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.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Including Life, the Universe and Everything

At some point in their life, every person has wondered what their purpose in life is. Questions involving why humans are on Earth, what they are supposed to do with their lives and whether there is more to life than what meets the eye have wandered through many minds without really producing a definitive answer. But it is likely that a definitive answer does not exist; or in fact, a definitive answer is not really needed to carry on with life. And that is the point made in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Arthur Dent rises one morning to a rude awakening that his house is to be demolished immediately to make way for a bypass. In denial but unable to do anything about the situation, Arthur is dragged off to a pub by his friend Ford Prefect under the pretext of having a pint of beer before the world comes to an end. Ford confesses to being an alien from a neighbouring planet and a journalist who is commissioned to complete writing The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Reluctant to believe him, Arthur gets dragged along and finds himself on an alien ship with planet Earth reduced to dust. An altercation with their host results in them being evacuated and picked up by the Heart of Gold, a ship stolen by the President of the Universe and Ford’s semi half-brother, Zaphod Beeblebrox. Also on board are Marvin the Paranoid Android and Tricia McMillian aka Trillian, a human who Arthur knew from his days back on Earth and who becomes his love interest. Together the collective travel the galaxy in search of the true question to life, the universe and everything that will be a suitable match for the answer 42.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was directed by Garth Jennings and released in 2005. It is adapted from a novel of the same name which was written by Douglas Adams, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film. The franchise includes the original novel, the film and several other spinoffs that arose after the original book was published. The film can be easily identified as science fiction with elements of fantasy spun into it, but the comedy in the film is a standout which cannot be ignored.

The actors have been cast excellently considering they fit perfectly into the style of their respective characters. The biggest challenge for the actors and the director in the film would have been to convey the deadpan style of humour which is unique to this franchise and incredibly difficult to recreate. As such, the film is a credit to the franchise and has been done well. The film does not attempt to raise questions and then solve them, it pokes fun at the idea of having an answer to everything we do in life and the constant need to rectify thoughts and actions with an ultimate purpose to one’s existence.

The tongue-in-cheek jokes that come up every now and then can be hilarious once understood in context. A constantly depressed robot saves the lives of a group of people by depressing their attackers, a Vogon’s preferred form of torture is to read poetry and a whale has just come into existence in free-fall unaware of what he is supposed to feel; certain moments such as these are truly hilarious and well done in the film. The superimposing of Arthur’s house being destroyed to make way for a national bypass and then his entire planet being destroyed to make way for a galactic bypass blends both tragedy and comedy, a rare occurrence in any film. Even the misfortune involving the President of the Galaxy ordering a planet to be destroyed when he thinks he is signing an autograph is a ridiculous moment which is then exaggerated because the same planet happens to be the most important in the galaxy that was created with a purpose of solving the ultimate question.

The film is mostly comedy mixed with science fiction. Few elements of romance crop up during the course of the film but it is overall a very good deadpan humour-based comedy film.

Little Children: Tales of people who are forever young

Little Children is a film which is entirely about children. It seems a bit tricky to land up at that conclusion, especially considering that there is no child who is a protagonists or even a supporting character in the plotline; but in some way or the other, children are the focus of this 2006 film which was directed by Todd Field. So, it seems appropriate that the film, and novel it was scripted from, would be named Little Children.

Sarah Pierce is the mother of a 3 year old who is uncomfortable in her own skin. Her daughter is a jovial little girl who gets along fine with other children and adults but Sarah somehow seems to lack the natural maternal instincts which would endear her daughter to her and make her in-sync with her every need. On the other hand, Brad is a stay-at-home dad who is an aspiring lawyer but is unable to clear the bar exam. He takes his little son to the park where the other mothers ogle him but are too shy to talk to him. Sarah is dared to get Brad’s number on one such visit and she complies by getting Brad to hug her before they decide to completely freak the other mothers out and lock lips. The split second of contact is enough to send both their lives whirling as they are unable to think of anything other than each other for the next few weeks and eventually end up having an affair. On the other side of town, Ronnie McGorvey has recently returned from a 2 year term in prison for indecent exposure to a minor and is being harassed by former police officer, Larry Hedges, who is adamant on making Ronnie’s life a living hell.

The script for the film is adapted from a novel of the same name. The script was written by director Todd Field and author of the novel, Tom Perrotta. The use of narration in the film makes up for the lack of being able to see into the mind of the characters. The narration by Will Lyman features a deep voice to give a background on the character’s thoughts while also adding to the tone of the film, which in some parts is almost comical, owing especially to the narration. The narration also makes the film more endearing to the audience since the film otherwise has a very distant effect. Other techniques used in the film include a split screen during a telephone conversation to show the actions and reactions of people on both sides of the line simultaneously and an opening montage of shots taken of clay figurines of children, a way of establishing in the beginning of the film that the crux of the film revolves around little children.

The film has its ebbs and surges with a slow moving script which takes time to establish the characters and then speeds up as the action takes place to end with a seemingly rushed conclusion which leaves many questions about the final resolve of the characters and how each of them arrive at their individual conclusions which seem obtuse from their character sketches. Mainly, the film is about children who are the heroes of the story. While children by themselves are key to the plot, since they bring two main characters together and, in another instance, are cause for a rift between two people, the idea of a child being in each one of us is a subtle influence in the plot. The idea of a mother who is unable to figure out her own child because she hasn’t grown up enough to be a mother or a man wasting his time watching teenagers skate instead of studying for his exam and establishing his career, or a man being intent on bullying another man as a sense of retribution for his own crimes in the past, all are signs of growing old but not growing up.

Not a great film but an amiable film. It has its moments and its elements which make it stand out from the clutter of ordinary drama films.