A Bagful of Fleas

WWACGD? what would a Chytilová girl do?

WWACGD? what would a Chytilová girl do?

Thesis Watch?

My thesis continues to straddle a very fine line between defining a unique approach to mythic adaptation and some real “film Reddit” theoretical/literary analysis bullshit

Thesis Watch?

My thesis continues to straddle a very fine line between defining a unique approach to mythic adaptation and some real “film Reddit” theoretical/literary analysis bullshit

It’s interesting to look back at films like A Bagful of Fleas or Chronicle of a Summer and see how a lot of the sensationalism with capturing reality that now spirals into reality TV or even YouTube starts here but there is also that purity for experimentation and in blending reality with fiction that retains much of the dignity needed for something like this to work. I remember when I started writing screenplays really holding onto to naturalism and groundedness for authenticity, I mean I was like 12 so of course my experience with expression through other means wasn’t quite developed yet but once it started to emerge, once I realize I could use symbolism or exaggeration I became less interested in engaging with naturalism just for the sake of it. Bagful of Fleas though is what you could call hyper naturalism which is the best kind of naturalism to me. The camera is at once documentarian and cinematic, there’s a framing here within the narrative; that of us being the new girl in this socialist school dormitory for girls and so we hear her commentary throughout of what she thinks and observes but the lens in which we experience this subjectivity is filmed with playful naturalism. It’s to the point where fiction and non fiction blends but not in like a meta way, just in a organic and immerse sense. Outside the formal intrigue, A Bagful of Fleas is very much a snapshot of the times and I would argue fits alongside with the works of Varda, Zetterling, Shepitko, Clarke etc as glimpses of the growing attitudes for change and rebelling among women that would continue to grow over the 1960s until finalizing in the early 70s. Some may find the overall focus on these girls with more emphasis on the present, on the young flippant concerns one after the other and each of their individualism to be lacking, you don’t really learn as much as you spend time with them but the style here really puts you in their world, it’s easy to give in and just be there and feel their boredom, feel how they trapped, yes this drags at certain points but so does their existence, the film is unafraid to immerse itself in the mundane with glee and commitment but ultimately this is about how the girls’ collectivity and desires, inspires, frustrates, informs and add meaning to each of their actions no matter how minor or transgressive, even if it won’t actually improve the situations these girls find themselves in. Don’t go into this expecting Daisies, go into it expecting A Bagful of Fleas.

It’s interesting to look back at films like A Bagful of Fleas or Chronicle of a Summer and see how a lot of the sensationalism with capturing reality that now spirals into reality TV or even YouTube starts here but there is also that purity for experimentation and in blending reality with fiction that retains much of the dignity needed for something like this to work. I remember when I started writing screenplays really holding onto to naturalism and groundedness for authenticity, I mean I was like 12 so of course my experience with expression through other means wasn’t quite developed yet but once it started to emerge, once I realize I could use symbolism or exaggeration I became less interested in engaging with naturalism just for the sake of it. Bagful of Fleas though is what you could call hyper naturalism which is the best kind of naturalism to me. The camera is at once documentarian and cinematic, there’s a framing here within the narrative; that of us being the new girl in this socialist school dormitory for girls and so we hear her commentary throughout of what she thinks and observes but the lens in which we experience this subjectivity is filmed with playful naturalism. It’s to the point where fiction and non fiction blends but not in like a meta way, just in a organic and immerse sense. Outside the formal intrigue, A Bagful of Fleas is very much a snapshot of the times and I would argue fits alongside with the works of Varda, Zetterling, Shepitko, Clarke etc as glimpses of the growing attitudes for change and rebelling among women that would continue to grow over the 1960s until finalizing in the early 70s. Some may find the overall focus on these girls with more emphasis on the present, on the young flippant concerns one after the other and each of their individualism to be lacking, you don’t really learn as much as you spend time with them but the style here really puts you in their world, it’s easy to give in and just be there and feel their boredom, feel how they trapped, yes this drags at certain points but so does their existence, the film is unafraid to immerse itself in the mundane with glee and commitment but ultimately this is about how the girls’ collectivity and desires, inspires, frustrates, informs and add meaning to each of their actions no matter how minor or transgressive, even if it won’t actually improve the situations these girls find themselves in. Don’t go into this expecting Daisies, go into it expecting A Bagful of Fleas.

It’s interesting to look back at films like A Bagful of Fleas or Chronicle of a Summer and see how a lot of the sensationalism with capturing reality that now spirals into reality TV or even YouTube starts here but there is also that purity for experimentation and in blending reality with fiction that retains much of the dignity needed for something like this to work. I remember when I started writing screenplays really holding onto to naturalism and groundedness for authenticity, I mean I was like 12 so of course my experience with expression through other means wasn’t quite developed yet but once it started to emerge, once I realize I could use symbolism or exaggeration I became less interested in engaging with naturalism just for the sake of it. Bagful of Fleas though is what you could call hyper naturalism which is the best kind of naturalism to me. The camera is at once documentarian and cinematic, there’s a framing here within the narrative; that of us being the new girl in this socialist school dormitory for girls and so we hear her commentary throughout of what she thinks and observes but the lens in which we experience this subjectivity is filmed with playful naturalism. It’s to the point where fiction and non fiction blends but not in like a meta way, just in a organic and immerse sense. Outside the formal intrigue, A Bagful of Fleas is very much a snapshot of the times and I would argue fits alongside with the works of Varda, Zetterling, Shepitko, Clarke etc as glimpses of the growing attitudes for change and rebelling among women that would continue to grow over the 1960s until finalizing in the early 70s. Some may find the overall focus on these girls with more emphasis on the present, on the young flippant concerns one after the other and each of their individualism to be lacking, you don’t really learn as much as you spend time with them but the style here really puts you in their world, it’s easy to give in and just be there and feel their boredom, feel how they trapped, yes this drags at certain points but so does their existence, the film is unafraid to immerse itself in the mundane with glee and commitment but ultimately this is about how the girls’ collectivity and desires, inspires, frustrates, informs and add meaning to each of their actions no matter how minor or transgressive, even if it won’t actually improve the situations these girls find themselves in. Don’t go into this expecting Daisies, go into it expecting A Bagful of Fleas.

It’s interesting to look back at films like A Bagful of Fleas or Chronicle of a Summer and see how a lot of the sensationalism with capturing reality that now spirals into reality TV or even YouTube starts here but there is also that purity for experimentation and in blending reality with fiction that retains much of the dignity needed for something like this to work. I remember when I started writing screenplays really holding onto to naturalism and groundedness for authenticity, I mean I was like 12 so of course my experience with expression through other means wasn’t quite developed yet but once it started to emerge, once I realize I could use symbolism or exaggeration I became less interested in engaging with naturalism just for the sake of it. Bagful of Fleas though is what you could call hyper naturalism which is the best kind of naturalism to me. The camera is at once documentarian and cinematic, there’s a framing here within the narrative; that of us being the new girl in this socialist school dormitory for girls and so we hear her commentary throughout of what she thinks and observes but the lens in which we experience this subjectivity is filmed with playful naturalism. It’s to the point where fiction and non fiction blends but not in like a meta way, just in a organic and immerse sense. Outside the formal intrigue, A Bagful of Fleas is very much a snapshot of the times and I would argue fits alongside with the works of Varda, Zetterling, Shepitko, Clarke etc as glimpses of the growing attitudes for change and rebelling among women that would continue to grow over the 1960s until finalizing in the early 70s. Some may find the overall focus on these girls with more emphasis on the present, on the young flippant concerns one after the other and each of their individualism to be lacking, you don’t really learn as much as you spend time with them but the style here really puts you in their world, it’s easy to give in and just be there and feel their boredom, feel how they trapped, yes this drags at certain points but so does their existence, the film is unafraid to immerse itself in the mundane with glee and commitment but ultimately this is about how the girls’ collectivity and desires, inspires, frustrates, informs and add meaning to each of their actions no matter how minor or transgressive, even if it won’t actually improve the situations these girls find themselves in. Don’t go into this expecting Daisies, go into it expecting A Bagful of Fleas.