Jan Svankmajer

Jan Svankmajer is one of the great Czech filmmakers. He was born in 1934 in Prague where he still lives. He trained at the Institute of Applied Arts from 1950 to 1954 and then at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts (Department of Puppetry). He soon became involved in the Theatre of Masks and the famous Black Theatre, before entering the Laterna Magika Puppet Theatre where he first encountered film. Svankmajer made his first film in 1964 and for over thirty years has made some of the most memorable and unique animated films ever made, gaining a reputation as one of the world's foremost animators.

His work consists of many short films, like “Dimensions of dialogue” and six films: “Alice”, “Faust”, “Conspirators of pleasure”, Little Otik” and “Surviving life”.

I love this filmmaker because he has a style unique. His work in stop-motion is amazing… I like because  achieve to talk about body and the humans with dolls.

Here his photo…

Here his self-portrait, with his special style of to do cinema...

Yerma

I like read books of drama. Is a little strange, because this works are destined for the theater, but I like because I read the dialogues and I imagine to characters in a scene.

This book is “Yerma” by Federico García Lorca. He is a spanish dramatist and poet. His texts are beautiful; he is a very sensitive writer. Others of his famous works are “Blood Wedding” and “The House of Bernarda Alba”.

I like “Yerma” because his dialogues are very poetic and because I love the protagonist, a woman calls Yerma. She lives a tragedy:  her dream is to become a mother, but her husband is infertile.

Here a of my favorites quotes:

VÍCTOR. ¿Qué coses?

YERMA. Corto unos pañales.

VÍCTOR. (Sonriente.) ¡Vamos!

YERMA. (Ríe.) Los voy a rodear de encajes.

VÍCTOR. Si es niña le pondrás tu nombre.

YERMA. (Temblando.) ¿Cómo?...

VÍCTOR. Me alegro por ti.

YERMA.  (Casi ahogada.) No...,no son para mí. Son para el hijo de María.

VÍCTOR. Bueno, pues a ver si con el ejemplo té animas. En esta casa hace falta un niño.

YERMA.  (Con angustia.) ¡Hace falta!

VÍCTOR. Pues adelante. Dile a tu marido que piense menos en el trabajo. Quiere juntar dinero y lo juntará, pero ¿a quién lo va a dejar cuando se muera? Yo me voy con las ovejas. Dile a Juan que recoja las dos que me compró, y en cuanto a lo otro, ¡que ahonde! (Se va sonriente.)

YERMA. (Con pasión.) ¡Eso! iQue ahonde!

Te diré, niño mío, que sí,


tronchada y rota soy para ti.


¡Cómo me duele esta cintura,


donde tendrás primera cuna!


¿Cuándo, mi niño, vas a venir?


¡Cuando tu carne huela a jazmín!

(YERMA, que en actitud pensativa se levanta y acude al sitio donde ha estado VÍCTOR y respira fuertemente, como si aspirara aire de montaña, después va al otro lado de la habitación como buscando algo y de allí vuelve a sentarse y coge otra vez la costura. Comienza a coser y queda con los ojos fijos en un punto.)

TELÓN

This quote talk about the Keeling of the Yerma, here Desire to be a mother and her melancholy of not being.

FROM AMAZON:

The second of Lorca's great trilogy of rural dramas, Yerma is a concentrated blend of contrasting moods through which Lorca charts the increasingly destructive obsession of a childless young country wife, and probes the darker zones of human fears and desires. The play's rich mode of expression - a powerful combination of verbal, visual and auditory images and rhythms - is also geared to celebrating sexual attraction and fertility, creation and procreation. Through his characterization of the play's central figure, Lorca raises the question of women's social status - a controversial question both then and now, and one to which Robin Warner pays particular attention in his critical introduction to the play. He also examines the links between the dramatic structure of Yerma and the importance of cultural politics during the turbulent course of the Second Spanish Republic. The Spanish text is supported by an introduction and notes in English, as well as by an extensive vocabulary and section of discussion questions.

This text  explains very well the essence of drama, may need to refer th the poetic style of Federico García Lorca.

"Woman in red stockings"

In this occasion I choose a picture that I love. The picture is “Woman in red stockings”, was painting byEgon Schiele in 1913.

Egon Schiele is a Austrian painter, he was pupil of Gustav Klimt (autor of the famous “The Kiss”). Schiele is a expressionism painter, he made a lot of watercolors. Mainly, he painting a women models and self-portraits. He was obsessed by represent the woman in a beautiful erotic aspect.

This picture show a woman’ body, but don’t show her face or her foots. Is mysterious and captivate. The woman is up her dressed and show her legs. Other peculiarity of this picture is her color. All the painting is red shade.

I like this picture because is erotic and naive at the same time, is suggestive… and I love when a image achieve to provoke this. I don’t like so much the explicit images… for this I love this picture, is beautiful to me.

My Favourite Movie

It's difficult to me choose my favourite movie, because I like a lot different types of movies. But, in this occasion I choose "Mulhollan Drive" by David Lynch. 


I like this movie, beacause is very strange. It' s a strange mixing between a thriller and a surrealistic film. I think is a movie more for to feel that to understand. The movie is very atmospheric, it isn`t  literal. "Mullholland Drive" manage to transmit different sensations like fear, sadness and even hapyness in some parts. The movie is wonderful. 


David Lynch, is a real good director. He has other fabulous movies like "Blue Velvet", "Wild at Hearth" and "Inland Empire". Him cinema is very interesting, because is very sensory, is a experience.


My favourite scene is the visit to the "Silent Club", is like a dream...

My favourite piece of technology

My favourite piece of technology is the DVD. When I was a kid, I had a VHS and I saw somes kids’s movies of Disney. Later, when I was a 13 years, in my house bought a DVD. In this time, I began to take interest for the art cinema.

I use the DVD in my house, when I want have a good moment with my family or me only watchining movies. Also, as I study Film and Television, usually I must watch movies for making homeworks and look for inspiration.

I like the DVD, because is more easy to get movies... before the films in VHS were very expensives and was very difficult copy them. Today the films in DVD are much more cheap and easy for to copy and this permit me watch much more movies.

If I would don’t have a DVD probably I would see less movies… 

The music of "31 Minutos"

Hello! Today I gonna talk about music...

I'm not sure if is real band, but I love the songs of  the series "31 Minutos". The TV show was a news, but with the peculiarity what was a puppet show. In this series was a section call "Ranking Top", there were had differents singers and songs. Was so successful that made three albums of the TV show's songs.

I'm not sure what type of music do they play. There are some songs more rock music and others more pop music, even others more tecno music.


I'like this band, because the lyrics to the songs are very particular, intelligents and funnies. The melodies are very happy too. Is think is a familiar music, I think children and adults enjoy it.


Is difficult choose my favorit songs of "31 Minutos", but I choose "El dinosaurio Anacleto", because talk about the fake idea the money and the fame made the happiness... a necessary reflection in this society.

Auto-Biography

My full name is Alejandro Javier Iturra González. I was born in 25th August 1990 in Santiago, Chile. I studied in two school: the primary school was name Chilean Eagles College and my secondary school was name Nacional Institut. Now, I'm studie Film and Television at the University of Chile.

I live with my parents only, but I have two brothers and one sister. They are older than me and they have their own families. I have a five nephews and three nieces, they are charming.

My hobbies are go to theather, read a good book and see a lot of movies in my house. I like stay in my house and relax.

I like eat sweet food, I love the chocolates and the cakes.