Somers Town - After Viewing...

After Viewing

Genre
Somers Town was initially conceptualised as a short film, ratehr than a full length feature. Running just over an hour in total the film is shorter than most mainstream releases; it may represent a departure from your cinema viewing experiences in other ways, too.

4. How would you caegorise this film in terms of genre? Does it remind you of any other films you have seen?
I would categorise this ilm in terms of genre as a comedy as you have quite a lot of things in the film that make you laugh, it could also be slightly romantic as you have the love triangle between Tomo, Marek and Maria. It doens't remind me of any other films i have seen.

5. What do you think is the film's appeal for audiences?
I think the films appeal to the audience could be the fact that it is a British film set in Somers Town in London, and the fact that it is shot in black and white. Also originally it was meant to be only a short video lasting up to about 10 minutes but then they continue to create it into a short film so it had a low budget.

6. As well as being in black and white, the film is subtitled during the conversations in Polish between Marek and his father; there is also sections in French. In what ways do thes factors affect you responses to the film, the situation and the characters?
The factors affect the responses to the film as it shows how the English see the Polish and how they think they are and also how the English may see the French and the connections we have with the Polish and French.

7. Shane Meadow 2006 release 'This is England' won a number of awards. What similarities and differences can you identify between Soemrs Town and This is England?
Both films have Thomas Turgoose in them as a main character. They are both set around a similar area and the main characters and main storyline is about children/teenagers.

Representation
Somers Town gives the viewer a very close up portrayal of two teenage boys struggling to fit into an adult world. In various scenes we see Tomo and Marek being lonely and vunerable, mischievous and aggressive, intoxicated, infatuated, undressed and attending to their physical needs.


8. To what extent do you think the audience is expected ti be 'comfortable' with this portrait of two teenagers?
The audience is expected to be comfortable with the portrait of the two teenagers as it is what many people see teenage boys like so the audience should be comfortable with it.

9. A sign on the estate reads 'children playing on these ground is pohibited'. In what different ways do Tomo and marek seek to amuse themselves within this environment? Do you think the film encourages us to judge any of the actions?
Tomo and Marek seek to amuse themselves within this environment by helping Graham one of the peopel living near Marek by helping him rent out deck chairs to people for example. They also amuse themselves by talking to Maria andtaking her out. Marek also takes lots of photos mainly of Maria which passes the time. I don't think the film enourages us to judge any of the characters or their actions as we dont know everything about them as all we know about Tomo is that he has ran away from his broken hom in Nottingham and that Marek is in London because his dad is working on the construction of the tunnel, so we cant really judge them or their actions.

10. What messages about childhood and adolescence do you, or could you take away from the film?
The message about childhood and adolescence is that Tomo and Marek are very lonely in the film as Tomo has ran away and marek is left to find thinks himself whiles his dad goes to work. I don't theink the film gives a very positive view on the teenagers as it shows them getting drunk and Tomo getting beaten up this is just showing teenagers are just thug like and dont really care which isn't true about all teenagers.

11. Do your reactions towards the boys change at different points in the film? Which moments in particular;

a)encourages you to sympathise with the boys.

- With Tomo when he gets beaten up as he is left with nothing only the clothes that he is wearing.

- When marek is left all on his own everyday when his dad goes to work and he doesn't know anyone around as at this point he has not met tomo

b) Make you unsympathetic towards them

-When they relise maria has gone back to France and they think the best way of getting over her is getting drunk

- When they steal the back of clothes and then sell it to Graham

12. Some of the other character include marek's father, Mariusz, Graham the cockney neighbour, and the French waitress Maria. To what extent would you agree that meadowns is playing with stereotypes in his representation of tehse character?

Meadows is playing with stereotypes in his representation of these characters as they are what most peoplr think that is the typocal character like Mariusz is always working as that is what he has come to London for ad then he gets home and drinks woth his mates. Graham the cockney neighbour always selling things whih ar echeap knock offs most probably, and then their is Maria the french waitress which both Tomo and Marek both fall in love with and France is known as a very romantic country. So overall i think the film is very stereotypical on the characters.