Momento

Amy Tse 12CO

Narrative

From just analysing the opening of the movie ‘Momento’ you cannot find a good narrative, however, from the first scene it is obvious that the man has hurt another man, but we don’t know if it was just a fight or because of another matter?

Setting

We only get a short look at where this character is standing. Is it a secret room? Is it an office? A bathroom? We cannot tell, but it looks as if no one really goes in there as the room looks old and not looked after properly from the large crack in the wall. It seems very desolate.

Clues to Character

These are the only two characters that appear in the opening of the film. Could they be friends? We could assume that the character holding the gun could have a reason for shooting the other character. As this is a psychological thriller, we could guess that he has psychological problems? Maybe he was told to do it? Was he working for the police? Or an assassin? The other character looks lower than him as the angle is a high shot, which moves on to the next paragraph.

Cinematography

There are many close ups on the important objects and characters. For example, the Polaroid picture of what the killer took. You can also see a bit of writing on his hand. Could this mean something? There is also a big close up of the killer himself, it looks like he has realised what he has done and maybe regrets it? The blood on the floor looks like a side profile on the floor? It looks really close up but you cannot really tell. The glasses show that the victim was badly hurt and the scale of violence was high from the extreme amount of blood. This looks like a close up shot.

Editing

The editing in the opening is very different to regular openings. The scene is put into backwards editing and shows it going backwards giving it a slower effect. The names of producers are in a blue text that fades in and out. I thought that it could link with the Polaroid pictures with the ink that fades in slowly. The title is simple yet menacing as it is in capital letters with the Polaroid picture slowly fading in showing the devastation on what the character did to the other person.

Sound

When the text is fading in and out, there is a suspenseful tone of orchestra in the background. This slowly gets louder as it gets closer to the main title of the movie. When it hits the title ‘Momento’ the music suddenly ascends into something much louder and it intrigues the audience to stat watching as it changes to the scene. When the objects move backwards, for example the gun shell, the glasses, the trigger of the gun and the movement of the Polaroid picture, the microphone picks up on the movement and that gives it more tension on what might happen next. The microphone especially picks up on the sound of the gun going off, which roles onto the first proper scene of the movie.