The Life Size Zoetrope

The life Size Zoetrope - Mark Simon Hewis - 2007 - 6'33''

Still from "The Life Size Zoetrope"

The Life Size Zoetrope is an honest and celebratory portrayal of one man's life shown through a real life size zoetrope using real people holding picture cards while spinning to show the life of one man.

Just from the title of the documentary we instantly gather that the themes in the film could be about the cycle of life and as the film begins this becomes very apparent and clear, also repetition of life could be seen as a crucial theme in the film as a number of times phrases, pictures & events repeat themselves throughout the documentary.

I believe that the directors aims within this documentary is to bring all viewers together in a number of ways showing how very much alike humans are with the events that happen, our thoughts & choices we make in our lives. At the beginning of the documentary everyday looking people stand together in this life size zoetrope to help show the life of the narrator by holding up picture cards, this instantly could show the director's aim as it shows the coming together of people because of this film. The first images we see in the Zoetrope is an ultra-scan of a baby to it being born surviving on its mother's milk, showing the audience that we all come from the same place.

Still from "The Life Size Zoetrope"

The narrator in the documentary is very blunt and honest talking us through his thoughts. Through his teenage rebellion of drug taking & sex to his scared thoughts on fatherhood & then the loneliness that comes with old age. The narrator's voice is very monotone & he uses the same emotion throughout the film, this could at first come across as a very bitter and cold man looking back at his life, but as the film continues the use of images and the ambient choice of music come together to make this a very warm, comical and reflective piece. The same monotone narration throughout could make the audiences reflect on their own lives and show how similar theirs are. I think this because there is no emphasis on topics in his voice so it shows how all the events are normal & natural parts of life, that almost all of us have been there & done it & most probably have had the same thoughts as this man reflecting on his own life. The life of this stranger can leave the audiences feeling touched as they can relate it to their own lives.

  The pictures and narrator I believe work incredibly well in this documentary, for instance the fading of colour in one picture to represent death & the monotone emotion of the narrator while even describing his embarrassing & fearful moments. However if these two elements was not together I believe the documentary could have been left feeling very vague and confusing as sometimes I did find it very difficult to tell what some of the pictures were. So, when the narrator comes to talk about the subject of the picture it allows the audience to make sense of it all working together very well.

Still from "The Life Size Zoetrope"

The pace of the documentary is very quick, passing through this man's life in a short space of time; I believe this is to reflect how life can pass by us very quickly if we do not stop to see what is around us. The music towards the middle of the documentary reflect this as well as it becomes very fast paced and almost slightly disorientating as more events happen and pass more quickly. Sound of people's voices used and images repeat themselves over to reflect the repetition in life whether events in a singular life, e.g. tests, relationships, partying etc. or the repetition of life & death itself in this world e.g. birth of a child to the death of an elderly person.