Mean Streets: Movie analysis

Extract

[...] Mean Streets traces the inexorable spiritual journey of initiation of its protagonist Charlie, bringing us into a frantic trip to the final apocalyptic scene in which the symbol of fire gave way to that of purifying water from the street. Throughout the film, the visual rhythm as well as music contributes to maintain a level paroxysmal hell. Indeed, the ritual atonement which ensures the passage of damnation to the sanctity of character is the subject of the work of Scorsese, which is an expression flamboyance and incandescence. [...]

[...] Sequence analysis The foreground is instructive for many reasons, and therefore essential. The voiceover of Scorsese starts before the image appears on our screen saying "You do not pay for his sins in church, but in the street or at home”. Through this process, the director creates an atmosphere of intimacy and gravity as there no music, or picture that appears. So the words of the voiceover are essential because they summarize the various aspects that will be present throughout the film like religion, the world of street and the home that defines the property The awakening of Charlie comes as a nightmare with a close-up on the character that stands up suddenly. [...]

[...] "In Mean Streets, during the scene of drunkenness, Harvey wore a harness under his jacket for Arriflex with a piece of wood that he had made a Machino, which was connected to the camera. When Harvey went, the receded Machino went with him and when Harvey fell on the floor, Machino took a step to the side taking the widget - it was just something hacked together, nothing too complicated. said the director. There is a sense of community and importance to the family. [...]

[...] After a time of reflection, Charlie gets up. The camera follows him in an unstable manner, and while he goes to the left of the screen you will notice the presence of a crucifix on the wall. Sometimes before a mirror, this sequence projects another dimension as the time is suspended. The noise of the city is faded suddenly in the privacy of the room and a siren screams as the character looks in the mirror. This evokes the idea of duality. [...]

[...] the different films from Little Italy to understand that environment, and the universe that is unknown to us. A gang of thugs who live as if in a hell due to various tragedies that occur because of the irresponsibility of Johnny Boy and the inexperience of his friends is the crux of the film. It is the portrait of a youth who dreams of achieving a violent world with no limits, a kind of American dream that is actually not what the young people felt that it was. [...]