Jake Fenniman, Junior
Bay Ridge Preparatory School
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Photo: Mariel Kon |
The film’s soundtrack is mostly the early years of rock and roll of the mid-late 1950s (Bill Haley & His Comets, Elvis Presley, and Buddy Holly). It influenced other films like The Lords of Flatbush, Cooley High, and the television show Happy Days. American Graffiti established the idea of the summer blockbuster, but it wasn’t until Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1977) that the concept took hold. American Graffiti was said by David Fincher to have inspired the look of his Fight Club and Attack of the Clones.
In 1995, the United States Library of Congress deemed American Graffiti "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
American Graffiti was successful, inspirational, well made, and had fantastic music. It struck a chord with me—having a brother that has recently left for college, and now I’m looking for a college. I will probably lose a bunch of my friends when we go our separate ways, which is somewhat similar to how Steve was losing his girlfriend over the span of a night. I won’t waste the time, I’ll just enjoy it.
Photo: Photofest |
Fruitvale Station (2013)
Directed by Ryan Coogler
Solamon Quigley, Junior
Brooklyn High School of Music and Theater
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Photo: Mariel Kon |
I also love that the movie covers a very brief period of time, the last 24 hours of Oscar’s life. I believe that this structure helps send a message to the audience about how time works in our lives. I also loved that many of the shots in the film were from Oscar’s point of view. This also made it easier to relate to his life. As a filmmaker, I loved the cinematography, and I must say that the use of sound really grabbed me. This movie taught me that silence can be just as strong as a diagetic or non-diagetic soundtrack. Silence can produce an emotional response that is just as powerful as dialogue and music. I watched this movie a few times, and my opinion has not changed at all. Although it is not a film for everyone, Fruitvale Station has much to teach us about the value of life, family, and time.
Blaine McIndoe, Sophomore
Professional Performing Arts School PPAS
Out of all the amazing movies I watched in the Young Film Critics program, Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station has to be my favorite. Since this movie was the first full-length movie we watched, it made it the obvious choice to write about. The strong choices of the director were enough to convince anyone that this movie is great, but there are a few more things that make this movie special.
The way the story was told itself is reason enough to make this movie great. The director chose to simply show us the last 24 hours of Oscar’s (Michael B. Jordan) life, up to his death. More than any documentary film could, this made him more human. Fruitvale presented Oscar not as a saint or a victim, but simply as a normal guy with normal flaws. He is just like the rest of us, and that means that what happened to him could happen to any of us. It made him relatable, which makes him a tragic hero.
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Photo: Mariel Kon |
You don’t exactly walk away from Fruitvale Station with a lesson, or even a specific desire to go out into the world and change things. It simply shows what happened, the little moments that made this ordinary man’s life seem extraordinary. This movie made me happy to be alive, and as cheesy as it sounds, it made me appreciate life more; after all, who knows when you might be living your last 24 hours?
Stay tuned for part III of this year's Young Film Critics series, featuring reviews of 1933's Zéro de conduite.
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