Apart from Battleship Potemkin [which I wasn't a particular fan of], I have enjoyed every movie thus far.
Burnt by the Sun struck me, because I found it extremely blunt that nothing is placed in the movie randomly, as has been said consistently in class.
The movie was humourous but still had an intended meaning to it.
Perhaps it was the old woman beating the soldier that made the movie for me. Because after all, this truly did support the claim that 10 men=5 oxen=1 Russian woman.
The first theme that was yet again presented in this movie [along with every other movie!] is the cleansing. The movie started with cleansing, as the old man is hosing down the stairwell and railings. Later on in the movie, the characters also spend their time bathing when they are first shown to us.
But apart from that, the most contemplative aspect of the movie was the sunlike orb that appears in the houses. The first time, it seems to 'foreshadow' what is to come. That this family will be 'burnt by the sun of the revolution.' It goes unnoticed, representing that the family does not currently see how they will be affected. But after it leaves, it bursts into flames upon the tree. I took the tree as a representation of their household, and the fact that things will change drastically [the orb shifts position abruptly] and then move into all chaos [the death and arrest of the family=the flames on the tree].
I personally was very fond of Kotov's character. However, this may be possible to find him 'likeable' due to the fact that the movie was made in 1994. And so, the film did not show the communist party in a necessarily favorable light. He was kind towards his daughter, and although they had a strange relationship, it truly showed ‘daddy’s little girl.’
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2 comments:
I certainly noticed and enjoyed the humor in this film ("Have you ever been to the zoo?") I however neglected the significance of the cleansing the you point out, and I feel foolish for doing so. I also agree with your assessment of the symbol of the sun-like orb; did you notice how the frame of the family picture shatters when it floats by?
You're right, the bathing does seem to be an important motif throughout. And don't forget that the film *ends* with a horrific example of what we might call "counter-bathing" (Mitya committing suicide in the bathtub).
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