Comparison of The House is Black and Saving Face
I think that these two films are pretty similar but the filmmaker's styles were very different. Both films showed the lives of groups of people that had become outcasts. They are forced to deal with the results of an unfortunate disease in the case of the Lepers or the results of a hateful act for the acid burn victims. The filmmakers chose different ways to portray two very sad realities. In the house is black there was a lot less dialogue. The viewer gets to do more interpreting. In Saving Face all the information is given. The women tell their stories and we develop a relationship with them by learning about them. There is something I liked better about The House is Black. It was not a tell-all documentary. It just gives a glimpse of the lives of a group of people. It is very simple and has a sort of poetic feel. The scenes were broken up and sometimes choppy but everything flowed together well. It seemed like Saving Face had a lot more production or at least editing.
Watching films from other cultures
I enjoyed all the films we watched so far. I think The House is Black was probably my favorite. It was very raw compared to the others. I find Katherine's comment on the Happy ending interesting. I did not see a happy ending when I saw the film. I think it was definitely hopeful but not necessarily happy. There are still many women that are suffering from these burns. Not all of them are getting treated. Some, I'm sure are probably silenced after it happens and aren't allowed to speak of the incident that scared them for life. I didn't see a happy ending because life goes on after the cameras are shut off. I wonder if we seek happy endings as Americans. We are always told that things will work themselves out but things don't always get better, at least not immediately. Sometimes coping is a process in which a person must grow before they can move on in their lives. I would say that it's important to keep an open mind when watching films and not to necessarily look for the silver lining but rather to take it for what it is and if it inspires you, take it from there.
I enjoyed your comparison of the two documentaries we've watched in class. The process of getting information across to the audience definitely varied. In that respect, Saving Face did seem like more of a standard documentary than Sin, which was, as you said, more poetic.
ReplyDeleteAs for the happy ending, I was reaching more towards the passing of law against the victimizers during acid attacks, not necessarily the availability of treatment. I thought the potential for serving justice was much more hope-inducing than the chance of receiving a "new face."
Loni,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. I, too, love The House Is Black for its poetic documentation. I feel like it is shot with love, if such a statement can be made. It isn't out to tell a truth, but rather to let us know that humanity can outshine horror. I wish Farrokhzad had lived longer. I would love to have read the poetry she wrote as an older woman. If I was to make a film, I would hope that it would be as quiet and beautiful and socially meaningful as Farrokhzad's.
Spring