations. Yet paradoxicallly, ‘Hollywood’ and everything it stands for have also been the nemesis of national cinemas throughout the world: the seductive polish, production values and constant presence of Hollywood films invariably precluded or prejudiced the industrial development of indigenous production.”

Mexican “Golden Age” Cinema:1935-1955

• New Growth– Quantity of production rises

• b/t 1916-1929: 90 feature films• 1931: 2 feature films• 1941: 38 feature films• 1945: 82 features• 1950: 123 features

– Employment in the industry• 1945: 4,000 people were employed in cinema industry

• State support– State-subsidized CLASA studios (Cinematográfico Latino Americano, SA) inaurgurated in 1935

• Why? Government takes new interest in cinema’s ability to promote “national values”

• Banco Cinematográfico was created in 1942—bank for financing national film production and distribution– Nationalized in 1947

• State and private interests combined to offer funding for national cinema

• Spanish-speaking cinema’s first stars came out of Mexican cinema of this period– Maria Félix– Dolores del Río– Pedro Alméndariz– Jorge Negrete

Mexican ‘Golden Age’ genres:

• Comedias rancheras– Musical comedies in a rural setting– Nostalgic look back at the period before the

Mexican Revolution (1910-1917)• Cabareteras– Cabaret musicals– Made international contacts with modern, urban

life

After the Mexican Revolution (1910-1917)

• New social practices• New identities• b/t 1895-1940: middle class doubled• Economic growth led to migration from

country to city• Sharp increase in women in the labor force

ANDREA NOBLE ON THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION

• Social mobilisation…arrived in Mexico in the first half of the twentieth century with the vertiginous changes that began to transform lived human experience. The very fabric of traditional family life had been ripped asunder during armed struggle, with huge sections of the population literally on the move, and the high death toll left widows and orphans in its wake. After the conflict, these changes persisted with mass migration, as Mexico became increasingly industrialized and made the transition from a predominantly rural to urban entity. Those who flocked to the city not only had to learn social mores and customs that came with the loosened family bond which wrought profound changes, particularly in the sphere of gender relations. They also encountered the accelerated speed of modern life as trams and automobiles replaced non-mechanized modes of transport, cityscapes were transformed, and movie theaters took the place of carpas (makeshift vaudeville theatre tents) as the most popular form of entertainment.”