Examples of Social realism films (PAULINE KATE BALUYUT)

Examples of existing Social Realism films 
Pauline Kate Baluyut


Social realism is a theme that tries to depict characters in the most accurate perspective.


This post will demonstrate various, existing social realism films. These films are: 'The brown bunny', 'The road', 'The wrestler' and 'Eastern promises'.

The Brown Bunny (released in 2003)

Distributed by: Wellspring media 
Studio(s): Vincent Gallo Production and Wild Bunch
Budget: $10 million 
The DVD case's front cover is done in a simple format; bright yellow background with a black and white image of a woman comforting another figure, with the film's title located above the image itself. This is undoubtedly produced with a low budget, very typical of an independent film advertisements.















The Road (released in 2009)

Distributed by: Filmnation entertainment (worldwide), The Weinstein company (in the USA), Dimension films, and Icon productions (in both the UK and Australia)
Studio(s): 2929 Productions
Budget: $25 million  
Again, like the 'brown bunny' this film's DVD case is simple and lacks colour. In fact this cover is done in black and white with a hint of a blue tint. The image displays a man holding/guarding a smaller childlike male figure. the film's title 'The road' is placed on the bottom middle of the cover and is done in a lighter tone than the rest of the picture, in order for it to stand out against the slightly darker background. A name is displayed on the top middle, of the cover this is done so that onlookers can see which actor/director is involved in the creation of the film; thus attracting attention.














The wrestler  (released in 2008)
Distributed by: Fox searchlight pictures
Studio(s): Saturn films, Wild bunch and Protozoa pictures
Budget: $6 million 
Like the above two DVD covers, the cover for this movie is done in a simple colour palette (black, red and brown), this again coincides with the whole 'low budget' theme, that all independent films have.
As the film's title is the most important convention that this cover displays, it is unsurprising that it is done in the lightest colour - which contrasts well with the dark layout of the cover.
The rest of the text, such as the actor's and director's name are done in a much more darker hue, whilst the film's date of release is done with the exact same colour as the film name, this brings light to what conventions that the editors thought was important.

Eastern promises (released in 2007)
Distributed by: Pathe (in both, the UK and France), Alliance films (in Canada) and Focus features (in the USA)
Studio(s): Kudos film and Focus features
Budget: $50 million