Film Research

I very much enjoyed indulging in watching both the film 'Joyeux Noel' and British TV drama 'My Boy Jack' as research not only for costume but also for a feel of the era and life in the trenches. Both offered a sympathetic portrayal of those affected by the war for both those fighting and at home.

'Joyeux Noel' particularly focused on the soldiers, reminding us of their humanity and how they were mere men thrown into a horrific situation. I feel this is particularly relevant to 'L'histoire du Soldat' as this soldier is required to be an 'everyman' allowing the audience to relate to his needs, desires and hence, failure. The film documenting the unification of French, Scottish and German soldiers on Christmas Eve through a truce reitterates this. As all the soldier's meet their apponents they desire to share stories of their home town, show pictures of their wives and play football. This also relates to the 'simple pleasures' the Soldier desires as the Devil strips them from him. It is the aspects of life that we take for granted that are missed the most as they piece together everyday life and normality. One that was particularly relevant to this is a French Soldiers alarm clock set to 10am everyday to remind him of....... I hope that there is something we could use to infer this loss of an original routine in my Soldiers costume or part of his kit bag that is also relevant to the story. An alarm clock would also remind us of life passing and the decisions we make as out lives evolve.

'My Boy Jack' gave great examples of British WW1 uniform that would be similar to that of the Soldier. Although Doug expressed an interest in our Soldier being of the Welsh guards these soldier's were Irish but I imagine their uniforms do not differ too greatly. This drama really evoked the feeling of loss as it depicts the family struggling with the absence of their 18 yearold son and finding he is declared 'missing' at War. It gives a vivid portrayal of the bitterness of the trenches and conditions the Soldier had to tolerate as well as extreme emotion. From watching this I can fully imagine the need for our Soldier to return home in order to escape the anxiety of Warfare and retain some normality. The marching music of Stravinksy'd score reminds that War is always waiting for him to return it is built in and he cannot disbandon it.

Overall, both films were a great research point I now have a far fuller understanding of the life conducted by a Soldier and in such a desperate time it is normality and everyday routine that is most valuable to them. As well as this it has given great uniform references in detail which will be useful when accessorising the soldier and giving his uniform quirks to suggest his character. It also provided reference for the Princess's costume as 'Joyeux Noel' depicted popular silhouettes, fabrics and styles in Diane Kruger's clothing as a famous Opera singer. Seeing the trench condtions also indicated the types of breaking down needed to give an authentic look in addition to the landscapes that could be used within my set design.