First Impressions: "The Dark Knight Rises" (no spoilers)

How does one even start?

Let's just say that there is a reason that I'm still awake at this hour (4:00 am) despite the fact that I'm going to work tomorrow morning...

As you might have guessed that reason is nothing less than the mid-night premiere of The Dark Knight Rises. Unless you've been living under a rock, you might have heard of it?

To not exaggerate too much, I have to say that my expectations were extremely high! Let's just get it out there in the open... I'm a Batman fan. That kind of fan who wrote a 19 pages long school assignment about him this spring. For me, and a lot of other people all over the world, one question has been shining bright in our minds these last couple of months:

How can he top, or even match, The Dark Knight?

It seemed like an impossible task. The man himself, Christopher Nolan, had set the bar so high up that many doubted he'd be able to clear it. I mean, The Dark Knight has been my absolute favorite movie since the first time I saw it. With it Nolan made a new genre in the movie industry. A new way of making a movie. His secret? Never to underestimate his audience. He got his confirmation with Inception in 2010. The world loved this new form of movies!

Talk about marketing?

But in addition to all the praise received by his previous creations, the marketing for this third and last Batman movie has been tremendous, and it has been going on for months! Banners and posters and competitions and so on has been successfully been adding fuel to the excising hype among the fans. It seems that Nolan is one of the few guys who knows that less is more in terms of spoilers and information and such. Keeps everyone on the edge wanting more.

Today, finally having watched the movie that the entire world has been waiting for, I've got only one thing to say...

Why did I ever doubt Christopher Nolan!

I'm going to keep this 100% spoiler free, (I know just how annoying spoilers can be!) so naturally I won't tell you anything at all about the actual story... Except that it's brilliant. And as far as the film goes, I am just stunned and in awe of the man who has finally given Batman a legacy to be proud of!

It was so good I compleatily forgot to pay attention the the filmatics and how it was made and what I liked and all of the other things I usually look for and think about. For probably the first time since I watched Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End as a 12-year-old 8th grader, I was so lost in the movie that nothing else mattered for three straight hours. I just enjoyed.

As you might have noticed, these movies are quite dark, and frankly this is the darkest one by far. Nolan said in an interview with Empire Magazine a while back that he'd given each of the filmas a theme. The first was "fear", the second "caos", and this third bore the appealing word "pain". And pain there was.

The beauty of this version of the Batman story is that it's all so realistic. In this one I actually felt there was a lot at stake. I caught myself thinking "This might actually not end well..." I had no clue! In a lot of super-hero movies the entire world is at stake as it is attached by aliens or robots or a giant comet or something equally terrifying. With Rises it just feels different. Like most of it could actually have happened. This makes even the pain feel real. Pain, despear and anger. But it is because of that you suddenly find yourself feeling the hope from within you. Not from the screen but from the movie theatre. From the audience breathing synchronized and sitting on the edge of our seat even through the parts where nothing happened.

Throughout the movie you constantly have the feeling that something will happen, but you don't know what! And the last thing that makes Nolan the best director in the world (Oscar on its way?) is that you never know what he might do! He has shown us that he has no limitations and follows no rules.

Nothing, and no one, is sacred and everything can be done if he decides that's what he wants. As an audience this makes you feel totally out of control. "What?" you say. "It's no regular Hollywood-style  super hero action movie?" NO. It's not. But that's why you'll love it!

I honestly don't know how to describe for you just how good, brilliant, grose, heartbreaking and epic The Dark Knight Rises truly is, so I guess you'll just have to go see it yourself to find out. I promise you'll not be waisting your money!

Bente :)

Just added some sneak peaks from the movie theater...

Choosing A Profession Part Two - How To Get There?

(To read part one of this mini-series about choosing a profession, head over here...)

Part two: How to get there?

So. I want to direct movies.
Or at least work in the industry somehow.

How?

Frankly, I've got no idea. There are no schools that can guarantee you work as a director. There's nothing you have to do, or not do for that matter. Some of the world's best directors are not even trained professionals... (Christopher Nolan - Batman and Inception) Others have truly worked themselves up from a nobody to become a respected director. A lot of them are schooled in the art of filmmaking, yes, but some say that the practical work experience was more important to them than anything else. With absolutely no right way to do it, where to start then?

I considered the Norwegian national film academy in Lillehammer, but gave up that thought learning the grades you had to have to even get in. Besides, most of the people there look like know-it-alls that either make serious documentaries or even more serious television programs. I feel like I'd be kind of stuck there.

Naturally I moved on to consider schools like UCLA and other schools in the Hollywood area. Then I'd be at the heart of it, right? It'd be perfect! Then I hit a big obstacle that suddenly materialized between me and the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. I must admit I had to cancel my brilliant plans when I learned how much money they'd all require. I'm a regular mortal! I'd like to avoid living waist deep in depth for the rest of my life.

It's got to be Norway, then.

This spring I applied to Bergen University. Originally for a Bachelor in Film- and Television-production. My grades are actually quite good, but unfortunately there are too many nerds in this country and only 20 of over 200 applicants would be offered a place in the program. I wasn't one of them.

Here I have to quote cinematographer Oliver Stapleton:

"I'm useless at everything but I'm willing to learn. Now this is much better. Modern schooling damages more people than it helps. This is because the grade system means that you are never first. And if you were, you wouldn't be reading this. [...] Many successful film people started life like this. Film People are kind of outlaws anyway: it's not a proper job."

Instead I got offered a place at the Bachelor in Media Science at Bergen University. I said yes. Basically this means I get to take all of the theoretical classes included in the other bachelor, but I don't get to actually make a film.

I was kind of disappointed, but fortunately this could also be a good thing. I will get to learn the history behind it all. The incredible power that lies within a film maker's hands. Why one film can effect millions of people all over the world. Why it connects with people watching it in their basement thousands of miles away. And by learning the secrets behind it all, I might get some sort of understanding of what it is people want to see, and why?

Conclusion: They (the guys at film- and television-production) get to learn how to make a movie, I get to learn why. I believe that's a decent way to start out. Who knows where I'll end up eventually?  I'll figure it out as I go along. That's what I usually do. That's me.

* To read Part One, head over here

The Life Long Quest Of Choosing A Profession

My excuse: been busy making my dreams come true...

Sounds cheesy, I know, but it so happens to be the truth.
How and what, you may wonder? Ok, I'll share it with you, just because you asked so nicely.

Part one: the WHAT

Growing up we're told that the world is crammed with possibilities. Later on I discovered that that fact isn't always a good fact. In fact it can be a very difficult fact indeed. You see, because of that endless ocean of opportunities stretching too far and wide for anyone to fathom, it's an nearly impossible task to choose one of them for yourself and your own life!

I've always envied those of my friends who always knew what they wanted to be. Who they wanted to be. What they wanted to do with their lives. They all seemed so calm. And most of them have managed to stay that way as well! I envy them because they have found their purpose.

Well, unfortunately this doesn't happen to everyone.

The majority wander from this to that and back again trying to make sense of their own abilities and skills, and most importantly, finding a profession that suits them. Luckily for them a lot of people eventually realice that they really like the thought of being a teacher, nurse, electrician, chef, constructor or carpenter or something just as useful. I know a lot of my friends have, and I applaud them and encourage them as best as I can. Nothing is better than wanting to become something useful and important! But here comes the matter of fact... Unfortunately, I'm not one of those lucky ones.

Growing up I, like a million other kids, went through different periodes where I wanted to be so many different things when I grew up. I was quite serious about becoming a teacher at the age of eight, and in 7th grade I taught myself to draw architectural drawings of houses and stuff and really wanted to be an architect. However, when I grew older I also became more and more unsure of what I wanted to do with my life.

When the time came that I had to pick what school I wanted to attend for my three years in what most of you would call Upper High, I had no idea. Several of my friends chose things like electrician studies, health- and social studies, and media- and communication studies. Since I had no clue at the time, I choose something called study specialization. Simply explained that's the only one of the choices that doesn't involve a specific profession. Instead it prepares you for further studies at the university. Enough about that! As it turns out, I should have chosen media and communication...

So, well through Upper High. What's next? That was indeed the big question that has been haunting

me for the last year. I felt like I was expected to have a plan. I had a plan... sort of, maybe, well, not really. I used the elimination technique. By methodically eliminating all the things I did not want to be, there honestly wasn't that much left. Throughout these past three years I've discovered that I not only have a passion for books, but also movies.

Why I love movies is another matter entirely, so that I have to answer in a separate post... But I discovered that I found the process of movie making very appealing, and that I wanted to be a part of this particular society. There was just one little problem.

I'm an 18-year-old girl from the distant country named Norway. What you need to understand is that in my entire country there are only 5 million people, so naturally the movie-industry isn't quite as extensive as one might have wanted it to... Thus, people here tend to look at the movies as an immature and foolish career to pursuit and a perfect way to waste your life.

Example: Last year a friend of mine asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I gave her the honest truth: “I want to be a movie director.” She laughed and told me that it sounded exciting. After a little while she turned quite serious and said: “So… what are you actually going to do?” Who could blame her? With only three people in the entire country living as directors, how could she know I meant what I said.

Honestly, I have questioned and doubted myself a million times. What if I'd missed out on some important skill you had to have? Who can be born to be directors? Will I be any good at it? Can I find any work? And most importantly, why do I want to do this? Like Oliver Stapleton once said: “No-one in their right mind would voluntarily go through the kind of hell that a Film Director has to go through.” Luckily I’ve been told repeatedly I’m not in my right mind, so I guess I’ll be perfect then?

* To read part two of this mini-series about choosing a profession, head over here.
** Part two is all about how to actually make my dream come true...