Movie Review

L’Argent

The last film by veteran writer and director Robert Bresson, the French crime drama L’Argent, literally translated as Money, was based on a short story by Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. A relatively short film running only 84 minutes, it discusses the major themes of social injustice, and the miscarriage of justice. It was released in 1983 and is in French. Some of the main cast members are Christian Patey, Sylvie van den Elsen, Michel Briguet, Caroline Lang, and Vincent Risterucci. In this essay, I will attempt to discuss some of the major themes present and the plot of the movie.

It is hard to describe this type of movie for a number of reasons, it was very philosophical, it was done in the French language, and there is something unique about the style of the film. While I am proficient in the French language there, were a number of times where I found myself wishing the copy that I saw had English subtitles. L’argent is a very philosophical movie in the sense that it is portrayed to the audience. From the beginning, it was evident that Bresson, was attempting to show the evils of money, and how a quest for material goods leads to an unfulfilled life.

The film begins as a spoiled rich boy; Norbert is refused money from his father to repay a debt. Since his father will not give him the money, he goes to a friend he knows at school named Matrial, and gets a phony 500 franc bill. Both boys take the counterfeit money to a photography shop to buy something with which they can accrue as much real money as possible. Although the shop owner sees that, the money is counterfeit to make the sale she accepts the bill. Her husband albeit upset scolds her for accepting the bill but does nothing to alert the authorities of the faulty money, instead he passes along the money to an unsuspecting oil deliveryman named Yvon. Yvon is an honest man who does not realize that the bill is fake and tries to buy some food with it when he is arrested. He tries to sue the photographer, but both the shop owner and the assistant deny that they had ever seen Yvon. From this, little incident Yvon’s life spirals out of control. He receives no jail time but he looses his job because of the scandal. This unfortunately propels Yvon to pursue a life of crime. In order to support his family, he tries driving a getaway car for some criminals. The heist does not go as smoothly as they had planned and he was sent to jail for three years. While in jail, his baby dies of diphtheria and his wife decides to leave him. Becoming completely crazed, Yvon turns to theft, violent crime, and eventually cold-blooded murder.

The movie attempts to show the problems associated with money and the ultimate lengths people would go to when prompted by money. In a sense, money becomes something that replaces the sense of God. Bresson appears to be saying that there is no longer any God, but money, and money has successfully taken over that role. Yvon’s actions after he is released from jail seem abrupt and overly dramatized, but perhaps that is what the director is attempting to show. He is saying that the lust for money and material possessions and the alienation and disenfranchisement from a purposeful existence causes people to do illogical and irrational things. Even when people showed him kindness, like the old lady, he often returned their good favors with a blow to the head.

I thought this movie was great. It was not very long and it seemed to move very quickly. There were many images of evil or vice present throughout the film, and it seemed to follow closely along another book written by famous author, Fyodor Dostoyevsky called Crime and Punishment. Yvon started to behave in a similar manner as Raskolnikov did and even the last scene of the movie, which was somewhat ominous in the sense that there was just a large audience who was gaping at him after his confession, seemed to be taken directly out of Dostoyevsky’s novel. Perhaps, the ending could have provided a bit of a greater punch, but the entire movie did a great job of incorporating the dramatic so it was not missed too much.

It seems as a total waste of a life to witness Yvon go through those difficulties that seemingly should not have happened to him. Becoming a serial killer was not an obvious leap that Yvon undertook, perhaps the meaning of money, as being a corruptive tool is exactly what Bresson wanted. His views on the motivation of mankind was interesting and revealed the importance of money taking on a religious position in the lives of many people especially Yvon.

I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone looking for an interesting perspective on the nature of man. The performances while less than persuasive depicted a sort of lethargic, unconvincing performance which is perhaps what the director was going for. In any case, L’argent is a brilliant film, with an effective emotional effect.

American Gothic

American Gothic
Pick a painting or piece of material art, describe it and describe its connection to money. Description of the object’s form, composition, color, texture, scale, proportions, balance, contrast, and rhythm, history of the object’s creation, and connection to its concerns about money.

American painter, Grant Wood painted, American Gothic in 1930 as the United States was entering the Great Depression. The severe expressions on the faces of the older man and the younger woman seem to capture the essence of the austere, hard-working middle class America. This image is a very famous image and if often parodied around the world.
Newspapers across the country carried the story of the painting of a farm couple who was poised before a white house. Wood an Iowa native, was enchanted by a cottage he had seen in a small town in his late 30’s. The Gothic Revival style is indicated by the upper window designed to resemble a medieval pointed arch. The characters in the painting were Wood’s dentist and his sister Nan, who he asked to pose as a farmer and his unmarried daughter. The highly detailed style and rigid frontal arrangements of the figures were inspired by Northern Renaissance art, which the artist studied during three trips to Europe. After returning to Iowa, he became increasingly appreciative of the traditions of the Midwest, which he often celebrated in works such as this.
American Gothic is one of the most famous paintings in the history of American Art. This painting is a primary example of Regionalism, a movement that aggressively opposed European Abstract art, preferring depictions of rural American subjects rendered in a representational style. Some believe that Wood used this painting to show the narrow-mindedness and repression that has been said to characterize Midwestern culture, an accusation he denied. The painting may also be read as a glorification of the moral virtue of rural America or even as an ambiguous mixture of praise and satire.
The size of the painting is 74.3 cm × 62.4 cm (29¼ in × 24½ in) and Wood has used oil on beaverboard. Today, American Gothic hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago, and has received both criticism and rave reviews.
Although the painting appears to be very realistic, it is important to understand Wood’s use of reality throughout the image. Perhaps more interesting than the influence of the house, and the window, the hayfork and the plants as well as the patterns and facial expressions, is the influence of money. The expressions, described as sour, seem at first to contradict Wood’s claim that he was painting an affectionate portrait. The man and women in the painting seem to be no nonsense characters. They seem as though they are plagued with something more pressing than day-to-day life. Money seemingly plays an underlying role in their distress. Because we know, the painting was painted as America was entering the Great Depression, we can assume that the reason for their doleful expressions has to do with a lack of money. The distress of knowing their lives were in danger, both health wise and income wise is taking a toll on them. Their clothing while clean does not look very high class. They imply that they are hard workers and they imply a need for efficiency. The use of the hayfork held by the male figure perhaps shows the dire need for work.
The hayfork also speculates something sinister, like a devil’s pitchfork, perhaps alluding to the evil nature of money, and the desire for money. The Great Depression was a difficult time for many Americans, and life became difficult to live. It is interesting to note that the image of the hayfork was recreated on the male figures overalls. This shows a sort of repetitive pattern that reinforces the desire for money and the fear for not having enough money. Perhaps their facial expressions show that fear as well. Their faces were unsmiling; they had frown lines all over their face. The human emotions depicted in the picture show a sense of severity. The woman’s hair is pulled back very tightly, even though there is a single strand hanging behind her ear. Money can be understood as being an important factor both as an indicator of what problems they may have been facing, and what problems will be coming their way as the Depression worsens. There is somewhat of an air of doom that appears to be affecting them. It seems without a doubt that all of their problems have to do with money. Perhaps even the fact that the woman in the painting seems older than normal, has to do with an inability to find potential suitors, especially in a tough economy, where they are trying to find someone who can support her.
Money most probably plays an enormous role in the artist’s painting, and acts as an indicator of the pain and grief not having money has on society as a whole. There is hidden meaning in their facial expressions and the atmosphere also implies that everything is in a desolate, or empty state. This implies that the connection that money has to our everyday lives is very intricate. Our entire well being depends on how much money we have, and how we can sustain ourselves with money. Perhaps there is more to what the male and female figures are thinking, and money is an all-consuming aspect of their lives.

Interview Follow-Up

Interview two people about money. Whose picture is on a twenty? Ask them why they ‘believe’ in money. Do they imagine a time in which people might not believe in money? Why is money important? What is the most important thing you have bought with money? If I told you, I would give you a million dollars in exchange for 5 years of your life, would you accept?

After interviewing a few people about money, I found the overwhelming attitude towards money is one of passive acquiescence. While everyone knows, whose face is on the twenty-dollar bill, when asking him or her why he or she believes in money the answer is one where they had no other option but to believe in it. “From the beginning I have been taught that money is the only currency we have, money is pretty much everything nowadays,” one of my younger interviewees responded. We have to believe in money because money claims a soft of authority. The government printed it and we have to believe in it because we are citizens of our country. “If we could get around and not have to rely on money, I would.” However, money is important; we cannot do anything but make money, and spend money to survive. When I asked the next question about if they would ever not believe in money, everyone responded with a no. The reason we have social classes, the reason we have power and authority is because of money. Money is power and if you have money, you have an influence on people. With no influence, you are just another human. That is how we are trained to behave, as people who have to make money and spend money in order to be considered good people. No one likes to associate with people who have no money, no aspirations or goals, and the only way to have that is through money. To most people money is very important. Money runs businesses, it sustains families, it provides shelter and food. With money, you can do whatever you want. You can save money, you can spend money and most importantly, people are defined by money. You can dress to look impressive and daunting, that comes with money, and if you do not have money, no matter how much you do, you can never make enough money. When I asked my interviewees what is the most important thing they have bought with money, they had to think a along time to come up with an answer. My younger interviewees said nothing was important, maybe in the future it would be their house. For some people nothing important was bought with money, and the only way to actually have happiness was without money. For some, a house was the most important thing. It is a status symbol and it provides protection and security. Even if I asked myself that question, I would not have an answer that was not a material item, because after all money only can help you achieve the material. For my final interview question I wanted to see how much of a hold money has on our lives. How much we value money more than our lives and ourselves. As it so happens, out of all the people I interviewed, when I asked them whether they would accept a million dollars in exchange for five years of their life, the answer was a resounding no. While our belief in money and its importance has been shown time and time again, in practically everything we do. Somehow, the notion of loosing years off your life, in exchange for an amount that could have you financially sound for more than five years, is not an appealing option for anyone. Money still seems to be something that we have to deal with, only because it is there, the government has declared it, and it is necessary for our survival. Nevertheless, money is not so important that it should be the reason why we are living. It should be how we can amplify our lives, and live for the better.

Storyboard Assignment

Video Project: The objective is to make a video portraying the damaging affects of an insatiable greed for wealth. The effects are shown as being very dramatic and causing an emotional toll on the lead female actor. The movie will be less than ten minutes long and will span a period of approximately one month. While the actual lines may be subject to change, the overall plot line is as follows.

On an average day in Scottsdale, Arizona, two lonely young people go walking into a café for a nice dinner. They do not know each other but strike up an interesting conversation in line as they both realize that they are not from the area. There conversation is going great and they are having a great time in each other’s company. They do not realize it but time is flying away as the café soon become a disco dance floor and crowds of people wait in line to get in to dance. They are having such a great time with one another they dance the night away and the male lead offers to drive the girl home who took public transportation to the café. They part ways amicably and exchange numbers hoping to see each other again. The next day the young man is very excited to talk to the girl because he feels they had great chemistry and he think something could develop between them. Despite calling the girl 10 times without any sort of answer he begins to feel rejected and wallows in his self pity. Surprisingly, that night after she got off work at the bank she called the man feeling the same way about him. When she told him about her job, he was enthusiastically interested in what she did. She thought that was strange because she was a lowly bank teller at the ABC Bank. In an attempt to continue wooing the girl, and starting to gain some ulterior motives for getting to know her he pursues her everyday bringing her flowers, chocolates and presents making her feel extra special and cared for. As the girl told him stories about her day, the man became very quiet and started thinking about his own gain and the money that he could acquire through her job. In the meantime, while continually pretending he loved the girl, he proposed and they both got married. For their honeymoon they went to Hawaii and had a wonderful time on the girl’s salary since the boy had no job. One day when the girl was going to work, he followed close behind and planned to execute his bank robbery. Early in the morning while there were no other customers in the bank, he walked in face covered in black and carrying a gun, went directly to his wife’s window, and demanded money. He had learned of her weakness for guns and thus effectively scared her into giving him all of the money. Because the police were called a bit later than expected, he continued on his planned and spent hours in the forest near their house. Just before his wife came home, after being questioned for hours by the police, he snuck in and acted as if he knew nothing. He consoled his wife and told her everything would be okay. That night they went to sleep and the next morning, he was nowhere to be found. The wife was devastated but never connected him to the bank robbery. The Scottsdale police are still looking for him today.

Planned shots: There will not be any extreme stunts or unique shots in this film. Most of the shots will be taken from the boy or girls perspective usually from an average height. The actually robbery shot will be taken from above, so to capture a more complete picture of the robbery and the actual bank. The setting of the shots is still under consideration as it may be difficult to rob an actual bank for this project. Arizona seems to be a good city to set the movie due to its up and coming nature and attraction of young couples and families.

Subprime Mortgage Crisis

In September 2009, 14.4% of all outstanding U.S. mortgages were delinquent or in foreclosure. Write a page or two that generally presents and explains the following familiar elements of the crisis: TARP funds, Adjustable Rate Mortgages, Subprime Mortgages, Investment banks, Collateralized debt obligation (CDO) and Credit Default Swaps (CDS).

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, 1.35 million homes went into foreclosure in 2007. Meanwhile, the number of U.S. homeowners behind on their payments has hit a 21-year high, sending a huge ripple effect through the economy. The US sub-prime mortgage crisis spawned severe financial market dislocations. These dislocations, including the widely reported credit-crunch, have intensified what might have only been a mild economic slowdown. The US economy is now in a recession. Economic growth will continue to be disappointing and unemployment will continue to rise.

The subprime mortgage crisis is the ongoing real estate and financial crisis, which is triggered by a tremendous rise in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures in the United States, which has consequently affected major financial institutions and financial markets all around the globe. More than 80% of the mortgages issued in the US to subprime borrowers were adjustable-rate mortgages. Adjustable-rate mortgage is a mortgage loan where the interest rate is adjusted periodically based on a number of different reasons. Consequently, payments made by the barrower may change over time with changing interest rates. The adjustable-rate mortgage is different from graduated payment mortgage, because graduated mortgages allow barrowers a changing payment amount but a fixed interest rate. Many US mortgages are subprime, which means that little or no down payments are made. In addition, many mortgages were issued to households with low incomes and assets who had troubled credit histories. When housing prices suddenly declined, mortgage delinquencies soared and securities held by financial firms lost most of their value. The result was a loss of capital in many investment banks and US government sponsored enterprises, which tightened credit around the world.

Essentially, people with poor credit got in on the action when mortgage lenders created non-traditional mortgages such as interest only loans, payment-option, ARM’s and mortgages with extended amortization periods. Eventually, interest rates climbed back up and many subprime borrowers defaulted when their mortgages were reset to much higher monthly payments. This left mortgage lenders with property that was worth less than the loan value due to a weakening housing market. Defaults increased; the problem snowballed, and several lenders went bankrupt.

Interestingly, hedge funds and investors also suffered, because lenders sold mortgages that they originated into a secondary market. Essentially, the mortgages were bundled together and sold to investors as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and other mortgage-backed securities (MBSs). Collateralized debt obligations are a type of structured asset-backed security whose value and payments are derived from a portfolio of fixed-income underlying assets. Many analysts had warned that CDOs and other ABS’s and other derivatives spread risk and uncertainty about the value of the underlying assets more widely, rather than reduce risk through diversification. When the higher risk underlying mortgages started to default, investors were left with properties that were quickly losing value. After the meltdown, central banks released liquidity into the market place, which allowed struggling lenders and hedge funds to continue operations and make the necessary payments on their obligations. Therefore, banks were required to write-down billions of dollars because they had worthless subprime mortgage securities. This led to depleted capital in most investment banks, and a loss of confidence in bank’s lending and their ability to pay back their debts. It is in this way that the subprime mortgage crisis was born.

Sources:

CBS News. "U.S. Facing Mortgage Crisis - CBS News Video." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. Web. 8 July 2010.

Wiki Dot. "The Subprime Mortgage Crisis - Investment Banking Industry." The Investment Banking Industry - Investment Banking Industry. Web. 8 July 2010