American Film: Frances Ha Flashcards
how does Frances Ha go against some indie conventions
The film has a mainstream voice and is about conformity, something indie films don’t tend to gravitate and has more to do with mainstream
Frances says throughout the film her and Sophie “are the same person but with different hair” How does the opening shot reflect this
With a symmetrical shot of the two of them playing fighting, their both equal distance to the camera and each other, it’s not apparent who is the protagonist and their viewed together rather than individually
How does the opening shot convey indie conventions
Black and white cinematography, (french new wave aesthetic) no establishing shot
How is Frances showcasing her privilege in this opening scene
She is busking for fun, not for the money and gives the money to other buskers which can be seen as sort of sweet and endearing but also a little patronising, flaunting her privilege
Millennials are often categorised as self involved and romanticise their lives
how this showcased in the opening scene
They are running through the streets, oblivious to everyone else, romanticising this care-free life, dancing play fighting “a manic pixie dream girl persona”
Define Indie cinema
films that are smaller budget outside of the big studio system by independent film makers. They are more about the artistic vision of the director and often offer challenging ideology to the mainstream
In terms of spectatorship what as Bauambach done with the opening 2 scenes
In the first scene we gain recognition of Frances, and in the second Baumbach aims to stitch ourselves into the scene and align ourselves physically and emotionally with Frances. For example opening with a close-up 2 shot, gaining a spatiotemporal attachment.
How does the opening scene set up the vermilistude of the film
The opening scene showcases slice of life of frances and sophies relationship, which is what the film focus on as a whole and their relationship across the multiple cities in the film
What is the shot where we gain recognition that Frances is the protagonist
When they are in bed together, in extremely low-key light, Sophie is slumped into the shadows and Frances is the only one being centralised and illuminated
How does Baumbach use the camera to showcases this deteriorating relationship
He physically moves the camera further and further back distancing ourselves from them physically and emotionally
The extended static shot of frances and dan show exeuniate what
The awardkwarness of the scene, where forced to watch dan talk about this cat when frances clearly not that excited as well her awkward response to him asking to move in
Name 2 examples in the opening scene of Frances being a childish and ambiguous character
The reasons for her breaking up with dan are very quite childlike, she wants to stay with her friend, she needs me. instead of growing up and getting into a serious relationship which most people do and something Sophie does later in the film.
She also keeps on playing the victim almost, saying “I feel bad, I want to but I cant” which for me personally is very common character trait in people and when people usually say it, there just saying it for the sake of it and not actually meaning it.
Another example of her ambiguity is shown through the edit, she says am really tired but then it immediately jumps cuts to her at a party. “I don’t believe anything am saying”
How does Baumbach show in the edit that the relationship has ended
For the first couple of shots in the film we see Frances in dan in a two-shot as soon as she says she doesn’t wanna move in the edit moves into single shots of the two and dan slumps away from frances. and for the rest of the scene we never really seem together on the same level in a two shot. They get separated further as well as dan get up when she picks up the phone
How does baumbach demonstrate Dan’s power/moral high ground
When they separate Dan is above Frances in the proxemics, and bigger in the frame. this is emphasised by the low angle on dan, high angle on frances
In the opening it presents an uncovnetial….
…heterosexual female relationship to those normally presented in hollywood
