The various films that we’ve watch so far this semester seem to depict a couple different views of New York City neighborhoods. Films like Brother from Another Planet (1984) portray New York as a city that welcomes immigrants, and understands their needs. While films like West Side Story (1961), and The Pawnbroker (1964) are a bit darker. They portray an unforgiving city filled with cold, cruel residents.
The film Brother From Another Planet is very interesting in the fact that until about ten minutes within the movie, we never actually directly see other characters besides the Brother. And since the Brother cannot speak, it is not until other characters are introduced do we actually hear the voices individuals. What I found most remarkable about this movie is that it is in certain aspects, for certain characters, a silent film. We learn about the Brother through his actions, and we figure out his thought processes through camera pans, close-ups and cutaways. This sort of unspoken communication (between character and audience) is similar to the New York neighborhood the Brother falls into. It’s a community that is understanding and very tolerant.
Meanwhile the setup of West Side Story is much more different than Brother. This film contains many musical scores that flat out explain the emotional tribulations of the characters and their thought processes. The film work includes many panning shots, and quick cuts and edits that have us jumping from scene to scene. The editing is very jumpy and tense just like the dissonant atmosphere for most of the film. The editing of the film really reflects on the discordant feelings the residents in the neighborhood held towards each other.
To me it only makes sense that The Pawnbroker was filmed in black and white as the color theme of the film most certainly reflects the mindset of the characters in the neighborhood. Sol and Jesus both have certain outlooks on life. Through his employer, Sol, Jesus comes to the conclusion that the most essential object a person could own is money. And through the use of Sol’s dream sequences and flashbacks we learn about his time being a prisoner in a concentration camp. Sol is a misanthrope. “I do not believe in God, or art, or science,” Sol says. And to Sol, his ideas and ideals are reasonable, sound, as simple as ‘black and white.’ The characters of this neighborhood have mindsets that they can’t seem to shake.
Through different cinematic effects like musical scores, camera cutaways, and mis-en-scene, Brother From Another Planet, West Side Story, and The Pawnbroker efficiently portray different depictions of New York neighborhoods.
