CRITIQUE OF THE PAINTING THAT INSPIRED THE FILM "BELLE" (Collab with Donna Clark)

Hello everyone! =)

As mentioned before, I have been mandated by my lecturer to do collaborations with some of my fellow classmates.

Today I will be doing a collab with Donna Clark. Donna's blog captures her thoughts on creativity in and around us.

In this post, Donna will be using her excellent visual skills to critically analyze the painting which inspired the film BELLE, one of my favorite films at this year's T+T film festival.

For those of you who have not yet read my post on BELLE, click here to be directed to the post.

So with all of that said, here's Donna's critique..Enjoy!

The painting featured in the film “Belle” is very typical of the 18th century portraiture style where the landscape is featured in the background and the subjects are richly attired. The landscape in this instance is that of the Georgian city scape with the silhouette of St. Paul’s church.  The two women are the mixed race Dido and her cousin Elizabeth, the camaraderie between the two women is evident which was unusual for that time period since slavery was a part of the society.
The painting shows effective use of the complementary colours of red and green which helps to establish Elizabeth as the focal point due to the red hue of her dress. However the artist cleverly used the extended hand of Elizabeth to guide the viewer to Dido who is very animated in gesture and expression. The successful use of contrasting values helps to create balance in this composition since one can see the lighted Elizabeth against the dark background as compared to the dark skinned Dido silhouetted against a lighter background.
The technique of chiaroscuro is evident in the subtle value tones used in the background landscape and the skin of the women. The Baroque style lighting is seen in the highlighted areas of the rich silk of the women’s dresses. This style was very similar to the German Neoclassical painter, Johann Zoffany who was also a mastermind at creating conversational pieces since his subject matter was somewhat controversial, which is the case in this piece since it was unacceptable for the two women to be on equal footing in society. This painting however similar to Zoffany was not painted by him and the artist remains anonymous.
This painting like many of the 18th century paintings of Netherlands and France has hidden meanings that are symbolic of undercurrents in society such as the hint that slavery should end. It is in fact Dido’s great Uncle, Lord Mansfield, who as a Lord Chief Justice in 1772 gave a decision in favor of a slave. This case heralded the beginning of the abolition of the slave trade in 1807. The old saying of an image speaks a thousand words is well suited to apply to this painting of Belle and the conversation that the painting would cause is the script of the film entitled “Belle”.

1779 painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle (1761 - 1804) and her cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray (1760 -1825) that inspired the film BELLE.

To read more from Donna Clark, click here to go to Donna's blog.

Thanks for reading! 

Follow up post to OMAR : My interpretation..

Hey guys and girls! 

So I'm back and as promised this post will be about my interpretation of what I think really happened in the film OMAR.

So here goes : 

At the beginning of the film the audience is given a slight idea that Amjad may have feelings for Nadia, but from close observation Amjad must have known Omar and Nadia were together. I believe Amjad was the traitor all along!  When Agent Rami said he knew everything, I'm quite sure he was getting this "everything" from Amjad. Amjad working as an informant could have been the reason he was so hesitant to shoot the Israeli soldier in the beginning. Also while Omar was in prison, Agent Rami filled Omar's head with the idea that Nadia was keeping secrets. I honestly think poor Nadia had no secrets, she was never even pregnant for Amjad, or else it would have been the very first thing she would have apologized to Omar about when she spoke to him for the first time in over two years and remember, she did say the baby was not premature. She kept saying she knew he was angry with her for doubting that he was loyal to his country and his cause..so all this time, that's why this poor girl thought he wanted nothing to do with her. Their living situation is nothing like ours, she can't just pick up the phone and call him and ask why he's angry, the only way they can communicate is when Omar climbs over the wall, which he did not do for two years. And she did try to communicate via a letter to Omar, but he refused to take the letter because he thought she had betrayed him. So feeling as though Omar wanted nothing to do with her, Nadia accepted Amjad's proposal. 

Therefore plotting all of this between Omar and Nadia were easy to accomplish for Agent Rami and Amjad. I really do believe Amjad and Agent Rami were in cahoots all along and planned everything, with killing Tarek being the finale of their great scheme. Amjad therefore fulfilled his part as a spy, proved his loyalty to Agent Rami by killing Tarek and even got the girl for himself.

I do believe that this film definitely kept with the whole Romeo and Juliet idea, where Omar and Nadia were unfortunately star-crossed. Yes the audience knew they were doomed from the start, but you could not help but hope that they would somehow and someday get their happy ending. Concerning the end of the film where Omar kills Rami, I highly doubt Omar's going to get away with it as there were two other Israeli soldiers on the scene. Omar will probably be killed by the Israeli soldiers or thrown back in jail a third time and maybe this time forever. Such a sad ending, really and truly unfortunate; but this is the reality of what people in these regions go through behind those tall, threatening walls. 

It seems that everyone betrays Omar and on either side of the wall there was no one he could really put his trust in. The separation wall makes the important aspects of life, like intimacy, connection, loyalty and love impossible, thus making it easy for betrayal to take root and cause havoc. In war-torn environments, betrayal is a necessity and with Omar having such an innocent, open, kind and loving personality, although these qualities make him a great person, they make him an easy target for people like Agent Rami to use and abuse. 

For those of you who read my post on the film "BELLE", there is a certain quote I heard in that film that stuck in my mind and when I was looking at "OMAR" this quote seemed so relevant. Its a quote that was said by Lord Mansfield to John Davinier, which says, "The world is a devastating place, you must learn to protect your emotions if you wish to prevent matters of law and love from devastating you." It is of my opinion that this particular quote fits in so well with OMAR, as OMAR shows us that the world is indeed a highly destructive place and to prevent issues of betrayal, one must tightly guard and secure their emotions so that they don't end up in the same disastrous situation that the character Omar was unfortunately left in.

Director Hany Abu-Assad did a phenomenal job in showing us how oppressed the Palestinians are, the fine line existing between love and politics for people living in these war-torn atmospheres, how much more than physical separation the wall brings forth and the ceaseless and unnecessary suffering that is brought about by all of this. It hurts my heart to see so much death and destruction, we really do need more love in this world! This film was definitely an eye-opener for me and really impacted my thoughts on this whole Palestine and Israel situation.

Leave a comment below and let me know how this film affected your view of this never ending war between Palestine and Israel.

For those of you who have not yet read my post on the film Belle, click on the link below and it will take you to the post http://steffyr7.blogspot.com/2014/10/belle.html

Thanks for reading! 

BELLE

            Belle is a UK drama film, directed by Amma Asante, written by Misan Sagay, and produced by Damian Jones.This film is a Narrative Feature of 105 minutes and stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Miranda Richardson, Penelope Wilton, Sam Reid, Matthew Goode, Emily Watson, Sarah Gadon, Tom Felton, and James Norton. This film, although produced in 2013, made its Caribbean Premiere at this year’s trinidad+tobago film festival. The film is based on a true story and was inspired by the striking 1779 portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle beside her cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray. This portrait was hung at Kenwood House until 1922 and today hangs at Scone Palace Scotland. I have to agree, the painting is indeed very striking and I can see why it inspired the film. This painting is shockingly different from the ones usually seen during that particular period in time, with powerful appeal and intriguing details, as Dido, a bi-racial woman is portrayed as being equally noble as her English cousin. Dido is painted wearing expensive ostrich feathers, which is in marked contrast to the usual subservient poses of black people in paintings of that era. The picture shows the closeness between Dido and her cousin, despite the position of black skinned people in Britain at the time. Dido is carrying a plate of fruit which makes the portrait look very natural, playful and affectionate. It's not even clear who painted the portrait but it is clear that Dido's great uncle, William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, then Lord Chief Justice of England, commissioned the painting, which would have been a very very brave act for the time and place, especially from someone with such high social standing. Truly truly commendable!!

1779 painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle (1761 - 1804) and her cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray (1760 -1825)

The film was set in the year 1769, when Britain was a colonial empire and a slave trading capital. British society of that era was built on its slave trade, which made Britain as dependent as America on a slave economy, but it was a faraway trade most didn't have to confront face to face.The story in this film brightly shines the light on the slave trade and brings it to the forefront. This right here is the exact reason why I choose to look at this film! The story takes place during a crucial time in history when England is at danger of upsetting their economic dependence on slavery. Throughout the film, a court case is taking place on what became known as the Zong massacre. The Zong massacre took place when 132 slaves on route from Africa to the West Indies were thrown overboard from the Zong slave ship. The slave traders claimed that this was done for the sole purpose of the safety of the ship, saying that the slaves were diseased, some even close to dying and that there was barely enough water aboard the ship for both slaves and crew to survive the rest of the voyage. The slave owners then filed with the insurance company for financial re-compensation of each slave that was lost, as they claimed that what happened was done out of complete necessity to save the ship. Lord Mansfield is seen as the person who rules on this case in England's Court of King's Bench in 1786, in a decision that can bring the slave trade to its knees and destroy the economic foundation of England. 

            The film mainly centers on Dido Elizabeth Belle. Dido, who was born on English soil, was the illegitimate, mixed-race daughter of a British admiral named Sir John Lindsay and an enslaved black Caribbean woman by the name of Maria Belle. Before leaving to go captain a voyage to the indies on a longitude experiment, Sir John Linsay left Dido in the entrusted care of a then appalled Lord Mansfield and his wife. The audience is taken on a journey to see Dido as she becomes a young woman, constantly struggling as a Mulatto who is placed in a position that makes her too high in rank to dine with the servants but too low in rank to dine with her family and with very very slim prospects of marriage but yet finding the strength and courage to ensure that justice was rightly served with this horrid Zong massacre.

At the end of the film, the audience learns that the slave traders deliberately choose to use the ‘tight-packing’ method to place the slaves in, although they knew that this method of transportation was highly responsible for causing diseases in the slave, which would eventually render them unable to serve as they normally would. It was also discovered that the slave trader’s excuse of there being limited supply of water for both slaves and crew was completely false, as the ship passed no less than eight ports where they could have replenished their supplies but did not, either because they did not need a re-supply of water or they knew what they had planned. To discharge slaves into the water for compensation purposes is entirely illegal and besides being illegal, it is wrong and INHUMANE on so many levels!!! It was therefore declared that a fraud was committed and as Lord Mansfield rightly said, “the state of slavery is so odious a position, that nothing may support it.” The zone case became a seminal step towards the abolition of slavery, paving the way for the landmark 1833 British law abolishing slavery. Some say that Mansfield’s decision may have been coloured because of the affection he felt for Dido.

In conclusion, I can honestly say that I enjoyed every second of this inspiring and beautiful film. As a film that is set during such a visually-rich period, there is a high need to portray excellent visuals. The filmmakers definitely did a praiseworthy job in capturing all the images in such stunning detail and accuracy which added significantly to the splendid beauty of the film as a whole. The result was indeed truly phenomenal, leaving long lasting images in my mind. The actors really got into character and all did an excellent job, giving us stellar performances. I am deeply grateful that I received the opportunity to see this film as it was not just merely entertaining but a significantly important learning experience for me, very happy that the trinidad+tobago film festival had this on show for all to see. As a person of the Caribbean, stories like this are worth knowing. To move towards a bright future, we need to know about the past, about where we came from and how we became who we are as a people today. So I strongly recommend this film to everyone, add it to your movie list and I can assure you, without a doubt, that this film will have every bit of a lasting effect on you as it had on me.

Thanks for reading! Check out the trailer for the film below..

                                              Trailer for the film Belle (2013)