Nina - The Femme Fatale
Quick Thoughts: Nina (2014)
A gangster must assassinate a woman he used to love.
Nina is a simple short film with some nice cinematography and direction that is essentially every gangster film with a femme fatale boiled down to 6 minutes.
Stretching far back into ancient history, the femme fatale is a seductress, a vamp, a siren, a vampire, a bad girl, a broad you just can't get your mind off - maybe even Eve in the Garden of Eden. Her purpose in a narrative is usually an exploration of a core weakness in (usually) corrupt, naive or morally questionable men, one that tests his ability to be John Wayne or Clint Eastwood; the cowboy who rides off toward the horizon at the end of the movie for the greater good of all. The femme fatale is then a trap in a narrative of self-sacrifice and an independent struggle; an archetype that fuels a narrative about morality, responsibility and doing the right thing.
Through this film, we have a short, yet precise expression of this through a gangster that is immoral, yet has his own rules and structure, but betrays even them for a girl. This demonstrates that this tale of responsibility and self-sacrifice isn't always about the woman being evil, but the woman being an extension of a man's own evil or downfalls that creep up from his past - and often leaves him for dead.
To see exactly this, check out the short that director, Uri Carrasco Salinas, uploaded to YouTube. Direct link here.
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The Cup - Preservative Change
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Blood Of The Condor - Sterilise
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A gangster must assassinate a woman he used to love.
Stretching far back into ancient history, the femme fatale is a seductress, a vamp, a siren, a vampire, a bad girl, a broad you just can't get your mind off - maybe even Eve in the Garden of Eden. Her purpose in a narrative is usually an exploration of a core weakness in (usually) corrupt, naive or morally questionable men, one that tests his ability to be John Wayne or Clint Eastwood; the cowboy who rides off toward the horizon at the end of the movie for the greater good of all. The femme fatale is then a trap in a narrative of self-sacrifice and an independent struggle; an archetype that fuels a narrative about morality, responsibility and doing the right thing.
Through this film, we have a short, yet precise expression of this through a gangster that is immoral, yet has his own rules and structure, but betrays even them for a girl. This demonstrates that this tale of responsibility and self-sacrifice isn't always about the woman being evil, but the woman being an extension of a man's own evil or downfalls that creep up from his past - and often leaves him for dead.
To see exactly this, check out the short that director, Uri Carrasco Salinas, uploaded to YouTube. Direct link here.
Previous post:
The Cup - Preservative Change
Next post:
Blood Of The Condor - Sterilise
More from me:
amazon.com/author/danielslack
