CINEMATOGRAPHY

Wide establishing shots

Close-ups for intimate moments or to reveal emotions

Low angles to show the governor as more powerful, in control

Erling is physically lower in the frame to show his inferiority

CAMERA MOVEMENT

• Camera follows characters

• Handheld camera as he runs to simulate the movement, immerse the audience in the scene

• Handheld camera used during emotionally turbulent moments, make it seem more disturbing/confusing

• Unstable camera, perhaps to reflect the instability/fragility of the boys’ emotions or the manic, helpless atmosphere within the scene

MISE-EN-SCENE

• Open spaces• Use of woods and beach – natural scenery

• Sea and sky• Prison uniforms, dull colours, all the same apart from the governor who is clearly of higher authority because of his suit

• Dark/dim lighting even though it’s outside in daylight

• Blue/grey overtone – all elements combine to create this: costumes, location, lighting etc.

EDITING

• Continuity editing in order to create realism

• Juxtaposition of shots of the boys and of the governor – demonstrates the difference in power and also the difference in the way they react to what is happening

• Use of long shot lengths, lack of editing. The camera moves to follow the characters rather than cutting away and back in. This again adds to the realism and immerses the audience in the scene by making them forget that they’re watching a film and instead feel like they are living it.

SOUND

• The sound of the wind and sea remains constant in the background of the scene. This helps to make the location feel more real, but also feels relentless, unchanging, and this implies a helplessness that the boys experience. It emphasises the fact that they have no power to change their situation and things will just continue to happen around them.

• Certain sounds are emphasised to ensure that they are noticed, such as the panting from the boys. In this case it’s to make their panic and upset more obvious.

• Non-diegetic music is used in the form of an instrumental score. The music really adds to the scene, heightening the emotions displayed by the characters and encouraging the audience to feel the same way. The music builds to a crescendo as the emotions grow as well, showing how sound contributes to the scene.

• There is limited dialogue in order to create tension. The dialogue that is present predominantly comes from the governor, again demonstrating his superiority over the boys. He’s the one giving orders and controlling the situation.

NARRATIVE AND THEMES• Includes a sensitive topic/subject matter – suicide – which is conventional of thrillers as a genre, but particularly of those from Scandinavian cinema. Tragedy is common in this style of film.

•There’s a clash of authority between the boys, who are united in their grief, and the governor who is also affected by the death but more in control and cold.

•The representation of life on this prison island is bleak, so bad that a boy killed himself to escape. It’s not a happy message, but a realistic and shockingly accurate one.