analysis

1. TWO & TWO
SHORT FILM BY:
BABAK ANVARI
ANALYSIS OF A SHORT FILM 1

2. 'Two & Two' is a short film written, directed
and produced by Babak Anvari.
Babak Anvari is an award-winning filmmaker
based in London.
He was nominated for the best short film 'Two
& Two' in 2012.
The film was uploaded on youtube on January
12, 2013.
Reviews on the film were mainly positive,
stating that the film is very touchy because it
presents the children proving the teacher
wrong.
This short film's aim was to present a realistic
world situation where people know wrong and
teach children the same way.

3. ‘Two & Two’ start of the title presented on a
blackboard and the writing is in white chalk
with the background sound of students talking
in class. This helps the audience establish the
setting of where the film is taking place. After
the title was shown, the screen slowly zooms
out to reveal the dirty and discoloured
classroom of the boys.
The audience are easily able to tell that this is
a school for the poor.
The students are all wearing identical
uniforms which represent a strict
atmosphere.
The teacher is presented to be very powerful
as he is placed in the middle of the frame with
a low angle.
And the boy is presented to be a smart boy.

4. The opening of the film is very peaceful but at the
same time, creepy as the lighting and the mood
stays the same throughout. The title is written very
slowly in a hand-written font.
As the camera zooms out and the title disappears
we are able to see the whole class with a lot of boys
speaking. The classroom had only boys which
indicate its a one gender school. As the camera
stops, a wide long shot takes place.
As a teacher walk into the room, all the kids directly
stand up with no movement like in military stand up
as a way to greet. The next shot is of the professors
face, we can easily see with his facial expression
that he isnt a kind person.
This shows the importance of the professor as he is
the only one with a close up shot.

5. An over the shoulder shot is shown as the professor looks
at his watch to check the time while having the boys
blurred out in the background.
The teacher is filmed from a long angle to give the
audience an impression of him having more power against
the students while the boy he is asking the question to is
shown from the high angle to show weakness. This shows
that the teacher is the dominant one.
As the boy refuses to listen to the teacher, 3 boys enter
wearing the same uniform although they have a red band
wrapped around their left arm. The colour red could
represent blood and danger or war.
before the boy writes his answer on the board, the screen
cuts between the boy through the students shoulders, a
close up of his face, the teacher and the board. This could
convey the choive he has to make and the though process
he is going through.

6. This scene is in complete silence, which
increases the suspense for the audience. Once
he writes his answer on the board there is again
more silence until the sounds of the guns loudly
enter making the reaction for the audience more
shocking. This helps to intensify the atmosphere
to feel as if you were there watching in the
classroom.
Finally, the film ends with a close up of the boys
book where he writes ‘2 + 2 = 5’. The camera
also remains still and the sound of the boys
chanting slowly fades. This leaves the audience
with just the sound of the pencil on the paper
when he crosses out the 5 and puts a 4. This
raises the importance of the situation as it raises
the tension of his action and deepens it.

7. This short film could be linked to Karl Marx’s theory about the
way people rule society keep us in our place by making sure we
share the same ideas about the ways things should be. The
impression the film leaves is the ideas of traditional Marxism
and how Babak Anvari thinks the way we are manipulated is
wrong.
It as well sends a very powerful message and leaves a long-
lasting scar on viewers. It makes the audience think of the world
were in today. It is very deep and has an inner soul and is shot
in a correct way to
touch the audience deep down.
THE MESSAGE