Blog Post #2: 5 Scenes

Here are 5 scenes that I can recall from films that really struck me.

1. Little Miss Sunshine: The scene where Dwayne finds out he is colorblind.

For those of you who have not seen this movie, Dwayne is the high schooler of this dysfunctional family and hasn't spoken in 9 months due to a vow of silence until he fulfills his dream of going to the airforce academy to fly jets. In this scene, he discovers he is colorblind and therefore his dream is unreachable. This scene really stuck in my mind since the first time I saw the movie years ago. The music kicks in right as his discovery starts to sink in. There are many cuts, all bust shots of the people in the car, everyone in a different place, with the incessant noise of the broken horn in the background. The music breaks this theatrical show of a family all talking over each other and all in different moods and personalities. The music really interupts the chaotic scene and really gives a feeling that something is not right here. The cuts become quicker, the music faster,and the family members speaking louder - over the silent son, Dwayne, whose emotions are now evident in the music - as this realization hits Dwayne and ultimately the car is pulled over and he gets out. The second he is out of the car it cuts to a very large wide shot of Dwayne running down a hill, with the car and his family as tiny people at the top of the frame, separating him from them. He screams "fuck" as he runs down. The chaos in the car completely parallels this part of the scene, making it incredibly dramatic and making his silence now very loud. He is positioned very large in front of the camera, literally running down a hill, entering this downhill wave of emotion he was hit with while his family stands almost oblivious in their high and mighty stance at the top. This is until his sister joins him and pulls him out of the rut. I just think this scene is executed in such a way that makes you focus on Dwayne for once, and really feel his pain. The particular frame I chose to show, since I found no videos of this part, is my favorite shot from this scene. It is such a large empty space for Dwayne to emotionally explode in, and it is only his younger sister coming down to his level that can bring him back. His entire family is in the background, very small and very far away because for once the focus is on him.

2. Forrest Gump: Run, Forrest, Run Scene.

I know this may be a cliche scene to choose but I still find it brilliant. The cuts back and forth between Forrest and the boys taunting him become less and less frequent, causing the scene to slow down and focus on Forrest himself, not on Forrest being bullied. This is an extremely pivotal moment in the film and the slow motion and music choice emphasize what is going on on screen. As Forrest breaks through his leg braces he also breaks through a barrier of his own self worth. The sounds of the metal falling off his legs echoes and makes the audience almost forget about the people chasing him. Then it cuts to his triumphant face and of course the triumphant music, making a character's personal growth moment complete and the audience can't help but share in his happiness.

3. Hail: Horse falling from airplane.

In my film class in Italy we watched this Australian film. The first half was an intimate look at these two lovers, a husband and wife. It is very realistic and shows them making love, having fights, and also doing drugs. His wife overdoses and dies from this new substance one of her old friends brought them. From this point onward the film goes back and forth between reality and fantastical shots like this one that show the husband's inner emotions. This particular shot is of a dead horse that was stuffed and dropped out of an airplane. It was shown right after his wife's death, and just really strongly captured how extremely he was falling out of control. I found this shot brilliant and really all of the other symbolic shots in that film, I won't spoil the ending, though!

4. Requiem for A Dream: Love Scene

I think the way this scene has a split screen yet is so intimate is really interesting. The split screen allows for close up shots of them touching the other's ear, mouth, and skin on the same screen as their face. In this way, the viewer feels close to them while getting more information than just a close up of a face gets. Each character is allowed their own world and space, making the interactions between them more significant yet we never lose sight of at least one of their's facial expressions. The audience isn't allowed to forget who is in the scene. This juxtaposition of their faces and the close ups makes for a very intimate scene where the audience almost feels like they are there.


5. All is Lost: Storm is approaching

The only sounds in this scene are from actual elements in the action, the wind being an ambient background noise. This creates a sense of reality along with the POV shots bringing us into the actual task of fixing the object he's fixing. It's shot in real time also, and the shots become progressively wider until the huge storm cloud is revealed. Before then, all the outdoors we see in the shots is clear and sunny, the sun is actually in a few shots. We as an audience feel afraid of the storm due to the way we were brought in to this man's real time life and the way its entrance into this world was given such a stark contrast. We know something bad is about to happen. I saw this movie at the BAMA art house film series, by the way, if some of you don't know what that is it's a great way to see some non-blockbuster flicks on a big screen.