Luke Jeffery: Short Film Analysis

Bunny (Short Film)

• This film includes themes of life and death: metamorphosis into something she was trying to get away from (death), yet it kept knocking at her door and eventually led her to happiness.
• The use of motion in the film evokes different emotions and feelings from the viewer.
• The moth becomes a figure like the angel of death.
• The oven is a machine that transforms.
• Clesmer music is included in the film, which originated from the Jews in Eastern Europe.

Harold & Modd

• Montage of small little plants to a picture of a large field of flowers, it is a great us of film technique to access different parts of the viewer's mind processes to communicate something
• Modd points out that we are all unique but we treat ourselves like we are just like anyone else, then the film zooms out to the graveyard with the tombstones, resembling the field full of flowers.
• Harold is seen smirking at the camera, his mom just wants to control him and measures him up and down.

North Fork

•        The Buffalo representing the transitory-ness of life 
•       We have the mountains in the background representing transcendence and steadfastness

Paris Texas

• Shot of the desert that first starts out with the man as a speck, then a medium-close shot is shown, and finally a closeup shot is shown but behind him you can see the tall rock formations, each time he seems very small in the landscape of the film.
• He is not walking on a road once he gets past the desert
• When he comes to a place where his brother is, he continues to look at the power lines back and forth but his brother is trying to get him into the car. As they are talking it’s like there are two opposing forces (mountains behind them)
• He is back at a house and is using the binoculars to focus on airport, freeway, and then polishes the shoes (all modes of transportation/transmission)
• Travis finds his wife in this brothel that is legal because they keep the prostitute behind this one-way mirror and Travis on the other side. The customer can see through the mirror to the prostitute but the prostitute cannot see through the mirror.
• “It’s hard to talk to strangers…I don’t mind listening, I do it all the time”
• You can see the phone through the mirror laying down on the table
• There is an interesting overlay of images when Travis and his wife are looking through the mirror at each other, their faces meld together into one.

Pink Floyd

• The War shows the blood of the people is like sewage, it doesn’t mean anything to the country
• Two flowers fighting symbolize his relationship with different women in his life

Mexican Film

• Cross is displayed prominently
• Priest is seen holding up the cross disappearing into the light
• The center of the world for Catholics is Christianity, yet that icon has disappeared completely from them
• Exploring why this Christian guy who came to the Mexican tribe went crazy
• Lizard represents the man and he has to stay within the boundaries of the circle, shaman calls him back to himself.
• In the speech, he starts to bring the others into the picture.
• The sea is what is separating him from the reality that he knows
• Ecstatic experience is displayed well using film techniques