Artifact: Film Analysis

Elizabeth Elieson

TMA 102

Film Analysis: Children of Heaven

                Children of Heaven is a perfect example of some of the primary differences between American film and International film.  The pacing, subject matter, and final resolution were all very different from what they would have been had it been a Hollywood film.

                American audiences have learned to expect fast paced movies where the plot progresses more quickly than perhaps is realistic.  This is not necessarily wrong, but there is something very calming, relatable, and moving about the slower everyday pace in Children of Heaven.  This is evident both in the way the plot movies as well as the way the actors converse.  In Children of Heaven, characters take their time thinking of how to respond.  It is easier to lose oneself in a film this way because one almost forgets it is a movie, rather than real life, because it feels like real life.

                The subject matter is also certainly not Hollywood.  Imagine Children of Heaven being pitched in a Hollywood meeting: A little boy loses his sister's shoes and spends the movie trying to remedy this mistake.  It is so simple, so honest, and so every day that we feel as if the characters are real people.  This is not usually the case with Hollywood action movies where all we see is our favorite actor blowing up computer animated aliens.  It is entertaining, but it is not relatable.

                The resolution of the main characters primary obstacle was not what I expected.  Hollywood has taught American audiences that against all odds, at the last minute, the protagonist will achieve the goal they have been working toward in a predictable and seamless way.  In International film this is often not the case.  The protagonist of Children of Heaven needs to get his sister some new shoes.  He plans to accomplish this by getting third in a race.  Were it an American film, he would pull into third at the last possible second and everyone would live happily ever after.  However, that is not what happened.  He got first, which for him, is horribly disappointing.  We feel deeply for him and are even a little angry with the film makers for not allowing to get what he want, but in the final moments of the film, we see that his father has bought both him and his sister new shoes.  Ending on that note of dramatic irony is not something we often see in American cinema.  The protagonist still got what they needed, but in a much less triumphant and flashy way than we expected them to.

                Children of Heaven exemplifies qualities of International film that combine to make the story and characters more relatable and raw.  This allows the audience's viewing experience to perhaps be more moving because they are more emotionally invested.