Animal Farm: Not all animals are equal

There are few films which are made with a certain context in mind and don’t necessarily make sense when not viewed from that same perspective. Few films like Animal Farm are made as a reflection of a political scenario and while they have a storyline of their own, to understand the truth in them it is important to realise the context in which the film is made and how it is relative in real life.

When an aged hog named Major calls for a meeting with all the animals on Manor Farm, he reveals his vision for the animals to revolt against the owner Mr Jones for crimes committed against the animals. Major believes the dismal state of the animals should not be taken lightly and the only way to get what they truly deserve is if every animal unites to overthrow the oppressive humans. Major succumbs to his age the same night but the animals pay heed to his message and claim the farm for themselves the very next day by chasing Jones off the property and renaming the farm ‘Animal Farm’. Being the smartest of the lot, the pigs organise the codes to live by for all the animals on the farm and teach them the importance of education and hard work. The pig named Snowball takes it upon himself to make sure all the animals are taken care of but his efforts go in vain as another pig named Napoleon chooses to ignore the plights of his comrades and ultimately teaches the rest of the animals the bitter truth that all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

The film was directed by Joy Batchelor and John Halas and released in the year 1954. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name written by George Orwell. While most of the plot in the film is closely based on that of the novel, a few liberties have been taken with the screen version which differentiate from the original storyline. The story is an allegory of the political situation which existed in one particular nation in the 1940s and predicts what was likely to happen in the near future from the time of the novel being written.

The animation style is typical of that used in animated films in the 1950s. The major visible difference is in the colour tones which are used for the film. The colours are dull since it takes on a serious topic as opposed to other animated films which were light-hearted movies. This clearly demarcated that the film wasn’t naturally targeted towards children but was an animated film meant to be watched by adult audiences. The dull colour tones reflect the grave situation of the characters in the film since their lives are depressed and sombre at every turn.

The film takes a fair amount of time to establish the storyline but then tends to speed up towards the later stages of the plot. Unfortunately, not enough time is given to explain the plot in detail as the film progresses and the concluding stages are rushed into. The thoughts of the characters do not come across clearly because of lack of adequate dialogues or expressions. The narration does the job of explaining the internal monologues of the characters which is unfortunate since it is the easiest way to showcase a character’s emotions but not the best. The film clearly comes across as a propaganda film since the negative characters are painted in a bad light from the start without much explanation to their actions.

There is much to be desired with this film. While the storyline is adapted from a very good novel, the film does not manage to do it justice.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A breath-taking nightmare of an alien invasion

Everyone has probably had a nightmare, or a hidden fear, of the world changing inexplicably one day or of being the last person on the planet and being surrounded by zombies or aliens. What would happen if you were actually in such a circumstance? Or if you were leading up to this circumstance and had to survive, what would you do? This is exactly the fear which is played upon in Don Siegel’s 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

The story begins with a psychiatrist rushing to a hospital where a man is yelling at the top of his voice. The psychiatrist agrees to listen to his story as the man, presumed to be insane, reveals himself to be a doctor by the name of Miles Bennell from a small town called Santa Mira. Miles had just returned from a long trip and was greeted by his nurse with the news of countless patients waiting for his counsel. Peculiarly, all the patients had recovered mysteriously and no longer required a doctor. Miles was then faced with complicated situations as people in his town claimed that their loved ones were no longer the same; that they looked and acted the same but were somehow emotionless. Miles paid no heed to their claims as his psychiatrist friend assured him that it was an epidemic mass hysteria and Miles himself was busy getting reacquainted with his lost love, Becky Driscoll. Soon Miles figured out that the claims were in fact true and that the town was in risk of being run over by alien beings and he had to try to save himself and the ones he loved.

The screenplay of the film was adapted from a 1954 novel called The Body Snatchers. It is a classic in the science fiction genre with very little need for special effects and a film which relies heavily on a brilliant plot. The film was made on an extremely small budget which goes to show that good quality need not have great effects and technology. Every second of the film is captivating and the film as a whole is absolutely enthralling.

Although the film does not fall typically under film noir, it has many elements of the genre. It lacks the theme of crime and a plot with revolves around it, but it does have the use of shadows and background scoring which can place it effectively under the film noir genre. The film also employs other interesting techniques like the Dutch angle which helps build the tension in the particular scenes, the iconic shot of two characters driving in a car – which is done from both sides of a 180 degree axis – and a background score which helps modulate the mood according to the setting of the scenes in the film.

The film is a thriller from start to finish. It is a well made horror film which you cannot peel your eyes, or ears, away from even for a few seconds. It captures its audience with a brilliant story, good performances and a very good production value. It definitely deserves to be considered among the list of the most iconic of films made in the sci-fi and horror genres.