Lights, camera, comparative! A closer look at the films

There are some fascinating movies to dissect in this year’s Leaving Certificate, says Sandra O’Donoghue

The film study part of the Comparative Study provides Leaving Cert students with one of the most enjoyable aspects of the English course. However, I have often heard that students choose to simply enjoy the film in a relaxed way, as if they were at home with Netflix. This is, not surprisingly, a big mistake! The film is a text, just like the play and the novel that needs active study.

Special attention needs to be given to the key moments of your film. The opening scene, scenes of conflict and of climax, and the closing scene are of primary importance in terms of revealing the narrative of the film, its cultural context, and general vision and viewpoint. Take one of my favourite movies ‘The Godfather’ as an example. If you haven’t watched this masterpiece yet (and I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t have! It’s about the Mafia! What could be more interesting than that?) Why does ‘The Godfather’ open with a wedding? How does this event influence our understanding of a Mafia Don? And why is the climactic scene occurring during a baptism? All of these are decisions that the director, Francis Ford Coppola, made for the impact they would have on the audience.

The techniques of filmmaking must be evaluated when studying for the mode of Literary Genre. There are techniques that film can share with the novel and the play; characterisation, narration, dialogue, imagery, opening and closing scenes, pathetic fallacy and flashback/flash forward. There are some techniques that film only shares with the play; music and song, lighting, costume, sound and special effects, makeup. There are also techniques that are peculiar to filmmaking, including the use of montage, zoom, panning and tracking shots, close ups, inter titles, CGI and special effects and a vast choice for different mise en scène (sets – everything in front of the camera).

There is a selection of exciting films on the list for this year’s Leaving Cert comparative study. These include ‘Stop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story’, ‘Juno’, ‘Rear Window’ and ‘The Artist’. Some of the most popular movies this year are ‘Children of Men’ directed by Alfonso Cuarón, ‘I’m Not Scared’ directed by Gabriele Salvatores, and ‘Les Miserables’ directed by Tom Hooper. Let’s take a closer look at what each one of these popular choices have to offer the student.