Short Film - Brief Analysis

Martilino

This is an early short film by an up and coming director, Monshur Alam.



The very beginning of this short film uses a series of shots that are stringed together by fades to black. This creates a sense of enigma right from the start because we remain unsure about the location and characters involved. The narration also gives a sense of enigma by describing something without giving many clues as to what exactly it is "if I have to then it's going to be done". Along with this there are a variety of shots that come after each fade, ranging from big close ups, close ups and long shots.

The sequence starts with a very brief establishing shot of the main character in a dark and seemingly empty room. The room is dimly lit by an electrical light, signifying the dark and urban environment that the film is set in. The next shot is a big close up of a gun held in someones hand, which helps illustrates the serious tone of the scene. The next shot is a continuation of the opening shot and this time tracks in closer to the character, drawing the audience into the story. We see a close up of the main character's face that is half hidden in shadow. This, along with his dress codes, possession of a gun and the dark environment all point towards gangs, death and murder.

I think that this is a suitable opening as it sets the tone and structure of the film out well. I like the use of non-diagetic musical cues during the narration in the beginning. The sudden use of the piano accurately timed with the revealing of the characters face creates a serious manner to the character and what he is saying. The menacing piano is used throughout the narration and creates a climatic and dramatic effect, which is seen towards the end, where there is a montage of the victims being shot in the head.

I think that the narrative of the film is well chosen because it encounters issues to do with street crime and gang culture. It portrays members of the gangs as murderers, who are trying to out do each other by doing the most horrific crimes possible. This glorification of random murder as well as the view expressed by the main character of how he is pressured to go one step further even though he knows that the others are sick and twisted. The director chose to veer away from the horror genre by focusing on the action and build up of tension rather than showing the gory details of what is being committed. He sets the scenes up so that the audience feels vulnerable by placing the victims in normal and realistic situations, rather than going down the sadistic route of horrors like 'Saw'.

To improve this film, I think that the character should have been lit by a stronger light, as we cannot see much. This will also create a more defined shadow on one side of his face and signify the fact that he is not the protagonist or antagonist. It's possible that the the main character could have told the story in a more interesting way by using more gestures and facial expressions. I think quality of sound recording and tones of voice could have been better, but is nevertheless very good for this low budget film.