Somers Town After Viewing

How would you categorise this film in terms of genre? Does it remind you of any other films you have seen?

4) I would class this film as a comedy drama because young Tomo has a particular cheeky attitude and you can see this in the film when he steals the photos from Marek and runs away into the private area of what looks like an housing estate, then when a man comes out and tells them to leave he gives him back chat and swears at him.
The film reminds me of This Is England even though I haven’t seen This Is England by watching the trailers they do look similar.


5) What do you think is the film’s appeal for audiences?
I think that the film’s appeal for the audiences is the independence of Tomo and the decisions he makes by himself and the way that he wants change things by moving from Newcastle to London. Also I think some of the appeal is about the romance between the two boys and Maria


6) As well as being in black and white, the film is subtitled during a conversations in Polish between Marek and his farther; there are also sections in French. In what ways do these factors affect your responses to the film, the situation and the characters?
Response: The use of using subtitles added almost another dimension making the film seem more real rather than scripted. I personally found this very interesting, it really managed to grab the attention of the viewer and gave me an impression of the two characters.
The Situation: As before it did make the situation feel more real, but it also made it feel slightly uncomfortable with people talking different languages that we wouldn’t understand if we didn’t have the subtitles.
Characters: I feel that the sense of it being uncomfortable also plays a part on Mareks father because we know from early on that he is a drunk. It also made me feel slightly uncomfortable about Marek until later on because his father’s actions could have been portrayed upon him


7)What similarities and differences can you identify between Somers Town and This is England?
Both the films are very British, I have not seen This is England but I can explain some similarities between them. Both the films are set around teenagers who are perhaps lost and are looking for independence in the way of getting as far away from their existing lives.


8)To what extent do you think the audience is expected to be ‘comfortable’ with this portrait of two teenagers?
When Tomo is beaten up by the three lads late at night it makes us feel as if he is vulnerable and that portrays upon us and makes us feel like if he were to be a real character in real life then he wouldn’t poses a threat upon us. Also all the little witty things he says and when he steals the wrong clothes from the dry cleaners, the fact that Tomo and Marek are funny and makes us laugh also helps us to feel comfortable with them. Also the relationship between Tomo and Marek is tight as and this reflects upon us and we’ve been watching them the whole time and this makes us feel as if we are in with their friendship.


9) A sign on the estate reads “children playing on these grounds is prohibited”. In what different ways do Tomo and Marek seek to amuse themselves within this environment? Do you think the film encourages us to judge any of their actions?
One way they seek to amuse themselves is by drinking alcohol in park and then having a party, playing loud music and drinking more alcohol and lots of it. They do this because they are feeling down by the fact that Maria left to go to Paris. I don’t think we are meant to sympathise for them because even though they are upset about her leaving they say that they are drinking to move on and get over Maria.

10)What message of childhood adolescence do you, or could you, take away from the film?
I personally do not see a message to take away from the film. The boys to me were acting somewhat immature by getting drunk over a woman who’s 10 years older than them. However there could be a message to others about how sometimes we learn to adapt in other situations in desperate times, when we are put into situations we don’t know or are comfortable with we as human beings learn to adapt and this is what Tomo had to do when he left home and went to London.


11)Do your reactions towards the boys change at different points in the film? Which moments in particular?
a) Encourage you to sympathise with the boys
When they get drunk like I mentioned before and start pondering on why Maria left them to go to Paris without telling them is defiantly a time when we should or are supposed to sympathise for the boys. It makes it even worse with the fact that they are in the park because this is place where people are supposed to have fun not to be upset.

b) Make you unsympathetic towards them
When they steal clothes from the dry cleaners but they are clothes that they would never wear unless they really had to. We all know that stealing is bad and because of this we know not to sympathise with the boys because what they have done is wrong.

12) Some of the other characters include marek’s father, Mariusz, Graham the cockney neighbour, and a French waitress, maria. To what extent would you agree that Meadows is playing with stereotypes in his representation of these characters?
We often see in films that French woman are waitress’s and Maria is a waitress in a small cafe. Also that France is a very romantic place and Maria is somewhat of a flirt with the two boys. Also we see immigrants as people who work for low income and can work hard, his house is small and in a bit of a mess which indicates low amounts of income.