City lights - Charlie Chaplin

Questions about the film

Identification

Year: 1931
Nacionality:
Director: Charles Chaplin
Actors (main characters): Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee and Harry Myers
Genre: Comedy
Setting: United States

Content Analysis

What is the theme/story in this film?

The Little Tramp meets and falls in love with a young blind girl who sells flowers on the street corner. He also befriends an eccentric millionaire who drinks too much and only recognizes him when he is drunk. The Little Tramp gives the girl a ride home in the millionaire's car and she thinks he is rich. After a boisterous party at the millionaire's house, the rich man wakes up and has no idea who the Little Tramp is or why he is there and so throws him out on his ear. When the blind girl and her grandmother fall behind in the rent and face eviction, he tries working and even enters a boxing competition to raise the money they need, but nothing works out. He gets the money from the millionaire but is accused of theft and ends up in jail, but not before getting her enough money to not only pay the rent but to also seek treatment for her blindness. When he's released from jail, they meet again.

Did the director create a captivating conflict?

Yes he did, one of the conflicts is if the blind girl will finally be able to see him and the other conflict is what will happend when he meets the millonaire boy.

Who are the main characters?

Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee and Harry Myers.

Who was your favourite or least favourite character in the movie?

My favourite character in the movie is The Little Tramp because I think he is very funny, he used to do silly things.

Select an action and explain why the character took that action.

I'm choosing the first scene of the film which is about a city who unveils a new statue and they find The Tramp sleeping on it. I think they have chosen him for this action because he is very funny and of all the actors that appear in the film he is the one that fits perfectly in that scene

How is the conflict resolved?

The conflict is resolved when the girl finally is able to see and she recognices him.

What were the film makers trying to tell us? Were they successful?

I don´t think that this film has been made to show something specific.

What did you like best and least about the story? Why?

I really liked the story in general because I had to wait til the end to see what was going to happend with the girl, and I like that type of films. What I liked the leat is that it hasn´t got any sound, (Only the music)

Technical Analysis

Did you like the actors work?
Yes, they act well.

Were the conversations believable or necessary?
No, they weren´t but I wold have loved it if it had conversations. 

Describe the use of photography and camera angle in the film?
 The scenes are filmed with a frontal angel at eye-level.

Did the movie flow well? Was it too fast or too slow?
In my opinion, the movie flow well, it wasn´t too fast or too slow.

Did it enhance the story that the film makers were trying to tell?

Yes it enchanced, but I dind´t like the music because it was too classic.

How would you have used music in this movie?
Although I did not like the music, I would not change it because it's perfect for the scenes.

Did all of the events portrayed in the film ring true?Which sequences didn´t seem to match reality? Why?
No. The scene of the millonaire didn´t seem real for me because it´s imposible that he couldn´t recognice him although he has drunk.

Describe the scenes that you found especially accurate.
There are two principal scenes:
1-The scenes with the millonaire boy (At the sea when they fall, on the dance floor, at home...)
2- The scenes that had to do with the blind girl (Th scenes buying the flowers, when he tries to earn money for her...)

Conclusion

Did you learn anything from this movie? What was it?
I didn´t learn nothing from this movie, but I think that not many people would have made all the things that The Tramp did for the girl.

Which ones the point of view of the director about the theme?
In the film he had tried  to show the rial life of that times. Nowadays, we probably wouldn´t act like him in that movie.

Which is your own point of view about the movie?
I liked to see how things worked in those times I think that has been perfectly shaped

Why is this film in the given list?
I think that this film is in the given list because it´s an importan film in history because it´s a story thatechoes the real-life dilemma.