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September 3rd, 2010Avatar, a science-fiction version of Dance with Wolves
June 14th, 2010
By: Saeed Janghorban
Avatar is a masterpiece… is great. Certainly you will tell and/or hear these words after watching James Cameron’s “Avatar”. Don’t surprise! This is normal after watching the eye-catching scenes of a movie with a powerful story.
The name of James Cameron is bind with the movies with high-tech structure. His every film makes a great voice in the world of art. Terminator, Titanic and True Lies may be most famous of them. I like many other movie audiences knew Mr. Cameron as a good teenage movie maker. His Titanic with its eye-catching scenes became a legend for many audiences. We heard that many watch his movie for several times.
Avatar is a James Cameron movie too. The special effects of the movie are as we expect from Mr. Cameron. But the story of the movie is very different. If you’ve seen his previous works, you can not believe that this is another work of Mr. Cameron. It’s beautiful and strong story is beyond Cameron’s movies.
Avatar is story of Naturalism and Gnosticism; is the story of oppositeness of tradition and modernity. The story is about an American soldier who solved in the nature and Gnosticism of a civilization that their humanity isn’t altered yet. Earth men are in searching of a new element that has find in an alien planet called “Pandora”. Pandora is a planet resembles to earth but its atmosphere is not good for human beings. Mans traveled to the planet for this element and try to take it as a colony. But Na’Vi, only intelligent creature on Pandora, resist In front of this invasion.
Sally Jake loses his twin brother who is a scientific member of Project in the name of AVATAR. In this project, they transfer their soul to the body of Na’Vis to contact them. Sally Jake is first soldier that joint to this and his boldness caused to take better relation to them and finally attracted to their life style.
When I see the Avatar I remember Kevin Costner’s masterpiece, “Dance with Wolves”. The story is so resemble to it. “Dance with Wolves” is about an American officer who attracted to the life of American-Indians and finally help them to fight in front of US army. The Avatar is same; with same manifest. Na’Vis are so resemble the American Indians; their life style, love of nature and even their screams and accent. In fact Mr. Cameron tried to remember the history of America.
The movie has good direction as we expect from Mr. Cameron. Special effects are so strong and are one of the movie’s strengths but in opposition of Cameron previous movies, this movie lean on its good screenplay. The special effects are in serve of the movie structure while previous works use expensive special effects only for attracting audiences. It means if you eliminate special effects, the movie will lose much of its content. The characters of Na’Vis and other creatures of the planet show primary stages of life in Pandora. The blue skin of Na’Vis shows the different element structure of their body. Their body color is same as the planet color that is like us in the earth.
The soundtrack is another factor of movie success. James Horner is one of the well known composers in the movie industry. Last cooperation between Horner and Cameron in Titanic, bring academy award for him. Mr. Horner has many famous soundtracks in his records; Brave Heart, Legend of the Fall, The Mask of Zorro, Jumanji, Enemy at Gates, Devil’s Advocate, Troy and more; his works usually has romantic content but he has shown that has more ability in making epic music. The music of Avatar is great; Horner’s music helps to foster movie manifests. Horner has made a romantic music instead of great epic music such as Star Treck, because Avatar is romantic movie in science-fiction format. Horner has grasped the content of movie and tried to transfer his understanding to audiences. This is one of a reason nominating the soundtrack in Academy Awards.
Selecting no superstar actors for the movie is one of the avatar differences. Cameron preferred to use teenage superstars for financial reasons but in this movie we see no superstars. However playing is so good and we watch uniform playing of actors and actresses; although they played more with motion capture.
At all Avatar is an excellent movie and shows that the future of cinema is not dark. Some recent movies disappoint professional audiences. But avatar, although is not like great classical movies such as “dance with wolves”, but is a good movie in its style. Avatar is a critic of men future and their ambition. Time of movie is short and the story happen so fast as you can match yourself with it. In my belief Avatar needs to at least 3 hour time and some parts need to more fostering. Mr. Cameron could to talk more about spiritual changes inside Jake Sally instead of showing eye-catching scenes, which refer to his teenage thought. The story telling of dance with wolves shows exactly the wind of changes in John Dunbar and you can understand it but in Avatar this doesn’t show as good and somebody may think that his decision is as a result of his legs problem. Another weakness of the movie is about Director’s boldness to show the deep reason of the invasion, while Mr. Costner takes a small point but deep to the reason and quality of invasion to American Indians.
Ares and Demirci in Esfahan
March 14th, 2010 
Last Friday we have two dear guests, one form Cuba and another from Turkey. Ares and Demirci are two famous cartoonists that they’ve came to Isfahan for one day and although was a short time but I could meet them.
Ares is the first South American that I ever meet. I imagined that all of them are sympathetic and attractive men and after the meeting this opinion proved for me. South America with its strange history of art and culture is so attractive for many people of the world. This place is the origin of color and painting and is the paradise for painters and photographers.
Aristides Esteban Hernandez Guerrero also known as Ares is one of the most famous cartoonists in the world. He was born 1964 in Cuba, a country with well known political history. He experienced the political stress of his country and this situation moved him toward cartoon. But we can see a special softness in his works that in my belief this is strange for a political cartoonist in this special location. His black works with strange characters that are familiar but have came from another world make his style.
Ares is a psychologist. However cartoon takes his time but sometimes he goes to the hospital still. Speaking about Ares and his art is more than that I can tell here; I asked from him about himself; he draw an iceberg which a small top part of it was on the water and huge part was beneath it. He introduces herself as a vampire that bite peoples and make herself like them (not make them like her) and think then draw. This is a humanized thought for an artist. This was a great lesson for me. His hands were not of a pleasure-seeker studio artist. I can see the art history of the South America in texture of his hands. Painting is history of South America and Ares is son of the art of South America. He opened his drawing book and I saw many drawing from peoples and places. They were beautiful and powerful; I think that his book was worth millions of dollars.
Hicabi Demirci is a Turkish cartoonist. His white works are different from Ares. He came after Ares and joints us with a meaningful smile. He was a good moral man. I like to speak with him but the different language didn’t let it any more.
The simple characters and color with a professional composition and good thinking subject which drew with powerful lines and thoughtful colors make his style. His white humor with a deep thought that is hid in heart of his works is attractive and with his special style makes him as a famous cartoonist.
Mr. Demirci joints us after a few minutes and we had short time for talking. Although our meeting was so short but their memory will remain in my mind so long.
Finally we reach to time of goodbye. Always goodbye is a sad time but it will come at the end and we have to accept it. Only thing that will remain after this time is many beautiful memoirs.
The curious Case of David Fincher
August 17th, 2009
By: Saeed Janghorban
When a disaster happened in man life we hear a known expression: “I wish, the time gone back”. “The curious Case of Benjamin Button” is a story about human sigh, a sigh after a disaster, which is well known in human life.
A famous watch maker, when lost his only son in war, makes a new watch that work reversely to be a symbol of anti-war. After that a strange baby born, with unnatural body condition. His father, after losing his wife, takes baby to an unknown part of the city and frees him. A black woman (Queenie palyed by Taraji P. Henson), find baby and decides to keep him and call him Benjamin. The prime story of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” started from here.
This movie is the last work of David Fincher, the young and creative director of Hollywood. The story is a biography of unnatural mankind, Benjamin Button (played by Brad Pitt), that retold by his daughter. The story is a manifestation of man will about the time; how will be good to bring back the time, how will be good if we come back to our childhood. Always I admire Mr. Fincher for his sought style. Mr. Fincher has seven works in his record and in all attempts to rummage one man characteristic in special situation. Horror, Religious, Death, Anarchy, Curiosity, and now Sigh, are characteristics that attract Mr. Fincher. But there is a difference between this film with his other works. In all Fincher’s previous works, story happen in a horror and mystic space, but in his latest film the story go on in a dramatic space with a little mysterious. In my belief ability of Mr. Fincher in horror and mystery genre is more than drama, but he has could get success in his first dramatic work. Robert Zemeckis is a famous director who his interest is the concept of time and Mr. Fincher with his movie arrived to the field of him. I believe that Fincher has the power of making any film, even comedy. We can see his abilities in his seven works.
I like play of actors and actresses especially Brad Pitt’s. Until the middle of film Pitt’s head play with another body, which is the firsts in the history of cinema. Mr. Pitt shows that he can play as a child perfectly, a child who is old. The romance between Benjamin and Daisy (played by Cate Blanchett) shown as well as possible; this shows that Mr. Fincher is able to create perfect romantic spaces. Film structure is as good as other Fincher’s films. The screenplay is not good as his Se7en but is powerful and the movie leaned on it. The screenplay written by Eric Roth, who has famous movies like “Forest Gump”, “Munich” and “Ali”, in his record. Edition and Photography of the film is good. The music is one of the positive points of the film. Alexandre Desplat is faming as a styled musician in the movie industry. He’s atmospheric and semi-new age style is best for directors, who excited to Postmodernism. I pleasured from Mr. Desplat’s “A Girl with Pearl Earrings” and “Queen” and I add them to my great sound track albums archive. In my belief Fincher-Howard Shore partnership was more successful, but Desplat has more ability to create romantic space.
At this film we can not see another Fincher’s team members. Darius (Dariush) Khondji, Iranian-American famous director of photography, was his powerful partner in his team that after “Panic Room” their partnership finished. One of the factor of success of the “Se7en” was he’s creative photography.
Although “The Curios Case of Benjamin Button” is another excellent film from my popular director, David Fincher, and I like to watch it more and more time, but “Se7en” is he’s masterpiece and will remind in the memory of cinema history.
Welcome
August 16th, 2009Hello
Welcome to the English part of the Haft O’Rang Art Studio’s web page. This part is made after two weeks attempt and finally published on web. I wait for your comments and advices for improving it.
Sincerely
Saeed Janghorban
Manager of Haft O’Rang Art Studio