Mother

Well, now that I have a few silent films under my belt, I feel like I have a pretty good idea about what to look out for in terms of cinematography techniques. After watching "Mother," I noticed a few attributes to the film that were different than the previous three. For example, the acting was more advanced. The actors were not perplexed about exaggerating their body movements throughout the film to make sure the audience had an idea on what the mood of the scene was. On the contrary, I felt as if I was watching a play on screen with no sound. Now, I know what you must be thinking. Isn't that what a movie is? A play on the big screen? Well, technically yes, but the way the director in "Mother" used the set with the entering and exiting of characters gave the film a "play" feel. The dramatic acting only added to the whole package.

Another thing that was interesting I noticed about the film is that it was obvious that Bauer did not direct this movie. Bauer is notorious for using intricate sets with a lot of detail to create an aesthetically pleasing scene for the audience. This was prevalent in "Child of the Big City" in all of the party scenes. In "Mother" I could tell the geometry of the camera shot and the lighting were the main selling points to create a successful scene. This subtle, yet affective approach set the mood rather than using a background that was in sight. I thought this was very clever because it creates a more natural mood to each scene. Our ability to perceive something can be manipulated through this technique whereas when you look at something directly, your perception is dictated by the pattern or object in front of you. This was apparent with the old man in the opening credits. Yes, he was scary looking, but the light and camera angle enhanced this feeling. The light was dimmed except for the scowling look on his face. The camera angle was focused on him from the floor looking up at his face, which made him feel intimidating. 

Overall, "Mother" is definitely not one of my favorite silent films that we have watched so far. That prize is still up for grabs. While it had better acting in terms of balancing exaggerating body movements, it was still pretty hard to follow. I also didn't like that fact that the director reused scenes. I'm not exactly sure the reason behind this, but it felt a bit cheap to me. Maybe, the film had a low budget, I don't know. I do hope that the next film we watch has a better plot though. We'll just have to wait and see.