A Photographic Intention : No Country For Old Men + Blow Up.

Apart from working really hard these days on the selection of images for both virtual+printed portfolios and the new version of www.mgpixlab.com I have spent many recent nights watching films before going to bed.

These films have all an amazing photographic intention.

But the one I'd like to mention first is "No Country For Old Men". As popular as it may be, there is definitely a reason. It is more than a blockbuster. There's much more to it than the casting, than the props. There is something in this movie that goes further from the typical stereotypes of what is considered a good film.

2007 © Joel & Ethan Cohen

It had a deep effect on me. I will not talk about the plot or script but its photography direction is simply superb. The quality of the colour, the composition, and the effective portrayal of an era (by means of photography direction) puts the viewer in the intended year (1980) perfectly. I find this very compelling. It's a notorious ability. Regardless of the logical characteristics of a situation supposed to be happening in the past.

In a certain way the film reminds me of one released 42 years ago with a completely different subject: Blow Up.

1966 © Michelangelo Antonioni.

The silence used... : For me THIS is the key. The Silence. It is so present in a majestic way in both productions that it becomes an amazing tool for the enhancing of the photographic feel and therefore, I would say, the spirituality and transcendence behind such different stories.

As silence taught me a lot in these two films, I'll reflect on this topic a bit more for now, and will probably find there is nothing more to say...