Over

 OVER

Characterization

we don't get to personally connect/sympathise with any characters apart from the victim who we find out that he fell from an airplane as he was hiding in the wheel. He was from Angola and we learn that the film was based on a true, tragic story of Jose Matada. 

Sound

The film uses a large amount of silence through out the film to reflect the tragic event but also to reflect how it shocked and left many unspeakable. The silence also adds tension and leaves time for the audience to think about what the next scene will appear to be as it is in reverse order. The film starts with a faint sound of silence in the background alongside the sounds of dogs barking, this can be used to foreshadow the tragic event in the film, but also can be used to create a sense of reality as if life has gotten back to normal.  the film isn't heavy on dialogue, however there is dialogue present, but it's represented in a more faint and in the background effect. Which represents the perspectives that the audience is observing from, as in the majority of the film, we are observing through long and wide shots. However, a few medium and close up shots are presented, which is used alongside sound with an increased volume to reflect the different perspective and to mirror what we would actually hear if we were at the scene. Diegetic sounds are present nearly through out the whole film ,for example, the sound of the cleaning the road, the car lifting machine, police radios and police cars etc to give a sense of realism. The film also contrast the silence with diegetic sounds to reflect the importance of each scene but also to reflect tension. For example, the scene where the victim falls from the plane, a loud bang is used to highlight the importance of the scene and create shock to the audience. 

Mise en scene 

Props

The film uses the props to help indicate the plot of what has happened. The props also helps builds the expectation of what the audience was expecting to occur 

Roadside memorial flowers

The roadside memorial flowers gives the audience context about what is going on in the narrative as the flowers are a sign of respect to the victim who has lost their lives near that area. This creates a sense of curiosity for the audience. 

                          road cleaner 

This also adds context and gives the audience more information about the event. A close up shot is used, allowing us to observe the faint tint of red in the water, leading the audience to think that a bad incident had happened 

pickup truck 

 

The pick up truck suggest to the audience that perhaps the incident was caused by a car, which makes the audience expect to see an accident related a car accident or a hit and run.

The shots of evidence reflects the tragic incident and creates a sense of realism, making the audience feel tense from what they are seeing and also sympathy. There are stains of blood on the bag, reflecting the seriousness of the incident. 

Image of victim or victim family 

This image creates a very emotional scene as it is the only few things in the film that connects the audience to the victim. The image gives the audience a glimpse of context about the victim.

 

body bag

The use of the body bag reflects the horrific sense of the to the audience that the victim or the person in the accident has passed away. This creates an emotion of realisation that the incident that occurred must have been serious. This makes the audience feel sympathy with the plot.  

Cinematography 

The film is presented through a large amount of long, wide and static shots of the settings. This gives the audience a feeling of observing the scene from a far away distance which creates a sense of respect to the victim and also to the people living in that area. The longshots allow the audience to see everything that is happening in the scene.  The longshots and wide shots are normalised in this film to highlight the closeup and medium shots, which are the shots that show significant detail and context to the film. 

medium shot 

Close up shot 

wide shot 

Editing

the editing of the Reverse Chronology style allows the audience to be actively thinking and portray a detective role in the film. this allowed the audience to stay observing the film, as the film is intense and a tragedy. The slow editing pace also contributed to this.    

Narrative

The film is structured in a Reverse chronology, meaning it was revealed in reverse order, the first scene shown in the resolution to the plot. 

The film is shown reversing the time line, revealing the stages of events to the audience backwards. This creates suspense as it often lets the audience think ahead and guess what they think happened or what they are going to see. In this film, the reverse chronology made the audience expect that they were going to see a car accident or a hit and run due to the way the timeline was presented and to the mise en scene. However, seeing the victim falling to the ground was unexpected and caused shock as it wasn't what the audience thought the narrative was building up to. The reverse chronology supported and reflected through the use of the time that gives context and guides the audience.

 

Meaning/ what to take from the film 

The use of reverse chronology and how it creates a sense of suspense in itself, but also how it makes the audience more focused and curious. I was also fascinated of the build up the film created by the use of mise en scene and cinematography that ended up breaking the expectation of what the audience was expecting.