In this blog post, I will summarize and analyze Chris Marker’s 1982 documentary ‘Sans Soleil’, focusing on its form, sound, and the themes of aura and memory. Film Overview and Form The title ‘Without the Sun’ itself stimulates the audience’s curiosity with an apocalyptic image that seems to negate the sun, the very foundation of life. Director Chris Marker...
What Does Joshua Oppenheimer’s ‘The Look of Silence’ Say?
In this blog post, we will analyze the structure and core message of Joshua Oppenheimer’s documentary ‘The Look of Silence’ and examine its significance. Structural Analysis The documentary ‘The Look of Silence’ unfolds as “Adi,” an optician, personally tracks down the perpetrators who murdered his older brother “Ramli” after 50 years to ask them about the massacre...
What Kind of Film Is ‘Genesis: The Salt of the Earth’?
In this blog post, I will analyze the documentary ‘Genesis: The Salt of the Earth’, a collaboration between photographer Sebastião Salgado and Wim Wenders. Film Overview Title: Genesis: The Salt of the Earth / Genre: Documentary·Drama / Country: France, Italy, Brazil / Runtime: 110 minutes (Released February 26, 2015) / Directors: Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado / Cast:...
Why Did I Choose ‘Searching for Sugar Man’?
In this blog post, I will analyze the documentary film ‘Searching for Sugar Man’ and summarize my thoughts on it. Film Information Searching for Sugar Man, 2011 (86 min) Director: Malik Bendjelloul Screenplay: Malik Bendjelloul Starring: Rodriguez This documentary chronicles the journey to find the singer Rodriguez. Although Rodriguez was immensely popular in South Africa during the 1970s...
Why Was I Drawn to the Documentary “The Last Lesson”?
In this blog post, I’ll explore the impression the documentary film “The Last Lesson” left on me and the meaning of tolerance conveyed by its imagery. Why Was I Drawn to This Film? The film is set in a small agricultural village in Auvergne, France, at a tiny school with a total of 13 students. The combination of “France” and “small village” naturally brought to mind my memories of...
The Structure and Meaning of Romantic Comedy as Seen Through the Film ‘Much Ado About Nothing’
In this blog post, I will share my personal perspectives on genre and form, and examine the structure and meaning of romantic comedy through the film ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ (1993). Basic Perspectives on Genre and Form Genre is a tool for categorizing texts into specific frameworks. At times, it feels impossible to analyze countless texts one by one without this tool...
How does Joshua Oppenheimer’s ‘The Act of Killing’ reveal the “responsibility” for the 1965 Indonesian massacre through the stories of Ramli and Adi?
In this blog post, we will examine how Adi’s pursuit—through the lens of ‘The Act of Killing’’s narrative and documentary techniques—exposes the perpetrators’ arrogance and societal amnesia, and what it demands of the audience. Film Overview Genre: Documentary / Country of Production: Denmark / Director: Joshua Oppenheimer. Synopsis: Amid the memories of the 1965 Indonesian...
Who is the true monster in this film?
In this blog post, I will summarize the plot and provide a formal and narrative analysis of the documentary film ‘Project Nim’. Documentary Introduction Title: Project Nim / PROJET NIM Director: James Marsh Year of Production: 2011 (Released August 9, 2012) Synopsis: In 1973, a chimpanzee named “Nim” is born at a research institute in Oklahoma. Forced to be separated from his...
Analysis of the Film “Silent Gaze”: Documentary-Style Narrative and Analysis of Sequences by Type
In this blog post, I will summarize the reasons for selecting the film “Silent Gaze,” its plot, analysis by genre and sequence, and my concluding thoughts. Reasons for Selection In April 2014, while I was serving in the military as a riot police officer with the 3rd Mobile Brigade, the Sewol Ferry disaster occurred. The state has a duty to protect its citizens, but it was only natural that...
Where Does Guilt Go When Perpetrators Reenact the Massacre in ‘The Act of Killing’?
In this blog post, I will examine how the psychology of the perpetrators and social memory intertwine through the reenactment scenes and the testimonies of the participants in ‘The Act of Killing’. Film Information and Reasons for Selection ‘The Act of Killing’ is a 2013 documentary co-produced by Denmark, Norway, and the United Kingdom, which was released in South...