EFL Interdisciplinary Projects/Reading and Writing/MI movie analysis

This is a cooperative project on observing movies from different perspectives based on the MI Theory. We are trying to appreciate all components of a movie adressing the intelligence more conected to each one.

The aim is to be able to understand more throughly the wholeness of a movie and capture more from the art piece.

Components of a movie

Lets start by listing some features and then giving some characteristics to them:

All the sounds of the movie.
All the visual aids.
All the places.

MI movie analysis project directions

Introduction

In this project the students are invited to develop a critical analysis of a movie.

We are proposing a diversified view of the movie approaching all the Multiple Intelligences of the group and connecting them with interdisciplinary issues.

Objectives

Enlarge the possibilities of art interpretation in the students repertory.
Open space for the students to express themselves in their best abilities.
Sensibilize the students for all the aspects that involve an artistic production.

Activities

Read and clarify all students tasks.
Watch the movie (not till the very end).
Take all necessary notation during the movie.
Pairs rewatch parts of the movie if necessary and solve the tasks.
Round table showing all the results.
Publication of written critics.
Grammar points observed in the students production.

Students Tasks

Visual/Spatial

- Observe the visual production of the movie, the background, the sceneries, the colors, visual effects, the details on the clothes and places, objects, etc.

- How important or effective are all those points for the quality of the movie and the story?

- What kind of feeling do those visual aspects cause, how do you feel about them?

- Compare two different scenes and show how the visual influences on the mood and the impression the viewer has.

Linguistic - Musical

- Analyze the language, difficulty of understanding, accents, rythm, etc.

- Copy some lines of a dialogue and act them out with the same characteristics of the actors.

Interpersonal - Intrapersonal

- Pick up one character and make a total description of his/her psychologically, culturally and emotionally.

- Put yourself in the character's place and explain why this person acts and thinks that way.

- Explain how you would feel in the character's situation, how you would behave.

- Pick up a scene that is most emotional or expressive for you and explain the importance and impact of it.

Logical/Mathematical - Kinesthetical

- Analyze the sequence of the story, how logic it is, how convincent,

- How expressive the artists are, how good the direction and the writing were.

- Observe the quality and effectiveness of the visual effects, how they contribute to the sequence and understanding of the story.

- Pick up one scene and explain the difficulty of making it and how it contributed to the movie.

Student's production

Movie review

What Dreams May Come

By Gerusa and Andrielly Galvão.

Essencial Languages. Intermediate.

This is a movie about a man that loses his children and his wife. This man is a doctor, a good husband but he isn´t a very good dad as he´s working all the time.

The movie talks about what there is after that, were we go when we die. We can see the difference between heaven and hell very much through scenes, with the scenario, colors and music. As in the beginning of the story, the scenes were very clean with nature and happy moments composed with many colors that represent harmony. Other scenes have dark colors and horrible things to see: cold, despair, fear and fire. We can perceive the opposite feelings.

So, it´s a very good film, it uses strong moments with sensations, either love or hate and disgust. However, it has romance, since it shows soul mates, meetings and partings, actually the man passes all the story trying to save his wife from bad sensations either in life or after it. Well, this movie brings us a lot of emotions. It uses the paintings to highlight sensations better than ordinary real scenes, this way we can imagine more. I think it was the best choise for a theme because today the people need to think more about it, instead of war, money, sex. So it´s a smart and beautiful film for whom likes art, philosophy, romance and secrets of life. I believe that our life doesn’t finish here.

The idea of this drama film is to show that there can be life after death, in other words: reincarnation.

Colors are very striking and present in this film, from red color at the beginning of the movie; synonym of passion, until the black color in its sad scenes.

During the movie, paintings became of total importance, creating incredible scenes, such paintings containing features of the Impressionist style, with blurred images, valuing decomposition of colors, definition loose emphasis on nature themes. The detail of the paintings introduced in the scenes is very creative.

This is a movie with several beautiful and hopeful lines, in moments of despair and depression the director shows several dark tones. It makes them the most emotional scenes.

Well… It is an interesting movie, leaving at the end an intelligent message.

Project - Personality analysis

Peaceful worrior.

Paulo Medeiros Picinini Basic 2

This is an analysis of the movie Peaceful worrior.

Only Dan, the main character, is observed from the logical and interpersonal view.

LOGICAL THINKING

Dan is a popular person. He studies in a university and practices gymnastics. He lives his life having sex, drinking, getting out and other things. But he feels lonely, empty. Sócrates enters in his life to change him. Sócrates trains Dan on being a real warrior. The lessons that Sócrates teaches Dan are: to empty the mind, there is never nothing going on, take out the trash, live the moment, service to the others, people are not the thoughts, learn to meditate in every actions, letting go of attachments, give up your addictions, not to let emotions take control, and others.

Some situations that marked Dan’s life: He doesn’t sleep at night, he trains rings, he meets Sócrates, in an accident with a motorcycle he breaks his leg, the recuperation, inner death, his journey.

INTRAPERSONAL THINKING

Dan was nervous, idealist, ambition, conceited, upset, dumb.

At the first moment Dan is popular, a good status, proud, because he is a good gymnast, his father is rich and he goes out with women, but he feels lonely, empty.

When Dan meets Sócrates, he passes by a transition. During the transition he feels curious, gloomy, eager and confused.

‘Minha amada imortal’ Immortal beloved

by Tânia Silva Gomes - Basic 2

Musical/Intrapersonal analysis of the movie

Bethoven’s biography, mix of romance and drama, more drama.

Pre readings

Beethoven - http://www.lvbeethoven.com/ Lots of material, including excerpts from Beethoven’s music and a section (‘School’) aimed especially at students. Please note that this website appears to be a translation and so the English in some parts of the site is not perfect.

What was Ludowig Van Beethoven’s personality?

The political – He’s idealist and mature in his political ideas.

The human – He was careful and affectionate with his girlfriends who got along with and got to understand him.

The artist – He was a talented artist. His art expressed his life. Nowadays, he is a reference to erudite music.

Project - character and speech

What dreams my come.

By Mariana de Paula Drewinski.

Essencial Languages. Basic. 2/12/2006.

Movie summary

In the movie 'What dreams my come,' Chris and Annie meet in a lake and he falls in love for her. They get married and have two children. One morning the children, Marie and Ian, go to school with a neighbor and die in an accident. Four years later, Annie needs some paintings for an exposition, but she can't take them. Annie asks Chris to take the pictures. In the way, Chris dies in an accident too. He doesn't believe he's dead because he can see people and Annie, he can see a person he believes is a doctor. He doesn't understand. Annie feels Chris, but she doesn't believe he's there. Annie thinks she's crazy. Chris goes to heaven but she doesn't understand what is happening. He meets Marie and Ian, but they are different. Annie suicides and she goes to her hell. Chris goes to save her, but he needs to feel her to find her in the hell. His love for her, helps him to find her, but she doesn't remember him. They talk and he decides to leave heaven for living whit Annie in hell, but he gets to save her. In paradise, Chris, Annie, Marie and Ian live as before.

Character analysis

The most interesting character's personality for me is Ian. He is a very good boy, he is just 13 years old. He studies for his father, he tries to be like him. Ian likes to help people; in hell, he tries to help his father but he can't.

After his death, he changes. In the first moment, Chris doesn't recognize him because he is very different. In hell, Ian shows his responsibility and Chris sees him. In the beginning, Ian is very accepting, he does all things his mother and his father say. He is very accepting, but later, Ian talks with Chris and he becomes authentic.

Albert (Ian): Drink it. Just think it's coffee and it'll be.

Chris: Okay, It's coffee... Tint...acrylic.

A: Why is this so hard?

C: What?

A: Your brain is meat. It rots and disappears. Did you really think that's all there was to you? Like you're in your house right now. You're in your house! It doesn't mean you are your house. House falls down, you get up and walk away.

C: Now, it looks like I rebuilt.

A: You see your body because you like it. We're seeing what we chose to see. Let me show you something.

C: It's real. Where is all the paint?

A: You don't need it anymore, This is your world now. Thought is real. Physical is the illusion.

This part is more interesting for me because in Heaven Ian teaches Chris about that place, the child teaches the father. It's very beautiful because I can see connection between them, they talk like good friends, they are best friends. They have a spiritual connection.

The City of Angels

By Luan Fonseca and André Frutuoso.

Essencial Languages. Basic. 2/12/2006.

This is a musical analysis of the speeches of the characters from the Movie City of Angels.

This analysis finds the differences among the character speeches. The characters of the movie are: Seth, an angel who falls in love for Meg, who is a great doctor, Seth’s friend Cassial, another angel and Mr. Messenger who is a former angel.

Meg: the language of Meg is easy to understand because she opens the mouth to speak and sometimes she speaks slower than others. It’s easy to understand where words connect.

André Frutuoso

Meg: Her language is easy, is possible to understand the context of her speech. Sometimes Meg speaks a little fast because of the linking of the words and her pronounciation is interesting and clear. She moves the lips and it helps us to understand better her English.

Luan Fonseca

Seth: he speaks very slowly and he closes a little the mouth, he seems to be sleepy it’s not so hard to understand.

André Frutuoso

Seth: He has a hard language because he doesn’t open his mouth. He doesn’t move the lips so much and it can be difficult to understand what he says. He has a low voice and when he links the words it’s harder to comprehend. The words endings are not pronounced.

Luan Fonseca

Cassial: his language is easy to understand because he sings the words and phrases. He cuts some words and phrases. He cuts some words making it slightly hard to understand until the end of the phrase.

André Frutuoso

Cassial: He has a clear language and pronunciation, the rhythm is very good. Sometimes he speaks fast and some words are hard to get but it is not totally incomprehensible.

Luan Fonseca

Mr. Messenger: He has a strong voice and he speaks much slang, sometimes it can make the understanding difficult, his is the second hardest speech to comprehend. He has got a closed pronunciation but the rhythm of the words is good.

Luan Fonseca

Mr. Messenger: he closes the mouth, and speaks very fast and uses slang he cuts the words and his lines are very hard to understand.

André Frutuoso

Finding Neverland

Analysis of the language

By Larissa Schelbauer and Rodrigo Budach

Jonny Depp’s speech:

He uses a particular pronunciation of the ‘r’.

He speaks very softly and low.

His speech seems to be particular of himself, because it is not used didactically.

Freddie Highmore’s speech:

He speaks very fast and does many links between the words.

General speech:

The movie has a British language, that has as particular characteristics the reduction of ‘r’; the different pronunciation of the ‘a’ and in the question words compared to American pronunciation.

The rhythm of the British speech is the same of the American speech.

The movie shows the difference between believe and pretend. Believe is to transform the imagination in reality and to pretend is just live in imagination.