Carnage - OUT NOW ON DVD AND BLU-RAY - Minimalism in Film
June 18 2012
Based on the play God of Carnage by French playwright Yasmina Reza, CARNAGE is a searing, sharp, pitch-black comedy from Oscar winning director Roman Polanski (The Ghost, The Pianist).
When two eleven year old boys get into a confrontation in the local playground that results in one boy hitting the other in the mouth with a stick, Michael and Penelope Longstreet (JOHN C. REILLY: We Need to Talk About Kevin and JODIE FOSTER: Panic Room), the parents of the boy who was struck, invite Alan and Nancy Cowan to their Brooklyn apartment (CHRISTOPH WALTZ: Inglorious Basterds and KATE WINSLET: The Reader), the parents of the "bully", to deal with the incident in a civilized manner.
In celebration of the DVD & Blu-ray release of Carnage, out on June 18, we take a closer look at one of the foremost themes of the film; minimalism.
A film earns the title of being minimalist when it uses simple and concise ideas for settings, special effects and plot line. Carnage falls into this category, along with various other pieces of work in film history.
Here are the most memorable minimalist films that effectively use this growing trend in cinema...
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Carnage (2011)
Set in a New York apartment two couples are brought together to settle a feud between their fighting sons. The Brooklyn apartment acts as the main setting for the film giving it a feeling of claustrophobia for both the characters and the audience. This feeling of confinement turns the simple task of settling a school-yard squabble into a whole new ordeal of issues between the seemingly put-together couples.
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Lost In Translation (2003)
A middle-aged movie star (Bill Murray) and a recent college graduate (Scarlett Johansson) are brought together in a Tokyo hotel which leads them to form the most peculiar of bonds. Both characters feel as though their lives are lacking in direction and purpose so they set out to help one another rediscover what is really important to them. Director Sophia Coppola is able to take the chaotic atmosphere of Tokyo and create a quiet and demure film about a forming friendship and the loneliness that each character is feeling even though they are surrounded by thousands of people and attractions.
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Cast Away (2000)
Tom Hanks’ character, Chuck Noland, is stranded on a desert island for four years after surviving a plane crash into the South Pacific. While on the island it is up to him to improvise shelter, food and even entertainment. During the four years Noland makes an odd friend; a beach ball named Wilson. It is Wilson that Noland has most of his conversations with throughout the film and in turn Wilson becomes an unconventional, but loved, character.
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The Terminal (2004)
The Terminal is focused on Viktor Navorski, a man that is denied entry into the United States but also cannot return home due to an ongoing revolution. Navorski decided to make the JFK international Airport his home until he is able to get an autograph from famous jazz musician Benny Golson, a task that his father was unable to complete before he passed away. To provide for himself, Navorski befriends airport employees and performs small tasks for food money and at the same time falls for a flight attendant. The airport becomes a home for Navorski and a character for the audience.
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Before Sunrise (1995)
Before Sunrise is a romantic drama about two people getting to know each other over the course of one night. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy) meet one another on a train from Budapest where they decide to embark on a journey in Vienna. The two walk and talk for a majority of the film, discussing life and love and everything in-between. And over the course of the night Jesse and Céline reveal their attraction towards one another but also their fear that they will never meet again. And with this fear they hastily agree to meet in the same spot six months from that point in time.
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Dogville (2003)
In desperate need to escape from mobsters Nicole Kidman’s character, Grace Mulligan, seeks refuge in a small Colorado town. The town accepts her at first but soon they are taking advantage of her while she is in a vulnerable situation. The entire film is narrated by John Hut and is set on one stage with the bare minimum of scenery. The minimal staging allows for the audience to concentrate on the characters and the dialogue.
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Carnage Film Page | Win Carnage on DVD
Carnage is OUT NOW on Blu-ray & DVD
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