Space as a premonition
Denis Villeneuve, one of the most promising directors of our time, is celebrating his 50th birthday today. Known primarily for psychological detective stories and thrillers (The Murderer, The Enemy, The Captives), the director recently confessed his secret love for science fiction. Last year, Villeneuve released Arrival, now he is aiming at the sequel to the legendary Blade Runner. According to the director himself, he loves science fiction since childhood.In Denis's hometown of Quebec, a few decades ago, American magazines were the only connection to the world of cinema. Thanks to them, Villeneuve, when he was just a boy, discovered Stanley Kubrick's "A Space Odyssey" and Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner", who later had a significant impact on his own work.  “When I heard that Ridley Scott wanted to make a sequel to Blade Runner, I immediately thought the idea was fantastic. But perhaps not the best. I myself am an ardent fan of Blade Runner, this is one of my favorite films. My love for cinema is connected with him, ”Denis said commenting on the news about the sequel. Nevertheless, in his early works, the director addresses issues of human morality, which are inherent in the real world rather than the fantastic. Thus, his painting "Polytech" is based on the terrible events that took place at the Polytechnic Institute of Montreal in 1989. On that day, the opponent of feminism, Mark Lepin, took the lives of 14 women and then committed suicide. In a suicide note, he stated that"I just decided to destroy the shrews who take the rights of men". Villeneuve, like Gus Van Sant in The Elephant, acts here as an observer who locks his characters in a mirrored room. The choice of the black-and-white form of narration is justified by the desire of the filmmaker to show the viewer at the most subtle level the real nature of human evil, which, getting out of control, results in violence and murder. Subsequently, the theme of good and evil will be encountered more than once in the work of Villeneuve. The eternal struggle and the interchangeability of these concepts is especially clearly built in The Murderer.  Despite the fact that "The Killer" is a story of confrontation between the police and the drug cartel, it is dominated by a calm and melancholic pace, which is interrupted by anxious moments of waiting and moments of real cruelty. As a true visionary filmmaker, Villeneuve brings out the main plot elements of the thriller through the use of color, medium, borders and transparency. With the help of these techniques, the viewer gets the main idea: dividing the world into black and white is a very senseless idea. The transparency of the walls indicates the mistakenness of the moral classification of the protagonist, and the inexpressive beige color that appears in the first frame and prevails throughout the film leads us to the ambiguity of the concepts of "good" and "bad" from the point of view of morality.  Visual barriers of the "Killer" in the form of sparkling dust in the lens, curtains or noise-absorbing walls, show that the concepts of good and evil work only at the micro-levels of perception. The play of chiaroscuro also became one of the main visual techniques of the film. So, agent Kate Meyser performed by Emily Blunt appears in the first frames illuminated by rays of sunlight. While agent Matt Graver, the hero of Josh Brolin, seeks to hide in the shadows. The blue color of the main character's T-shirt, symbolizing justice and belief in high ideals, gradually fades and eventually turns into a pale gray. Thus, the director shows the viewer that Kate is completely absorbed in the ambiguous world of The Assassin, which, according to Villeneuve himself, is not too far from modern reality. “This is complete fiction, but also an extrapolation of what could happen. Something close to reality. But the reality itself is much worse, ”he specifies.  However, the multi-structured work of one of the most talented directors of our time is not limited to monologues about the dualism of good and evil. Denis Villeneuve loves to talk about women. Both in the budget films "Fires" and "Polytech", and in the very expensive "Murderer" and "Arrival", the director forms his own image of a woman - outwardly fragile creature, whose real strength is revealed in extreme conditions. Interesting female characters can be found in the lesser-known works of Villeneuve, such as "32nd August on Earth" or "Whirlpool". A variety of misfortunes fall on the shoulders of Biban, the main character of "Maelstrom". As a result, she develops depression and suicidal thoughts. But thanks to his inner strength, Biban rises from the ashes to build a new life. Valerie from "Polytech" finds female happiness, After experiencing a real shock at the attack of a terrorist, Jeanne from "Fire" goes to a hot spot to learn about the fate of her own father. The same Maser from "The Assassin" becomes a witness to the merciless confrontation between the special forces and the drug mafia, and Professor Louise Banks in "Arrival" makes the worst decision of her life.  The theme of the struggle between the feminine and masculine is also touched upon in Denis Villeneuve's most controversial film "The Enemy". Jake Gyllenhaal, the main character, Adam Bell, suffers from an internal struggle, the reason for which is the fear of losing his personal freedom. In the thriller Enemy, the director compares the feminine essence to a spider that weaves webs everywhere, and sometimes even has to deprive its partner of the head. The screen version of the work of the famous Portuguese writer Jose Saramago was passed through a sickly yellow filter, which, together with blocky sleeping areas, dilapidated buildings and sparse interiors, creates an atmosphere of captivity and totalitarianism. Adam Bell himself talks about how the mechanisms of dictatorship work in his lectures. There is a bit of Cronenberg physiology, Lynch surrealism and Hitchcock suspense in The Enemy. There is also one of Villeneuve's favorite directorial techniques - cyclicity. The film begins with a visit of the protagonist to a nightclub and ends with a key to this very club. In addition, the very plot construction of "The Enemy" involves re-viewing.  The same cyclical nature can be observed in Arrival: the tape opens and closes with the heroine's memories of her daughter. In this case, the reverse montage plays a special role, creating the illusion of the chronological sequence of the plot. In fact, the film tells two stories at once, one of which develops non-linearly. Thus, Villeneuve at the visual level shows the viewer the nature of the transcendental perception of time, about which the aliens spoke. However, the Kuleshov Effect, which creates the feeling of a familiar time cycle, makes the plot twist of Arrival completely unpredictable, increasing its emotional perception. As in The Assassin, in Arrival you can see many general shots taken from a bird's eye view. The protagonist's audience, the hospital corridor, after all, ships and even alien writing are rounded. The characteristic manner of shooting and all these insignificant details once again send the viewer back to understanding the infinity and looping of time in the universe.  A balanced video sequence, as one of Villeneuve's most recognizable techniques, is especially good in Arrival. The director uses those artistic means that maximize the essence of the scene. However, in Villeneuve's work, meaning never yields to form, and any powerful visual scene carries a clear and thoughtful message. Unlike most sci-fi films, Arrival lacks vibrant colors and flashy visuals. The director deliberately depicts the familiar real world with muted colors. All this is done in order for the viewer to believe that such an alien contact can actually occur. The scenes with the main character's memories are filmed in warmer colors to express her relationship to her daughter. This is a key moment in understanding the choice of the heroine and the final theme of the movie "Arrival" which consists in the predetermination of all events in life and the absence of freedom of choice. The latter has already been raised in the thriller Enemy, albeit from a slightly different angle.  On Thursday, October 5, the long-awaited premiere of Denis Villeneuve's new film Blade Runner 2049 will take place in USA. Despite the large number of proposals, the director has always tried to stay away from high-profile commercial projects due to the pressure of studio bosses who are trying to interfere with the creative process. However, having received the blessing of Ridley Scott himself, Villeneuve dismissed all doubts and went to work. And he explained his decision like this: “I just said to myself:“ They’ll take it off anyway. The studio will shoot this sequel, whether I want it or not. I don't know if I can do it. But I will do my best, I will put all my love and all my skills into it, I will work to the last drop of my blood. I don't want this film to go into the hands of someone who loves it a little less than me. I was always very afraid to see the sequel to Blade Runner, but if I shoot it, I will at least do it with great respect for the original. " The Topic of Article: Space as a premonition. |
