Task 1 - The Auteur

In 1954, François Truffaut wrote an essay titled ‘A Certain Tendency in French Cinema’. He claimed that ‘film is a great medium to show the personal ideas of the director’, he said that the director should therefore be regarded as an Auteur.

Auteur Theory proposes that the director will leave their mark on a film which will eventually become their ‘signature’ and what they are known for. Their ‘signature’ can be the overall style, particular camera angles, chosen genre and cast of the film. As the director develops a ‘signature’ for themselves, things will start to look the same and recognisable by the target audience.

An example of an Auteur is Wes Anderson. Like many classic filmmakers, you can assure that each detail is significant in Anderson’s films, his passionate involvement in casting, wardrobe, sets and screenplay show that each film is turned in to a master piece. Anderson once said;

‘What I’m more inspired by is something that happened to me or someone in my life who had a strong effect on me, or a novel, short story, play or a movie where the characters moved me, or where I was swept up in it’.

Each character in Wes Andersons films are always well thought out and in some cases symbolises hope and strength through their life while other characters are filled with regret and discomfort. All of Wes Anderson’s films are influenced by him and his life and provide the audience with a personal look in to the filmmaker and his writing team, one of these people being Owen Wilson.

Wes Anderson’s style is what truly sets him aside from other film makers and what makes him an auteur. His trademarks can quickly separate one of his films from anyone else’s. Anderson’s trademarks are subtle, but appear in every one of his films, some of these are;

· Anderson casts many of his childhood and hometown friends such as Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Andrew Wilson and Kumar Pallana in most of his films.

·  Another trademark featured in his films is the names of his friends for leading characters. For example, the name of Owen Wilson’s character Dignan was inspired by his childhood friend Brian Dignan and in The Royal Tenenbaums it was his childhood friend Brian Tenenbaum who lent his name.

·  An underwater scene is always in every Wes Anderson film

·  An ending that changes the camera speed to slow motion

When watching Anderson’s films it’s quickly noticeable that there are personal references and attention to detail, The Royal Tenenbaums is a perfect example of this. Each piece of set is planned out and the costumes are all linked to the 1970’s, this symbolises the stress and strangeness of each character. You can clearly see how Anderson wants each character to represent, this is shown through the way each character speaks acts and looks.