Thursday, October 13, 2005

Narrative:

Starts with a disequilibrium common to noir films, even from the very first English one, Double Indemnity. Film noir wastes little time in revealing shitty situations that spiral into worse problems. It just sets the atmosphere from the start.

There are three narratives, technically four. They are adapted from Frank Miller's graphic comics. All of them link to the other. In The Big Fat Kill there is an enigma as to whether a war will start between Old Town in its weakened state, and the opportunist Pimps. And if Old Town will fall to patrichal rule. In The Hard Goodbye, there is an enigma as to who killed Goldie, and why an assassin that looks identical to her is trying to kill the investigator. In That Yellow Bastard, what will happen to hero Hartegan and princess Nancy is the enigma.

Sin City ends like any noir would, with a disturbing equilibrium. Well, it actually gives the audience both resolution and uncertainty in the fact that there just isn't a end to the sin in Sin City. The anti-hero in the beginning that disappeared ties it altogether at the end.Although, it does it in a subtle way. Beautiful.

It's a non-linear, closed narrative.

Piss off, Todorov. We don't need your three-part-theorem here. It can't even be applied to any of the mini-narratives that make up the entire story.

As for binary opposition, we see it in the likes of the unnamed man and woman at the beginning. Further in with the muscular Marv and gentle Goldie. And onwards still with the openly aggressive Gail and calm cut assassin, Miho.

4 Comments:

Blogger Macguffin said...

Link this to the genre and how it has been inspired by comic book/graphic novel narratives.

9:52 AM  
Blogger Macguffin said...

Spend time looking at the narrative structure closely - consider why it is presented in this way.

9:53 AM  
Blogger Macguffin said...

Also cover Propp - narrative roles, and Levi-Strauss - binary oppositions.

9:54 AM  
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5:39 AM  

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