Captain Fantastic: Opening scene analysis

-

 CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

We are initially presented with long shots of the natural world for a long duration, which was probably done on purpose by Ross (the director) to allow the audience to appreciate the beauty of the forest and nature as a whole. There are diegetic sounds and no artificial lighting, the colours are beautifully saturated and vibrant which emphasises the beauty of nature and the wilderness.  Moreover, this could also highlight how the family is socially disconnected and isolated from society.

We are initially aligned with the deer, we perceive motivated close-ups of the deer's eyes watching through the foliage. hear people creeping around, resulting in the deer feeling on edge. We sense the threat the deer is facing. It holds horror-Esque qualities, the hunter and the haunted in close proximity, we can see the victim clearly but we don't know what or who the threat is.

The mud-covered bodies make the humans look monstrous, threatening and inhumane, making it harder for the audience to identify them. The attack on the deer is very fast-paced and chaotic. The dark red of the blood, the ritual of eating the heart is extremely brutal, tribal and animalistic. This accentuates the idea that they're distanced from the modern, western, civilised world that the viewer will perceive as normal. 

The audience is immediately presented with a barrier, as we do not have an immediate alignment with the characters who will become the protagonists. From this, the director now makes sure that the audience forms an allegiance with these characters and put us in their shoes. He achieves this by humanising them. They wash, get dressed and appear more civilised as a result of this, meeting the expectations of the audience. Moreover, we see them preparing food, reading and singing, and we begin to realise that they aren't as far removed from ourselves as we may have initially concocted. 

The opening scene of the film sets up key themes that will be revealed throughout the film, such as masculinity, family, parenthood and affinity. From the extreme close-ups of the father and the eldest son, it is clearly highlighted that they are key characters in the film and that we'll be following their journey throughout. 

The father wipes the deer's blood on his son's face after successfully killing it, and declares "Today the boy is dead and in his place, there is a man." This emphasises the father's strong patriarchal nature, which is clearly portrayed in the film. 







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why is the short film "Wallace & Gromit" engaging?

-
Image
      Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers How is it engaging?  The director of Wallace and Gromit successfully makes the film engaging to the audience by using several different filmmaking techniques. For instance, he uses the stages of Todorov's Narrative Theory which assists the audience in understanding the story and the plot of the film in an organized and structural manner. According to this theory, the film will start with an equilibrium which in this case is Wallace and Gromit peacefully living together and having breakfast in the morning. This is greatly highlighted through the soft chill music in the background of the scene.    Next is an action or character disrupting the equilibrium which is the penguin's arrival and him taking over Gromit's role in the home. This disruption is shown through the way the music changes upon his arrival and becomes eerie, immediately emphasising how the penguin is a threat; essentially acting as a warning to the audience.   Furth
Read more

No Country For Old Men: Opening Scene

-
Image
 NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN In the opening sequence, we are introduced with a voiceover of a mysterious character who we don’t know yet, however, it is evident that he’s going to be a significant character in the movie. Diegetic sounds are clearly used such as the sounds of the police officer and the closing of the police car door, as well as the sound of the protagonist placing an object on the front seat of the car. The non-diegetic sounds of the wind blowing softly emphasize the isolation of the setting and atmosphere, which as a result, makes the placement of the characters strange. The lack of soundtrack during the killing of the policeman illustrates the lack of importance of the character’s death, mirroring the lack of empathy the main character has. Moreover, Chigurh's first dialogue is threatening along with his expression. His voice is monotone and he slightly smiles as he shoots the police officer. This gives the audience the impression that he also may be a psychopath.  The
Read more

The Grandmother: Analysis

-
Image
 THE GRANDMOTHER  DAVID LYNCH How does David Lynch turn these ordinary aspects of life into surreal nightmares? Being born: - Jittery and twitchy movements in a stop motion manner - The parents come in straight up while the child comes in sideways, which could symbolise him being born in the wrong place and may not fit in - Aggressive and violent movements may be foreshadowing how the boy's parents will treat him during the film - We only hear animal noises, which makes the film seem animalistic. It may also be a representation of how newborn children perceive the world and are still unable to comprehend words - Barking and crawling, which is inhumane Growing up: - The boy is mostly been neglected by his parents - Sorrowful and isolating atmosphere - Grey undertones with an overall dark ambience, which makes the environment seem cold - Pasty white colour that consumes their faces made vivid by the high contrast film making the boy seem sickly. Also, the red lipstick suggests that d
Read more