Directed by: RichardAyoade

Certificate: 15

Running time: 97minsRelease date: 18March2011

Synopsis:Submarineisanoffbeatcomedyaboutafifteen-year-old,OliverTate,whoisobsessedwithbooks,filmsand…agirlcalledJordana.Desperatetolosehisvirginitywhileequallydesperate to save his parents’ crumbling marriage, Oliver takes us on a quirky andstrangelybeautiful journeyof loveand loss through the industrial landscapeofSouthWales.

These Study Notes are intended for students of Film and Media Studies at GCSE and AS/A2 or equivalent. The subject matter of the film also touches on aspects of the curriculum for PSHE.

SubmarineStudy Notes

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Before ViewingSubmarine and musicMusicplaysaparticularly importantpart inSubmarine.Thefilm featuresanumberoforiginal songswritten and performed by Alex Turner of the ArcticMonkeys. The filmcontains longwordless sequencesunderscoredby these songsand, understandably,manycriticshavecomparedthesesectionstomusicvideos.Interestingly,most of Ayoade’s directorial experiencebeforeSubmarinewas inmusicvideos.

z Whatsortoffeelingandimpactcanmusicvideohaveandwhateffectcouldamusicvideo-stylesequenceachieveinafilm?z Canyouthinkofotherfilmswhichfeatureextendedmontagesequencesthatarequitelikemusicvideos?z Take a look at Ayoade’smusic videos for Kasabian’s ‘Vlad the Impaler’, TheLastShadowPuppets’ ‘MyMistakes’,VampireWeekend’s‘CapeCodKwassaKwassa’andArcticMonkeys’‘FluorescentAdolescent’.Allofthemcanbeseenatwarp.net.Asyouwatch,considerthelookandfeelofthesetexts.z Towhatextentaretheycinematic?Howmuchdotheytrytotellastory?z Nowwatch the trailer forSubmarine. Do you see any similarities in terms ofvisualstyle?Canyouidentifyanystylisticorthematicmotifsacrossthesetexts?

After ViewingVoiceover and narrativeSubmarine makes very extensive use of voiceover. The use of voiceover in films issometimescriticised,asthereisafeelingthatafilmshouldrelyonthevisualnarrativeandthenarrativeconveyedinthedialogue.

z Whateffectsdoyou thinkareachievedbyhavingOliverspeakdirectly to theaudiencethroughvoiceover?z Do you think there is a gapbetweenwhatOliver says about himself and therealitythatweseeonthescreen?Ifso,whateffectsdoesthiscreate?

The voiceover and literatureSubmarineisbasedona2008novelbyJoeDunthorne.Theinfluencesofotherbooks,especiallyJDSalinger’s‘TheCatcherintheRye’(1951),havebeendiscussedinrelationtothefilm.

z Doyoufeelthatthefilmisquiteliterary–doesitfeellikeitisanadaptationofabook?Inwhatways?

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©Film Education July 2011. Film Education is not responsible for the content of external websites.

www.filmeducation.org www.nationalschoolsfilmweek.org

Seriousness, comedy and the voiceoverThefilmdealswithseriousissues:mentalandphysicalillness,bereavementandmaritalbreakdown.Oliverlikestomakeoutthatheunderstandstheseissuesandis,inthecaseofhisparents’marriage,abletoseethingsthattheycan’t.

z Towhatextentdidyou feel thefilm’scomedycomes froma tensionbetweenwhat he says he understands (through his voiceover) and what he actuallyunderstands?

Submarine, Welshness and BritishnessSubmarinewentdownwellat2010’sSundanceFilmFestivalandhassecuredagooddistributiondealintheUSA.ThefilmdoesnotofferthelandmarksorcountryhousesthatmakemanyBritishfilmsattractivetoAmericanaudiences,andyethasmanagedtobesuccessfulthere.

Oneof themost romantic sequences in thefilm takesplaceagainst a very industriallandscape.Ayoadeandhiscinematographercanmaketheindustrial(andpost-industrial)beautiful.

z How do they do this? How are scenes shot and lit? How does the ordinaryappearextraordinary?

LikemanyofthefilmsproducedbyWarpFilms(basedinSheffield),SubmarineprovidesaglimpseofpartsofBritainthatareoftenoverlookedonthebigscreen.

z Do you think it is important that British films should show real landscapesandcityscapesofeverydayBritishlife?Isit importantforBritishaudiencestorecognisetheirownexperiencesofBritainonfilm?

Extendedactivity:Tryfilmingorphotographingeverydaylandscapesinwaysthatmakethemengagingorevenromantic.Thinkofusingnatural lightandfindingtimesofday,wherethequalityoflightcangiveanordinaryscenenewlife.

IntertextualitySubmarine is full of references to other films. Richard Ayoade is keen to emphasisethatthis isnotaboutpostmodernplayfulness. Insteadheissimplytryingtopresentacharacterwhoisobsessedwithfilms.Hearguesthatmostcharactersinfilms,bizarrely,appearnottobeinterestedinfilm.

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Extended activities: z Writeatreatmentforafilmbasedontheeventsofyourownlife.Thinkofwaysinwhichyoucouldtransformthecircumstancesofyourlife,howevermundane,intosomethingtrulycinematic.z Storyboardorscriptaneverydayscenefromyour life.Trytousevoiceovertocommentonandnarratetheaction.z View some further films and consider inwhatways you think theymay haveinfluenced Richard Ayoade. Suggestions for further viewing include Harold & Maude (Ashby, 1971); Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Hughes, 1986); Rushmore(Anderson,1998);Election(Payne,1999)andJuno(Reitman,2007)

Submarine from a PSHE perspectivez What does Submarine show us about the complexities of life for thisfifteen-year-oldboyinBritaintoday?z Towhatextentisthisexperiencefamiliartoyou?Explain.z Howdoyou respond to theway thefilmportrays love,divorce,bereavementandillness?

Written by Adam Robbins