4. How would you categorise this film in terms of genre? Does it remind you of any other films you have seen?
Categorising this film
is a particularly hard thing to do for this particular film. As it was originally only meant to be 10 minutes long, its hard to understand its original intentions as a short film. Now that the film runs at just over an hour, it is not the length of a full feature, nor is it a short film. It is a typical british film, run on a light budget, this adds a lot of effect to the finished film - A fairly rough part of london, where not many people have a lot of money, and your watching your typical british kid teaching his ways to an outsider. So i see the way the film was made having a large effect on the way people look at it. So if i had to categorise this film i would label it as a Comedic Drama.
This film reminds me of This Is England. Although they both are different in many ways, the way the film is made, and the acting is very similar, and i would almost immediately pair them up. In This Is England, there is a certain grittiness that reminds me of certain parts of Somers town e.g. The man who is always finding a way of selling something, or doing dodgy deals, and the thugs towards the beginning of the film.
5. What do you think is the film's appeal for audiences?
The two main characters of the film are both every day lads, in which a lot of people could relate to. Already thats a good start. Even better is that they are both lovable, and the audience can find ways of sympathising with this. There is some humor in the film which is needed to break up the edginess and the grittiness, that makes the film what it is. Also comedy is popular in modern day british film, and most of us enjoy a good laugh. The similarities in the characters, that you dont notice at first, also make this film so enjoyable. As you get the boy who has ran away and is lost. And yet you can find that the boy with a home is also lost.
6. As well as being in black and white, the film is subtitled during the conversations in Polish between Marek and his father; there are also sections in French. In what ways do these factors affect your responses to the film, the situation and the characters?
I think the main effect this gives on the film is the reality to it. Watching the film in black and white really helps you to concentrate on what the films about, and not so much about other distractions colour gives. It makes you think about why the film has been made in black and white, and you start to understand throughout watching it, why it is in black and white. The use of subtitles is a particular strong point in this film. It completely elaborates the distance in the foreign characters. They've been written in every detail, and it makes the film a lot more realistic and effective than sitting there watching a couple of people with dodgy polish accents.
7. Shame Meadows' 2006 release, 'This is England', won a number of awards. Research and explore the film's critical reception and suggest what similarities and differences you can identify between 'Somers Town' and 'This is England'
I have already mentioned some similarities between the two films in question 4.
The film itself has now become very well know. It gets played regularly on TV. And has won numerous awards such as "Winner Best Film" at the British independent film awards. "Winner most promising new comer" at the British Independent Film awards.
They have also had many excellent reviews, from well known sources such as, radio one, the observer and many more.
8. To what extent do you think the audience is expected to be 'comfortable' with this portrait of two teenagers?
Both of the character are most definitely not perfect, and they both contain a kinds of edginess that suits there loneliness and neglection. So i dont think that the audience are supposed to feel a complete connection to them. I think this is part of the effect of the film, that your never getting to familiar to the characters, there is always an aspect of you that wonders what trouble are them boys gonna get into next. Also the situations you find the characters in make you feel a bit uncomfortable. For example, Tomo has nowhere to go and claims no life to go back to. And Marek, who is lonely as his alcoholic father spends little time with him.
9. A sign on the estate reads 'children playing on these grounds is prohibited'. In what different ways do Tommo and Marek seek to amuse themselves within this environment? Do you think the film encourages us to judge any of their actions?
When i saw this during in the film, it reminded me of our modern day. How teenagers, with not enough to do, become quite simply bored and make trouble. So when Tomo and Marek did this, i didn't find it unusual. The comedic side of it was the reason they were mis-behaving, for example getting drunk due to the disappearance of there love Marie, a french waitress they both fall for. This behavior is quite comedic, and you start to realise how young and immature they are.
10. What messages about childhood and adolescence do you, or could you, take away from the film?
The film doesnt give very positive messages about childhood, but thats its aim. Your supposed to find faults in these characters and there childhood and adolescence. There are positive aspects of there childhood, the freedom the both have, and how good there friendship is, and how they have developed it through some of the worst parts of there lives. Obviously the negative messages you gain from this film are everything parents wouldn't want to see there children doing, not in our modern day anyway. For example: underage drinking, Trespassing and hanging around with strangers.
11. Do your reactions towards the boys change at different points in the film? Which moments in particular:
a) encourage you to sympathise with the boys;
a) encourage you to sympathise with the boys;
I think there are several times throughout the film where you can sympathise with the boys. Near the beginning of the film when Tomo gets beaten up, and his only possessions get stolen. You immediately feel sorry for Tomo, even though he looks like a bit of an mischievous character himself. Certain clips of Marek allow you to sympathise with him, usually because he is lonely, or his father is in some state. A time when you can sympathise with both characters at the sam time is when Maria leaves without warning, leaving Tomo and Marek feeling heart broken, and distraught. During this time, we feel for the boys neglection, although they have been neglected in so ma y ways before.
b) make you unsympathetic towards them?
In my opinion there isn't a time in the film where we feel unsympathetic towards them. There quite vulnerable, and in need of symapthy throughout the film. This is why the film works so well, cos there both trying to find there way. And they may be happy in parts, but this doesn't mean that we feel unsympathetic towards them.
