Art Flim Review

      My first reaction to the film, in just be looking at the title and cover of the flim, I thought it was going to be another movie with a creepy teenage boy that had a lot of problems, yes, another movie that was the same as every other movie only worse.  I was not keen in watching the film, but hey when Jake Gyllenhaal stars in it, really sparks my interest in being committed in watching the film.  But in the end, my judgments about the film were wrong.  It was surprisingly one of my favourite art movies I’ve experienced in awhile.
     At times, the film was a bit confusing since it would frequently switch between reality and fantasy to the point where it just becomes difficult to comprehend and read, but it was defiantly an experience and was an incredible work of art. 
     I loved how the film asked questions about reality, fantasy, and life in general for a typical teen to think about.  The protagonist in the film, Donnie Darko (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) is filled with all these questions about the ordinary and/or the extraordinary.  His character is interesting is a tortured soul whose life is ordinary. All he wants is sanity, but his mind is infested with unbelievable hallucinations, compulsions driven by a mysterious creature named “Frank”.  Gyllenhaal as Darko in the film is simply brilliant and creepy at the same time, as his character consistently transitions from being normal to the abnormal teen that he is.  As the viewer of the film, Darko’s potential unstable and dangerous man child character as he is tortured throughout the journey of the film, defiantly drived the film.  I felt that Richard Kelly wanted the viewers to subconsciously connect with Donnie Darko’s character in a way no one else could have, through each individual interpretation of the character’s behaviour and action.  I thought Richard Kelly and Jake Gyllenhaal really worked well together to create this masterpiece of art.  It really kept me on my toes continually, with beautiful and at times deceivingly haunting cinematography, making the dull and ordinary life of a teen menacing and truly insane.
     Tension is constant in this film, and Kelly doesn’t stop building it for a moment, right up until the last second when the film reaches its explosion of a resolution.  I felt that after I watched the film, it really screwed with my mind, and sucked all my emotions out of me.  I felt literally numb, no feeling just a blank slate starring at the end credits thinking “ wow, what did I just watch.”  And it made me question myself in terms of where does reality really begin and end? Overall, the film gave me chills, and made me think in ways that I would never have thought of.
As an Early Childhood Educator...
Give children a treat and a different approach of teaching children art appreciation and art aesthetics.  Expose children to art films every other friday.  After watching the short film, allow children to discuss what they thought of the film. 

 

Art Word of the Week: Design or Composition

Design & Composition is the "overall mark of success, the standard of achievement, and the frosting on the cake" (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009, p. 142). 

Design should relate to the standard of achievement making it all relative. Throughout this film, i thought the producer definitely knew what he wanted to achieve, and he did a brilliant job in creating such an artistic, dynamic and mind thrilling movie to achieve that design and level of standard from his audience.  

References

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J. E. (2009). Art & Creative Development for Young Children (6 ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.