Portfolio Genre Research #2 (War)

 Although my opinion is mainly set on making my project a sci-fi film, I am still interested in earlier ideas I had. War is my third choice, just after horror as my second choice. The War and Horror genre can be very similar in some aspects, so if I am going to make a war film then it is going to have to  either be very unique or conforms to the usual tropes of the war genre. Typically the war genre consists of a male adult audience since most war veterans are male. 

The war genre typically depicts the effects of armed conflict on society: mainly showing soldiers, civilians, and leaders facing intense violence and loss. Especially when characters are confronted with situations that make them question their own morality and humanity. Movies that perfectly encapsulate this are Saving Private Ryan, Dunkirk, and Come and See. These movies not only have characters that question their own moral judgement but also people have different views of war. 

The type of war film I want to do. (Psychological)

If I am going to do a war film then I want it to mainly follow a soldier character wandering through a barren world. I cannot do a historical film since my project is not allowed to be a documentary, which probably also means that it cannot be based off a real historical event. Which is fine with me since the idea I have for my film is going to be very abstract and surreal. Famous director Martin Scorsese perfectly sums up how I want to depict my film, on his IMDb page on his quotes. "Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out". It does not matter if my film is historically accurate or not, I just want my message to be seen and interpreted. 

The main movies that I will be taking the most inspiration from will be Dunkirk, Mad God, and 9. These movies mainly depict war through visuals and no talking, especially Mad God and Dunkirk. Mad God and 9 mainly shows its war through beautiful wide shots and destruction, while Dunkirk takes a very different approach by not showing the enemy in person at all. 

Analysis of War (Psychological)

Dunkirk by Christopher Nolan has the most unique take on the portrayal of the enemy. Instead of showing the enemy outright like Saving Private Ryan, it instead does not show them at all. The closet the enemy was shown was through planes and a brief blurred scene at the end of the movie. By not showing the enemy, it makes the antagonists feel like predators hunting down and picking off the British one by one. I am still not sure if this is how I want to portray the antagonists in my project.

Come and See by Elem Klimov is a very horrific war film. Its depictions of war is not fantasy but of real crimes. I love this movie because of how much it makes the characters and the audience question their own morality. Not to mention the brilliant use of the lens gaze, where the characters stare directly into the camera and at the viewer, making the audience feel incredibly uncomfortable feeling as if they are being personally acknowledged by the subjects on screen. 

Mad God by Phil Tippet has a similar portrayal of war to Come and See, where the brutality of war is not dimmed but shown directly. The main difference is that Mad God is a very abstract portrayal of war while Come and See depicts a more realistic take. Mad God is incredibly artistic in its view of war, showing mountains of dead bodies and never ending battlefields. Artistically, I will be taking the most inspiration from Mad God. 

Other war genre sources that I would like to use

Paintings by Zdzislaw Beksinski

All Quiet on the Western Front (Both book and 1930 adaptation)

Paintings by Otto Dix

Empire of the Sun

1917