2. The opening sequence shows two brothers fighting and one accidentally hits
the other brother in the head with a brick. We then see his father who is
suggested to be abusive through his attitude towards the two boys fighting at
the beginning and also his reaction with the belt after the incident has
happened.
I would predict that the rest of the film is
bout the boy who hit his brother in the head.
Religion and violence is probably also
involved and it is going to be how this
incident effected the rest of his life in terms
of how he treated others and acted.
3. Target Audience
Form the opening sequence I would say
the target audience is people of all ages
even young children as there are so far
nothing inappropriate shown or
suggested that should be avoided by a
younger audience. However the
sequence is very suggestive and
therefore younger audience might have a
harder time understand the depth of the
film.
4. The genre
The genre of war is suggested through the title - hacksaw ridge which is
known as a location where fighting during ww2 taken place. Therefore by
naming the move with a war location it suggests to the audience the genre
of war.
The beginning sequence does not really suggest much about war but like
many war / emotional movies it starts with a background story often into
the characters early family life. This aspect is shown in the opening
sequence and would suggests a deeper story that would be related to
war.
Also from the mise en scene
in terms of the way the
characters dressed and
spoke we can guess that it is
set in the past around the
1930-1940s.
5. Camera work
At the beginning of the opening sequence we see a lot of mid and wide shots
which helped to establish the setting and the fact that the boys are fighting. It
also gives the audience enough space to see what / how the boys are
fighting with one another.
Hand held camera tracks the boys as they fighting. By doing this it creates
the feeling of chaos and distortion. The hand held camera can also be a
reflection that the fight is casual and not serious for the boys as it is filmed in
a non professional way.
6. • Later in the opening sequence, Close up shots where
used appears after the hurt brother was brought back
into the house after being hit in the head with a brick. By
using the close up and extreme close up shots allows the
audience to focus on the reaction of the parents and also
we can see the wound of the brother more clearly which
emphasises how hurt he is
F
A close up is also used on the boy’s face as he walks towards the religious
poster. The shot focuses on the boys face and defocus the back ground. This
can suggest how special and significant this moment is as all of our attention is
either on the boy or the poster. It can also reflect the mood of the boy at that
moment as he is in the zone and detached from his surroundings
7. The extreme closeup on the
sixth commandment rule of
“thou shalt not kill”. Suggests
that this is the specific
commandment that made an
impact on the boy as it draw
all of the audience’s attention
on this commandment
8. Sound
- Diegetic sound of dialogue, wind and nature sound effects up until the
brother got hit. Conveys a peaceful atmosphere and suggest the
location the story is set in - farm
- Deep non diegetic horn sound which increasing volume after the
brother got hurt. Pleonastic as it covers the sound of the father yelling at
the back. Shows the effect the event it has on the boy
