Every year, students in the film and literature class watch a mix of classics, award-winners, and student picked films. Each movie leaves a different impression. Recently, film students and their teacher shared their thoughts on what makes a movie worth watching.
Senior film student Spencer Wendlick said his favorite film from class was The Shawshank Redemption, a drama about a banker wrongly convicted of murder, who is sentenced to life at Shawshank State Penitentiary.
“I always wanted to see it, and in film, I thought it was very good and had a valuable meaning,” Wendlick said.
His least favorite movie was Chicago, a musical crime movie about a murdereress who is fighting for fame to escape death row.
“This movie was really boring to me because I am not a fan of musicals, especially in movie form,” Wendlick said.
Kate Wagner, the film teacher, also chose the movie The Shawshank Redemption as her personal favorite.
“No matter how many times I watch it, I pick up different details in the cinematography and nuances in the script,” Wagner said.
Students pick most of the films from a list of 25, which keeps every semester different. Wagner admitted she wishes students would pick Amelie, a French movie she loves, but she leaves it on the list just in case.
“It is a useful class because you will never stop watching movies, so once students learn how to read films, they will appreciate them in new ways,” Wagner said.
Junior film student Rylee McDonnell said her favorite movie from class was La La Land, a musical romantic love story about a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress.
“Out of all the movies we watched, La La Land had the best plot and theme that made it the most entertaining,” McDonnell said.
If McDonnell could add a movie to the film curriculum, she would choose the film Beautiful Boy.
“I feel like it’s a very emotional but important movie that will actually have an effect on people who watch it,” McDonnell said.
Junior Pavle Dragicevic picked Castaway as his favorite movie from film class.
“I liked the waves, nature, and colors,” Dragicevic said.
He disliked Casablanca, calling it “slow” and something that “didn’t have much to it.”
All in all, film class gives students a chance to watch, talk, and see movies differently. Freshmen and sophomores should take film class as upperclassmen because it changes the way they will watch movies for the rest of their lives. As Wagner said, once students learn how to read films, they will appreciate them in new ways.
