Happy “Get Valentine’s Day Chocolate for Half-Price Day!”
More importantly, Happy Birthday Kathleen! ^_^
As the adage goes, everything happens for a reason. This is especially applicable when studying film. The Jazz Singer, Hester Street, Brother From Another Planet, West Side Story, and The Pawnbroker are all works that converge on the portrayal of the peopling of New York City. They all address in their own unique way, the different plights of immigrants, the struggle to assimilate, or in some cases the struggle to not lose oneself in the hoopla of America. However, the key word here is unique. No one can refute that there are parallels in these films; similarly, no one can claim that they are the same.
On the contrary, these films have extremely different atmospheres. These are not only due to the varying plots of the films but more importantly, their distinct cinematic choices and styles. There are three of these styles in which I would like to compare the films: clothing & colors, shots, and setting.
If you haven’t already, now would be a good time to put your analyzing caps on.
Clothing and Color. These two C words may not seem like much but they can be a very influential driving force to help tell a story. More importantly, it sets all these films apart. In Hester Street, clothing was used as a means of distinguishing those who have retained their old cultural ties and those who have fully assimilated into the American culture. A prime example is comparing Mamie’s dress with Gitl’s. In West Side Story, color plays a huge part in distinguishing between the two gangs. The Jets wear blue, yellow, and white, while the Sharks wear purple, black, and red. Lastly, in the Pawnbroker one instance of color and dress that was significant is Rodriguez’s outfits. He always wore white, a symbol of power, and his clothing was always very refined, very rich folk. Meanwhile Sol’s outfit seemed very mundane and ordinary. Just like any other businessman. These elements help to tell the story. All these films used clothing and color, but they used them for different purposes, creating different “feels” in the films.
Shots. No I’m not referring to the unit of measuring/consuming alcohol but rather the way a film is captured. All these films utilized the power of a cut to help invoke tension in a scene. This was especially evident in West Side Story, which had over 70 cuts in the first opening sequence. The Pawnbroker also had a lot of cuts in various scenes when Sol is dealing with customers. More significantly when he is dealing with Rodriguez. This created an air of tension in West Side Story, the audience could feel the rift between the two gangs and the hatred that fueled their feud. Moreover, the darkness in the plot of The Pawnbroker is amplified by this style of quick cuts between faces and even the shots to flashbacks at key moments during the film. Although all the films do utilize this technique I think the use of it in West Side Story and The Pawnbroker helps make the films “feel” darker than the other films.
Setting. Why a temple? Why a stage? Why a NYC street? Why Ellis Island? Why Harlem? Why the West Side? Why the park? Why a pawnshop? These are all the questions these different directors faced. They chose to shoot and set their stories in these settings. These decisions in turn play a role in the different atmospheres that arise in these films. For instance, the pawnshop is a perfect setting for a grief-stricken Holocaust survivor who has given up on humanity. Sol claims he has no feelings and only cares about money, yet as a pawnbroker he must face human contact on a daily basis. The best element to the setting was the receipt needle thingy. During the course of the film Sol casually placed receipts on it but I never really paid attention to it. But in the powerful finale Sol stabs himself with it. When he bleeds and feels the pain and there is a rush of images of all the individuals who came into the store, it is evident that Sol does in fact care. Now could you imagine Brother going into the pawnshop instead of the bar? Or how about Maria saying she feels pretty in the temple of the Jazz Singer. No way José.
