- Viewed on Virgin Media Shorts
- A man climbs a moment, thinking about flashbacks of his life. When he gets to
- the top he remembers the time there with his wife.
Narrative
Todorov theory is used to conform to the romance genre, however in this film
the structure is subverted from theoriginal. We are faced with the disruption from the beginning,
when we have ourfirst close up of the main character. We are shown him in a mid-shot of his
profile, and we see he has an oxygen mask on. This immediately shows us the
severity of the situation which is then furthered with the long shot when he
gets out of the car. The long shot allows us to fully see his costume. He is
wearing a hospital gown and he has a walking stick. In the long shot we also
see the mountain in the background, then we see him start to climb it, as an
audience we worry for him as the mis en scene clearly shows he is not in good
health. As he is walking up the mountain, cross-cutting is used. The scene
changes to flashbacks, we go from a shot of his face to the flashbacks,
signalling to us that they are of his life. In these shots we see a happy life,
the man is younger, and he has a wife and a baby. This is the equilibrium.
However as we started with a disruption, we know that something has gone wrong
with this life. Which is soon revealed in the second disruption, when the wife
dies. Finally there is the resolution when the man makes it to the top of the
mountain. The structure in this film differs from that of the original Todorov
structure, indicating that it does not necessarily conform to every convention
in the romance genre. It doesn’t conform to the audience’s usual expectation
that there will be a happy ending, where the couple get together. It is a happy
ending as the man gets to the top of the hill, but there is still sadness and
tragedy as he can never get her back.
This linear narrative heightens the fact that the man has finally fulfilled his
dream. The audience is filled with a sense of achievement for him. This gives
the end scene much more romance, he has struggled up the hill so now he can
enjoy his moment of peace and serenity.
During the beginning credits the title ‘Ascending’ is at the top of the
mountain. This mirrors the theme of achievement, as by the end he gets to the
top of the mountain; he has fulfilled his dream.
The chronology of the film is interesting, as the flashbacks mirror the shots
in the current time. Not only that, but they reflect the emotions he is
experiencing as he goes up the hill. When he falls over, struggling, he is
thinking back to the memory where he found his wife’s dead body on the floor.
We see this, and all of the other flashbacks from the male protagonists
perspective. This means we can identify with his emotions, for example it is an
extremely low angle moving shot when we discover her body. The prop of the
table is used to cover her body, filtering our perspective so that we only see
her arms first. This makes it more of a shock, and as we are seeing from his
perspective, it shows us what he went through, so we can sympathise with him.
Fades are used between the flashbacks and current time. Similar shots are used
to join the two, for example we go from the flashback where there is a mid long
shot of the wife’s dead body, then we fade to the same type of shot, but this
time it is the man lying on the hill. This connects the two together, linking
this dream of him climbing the hill to the woman. Yet, we do not see from his
perspective when he is climbing the hill: we see shots of him where he is in
the frame. This makes him seem isolated in his present time, he is lovely in
this life without her. Alternatively it reinforces that climbing this hill is something
he has to do by himself, without anyone’s help.
Genre
It conforms to Neales theory of repetition and difference. The characters of a
man and woman conform to usual romance films, and their love for each other
does too. However the difference is that she dies, so they could not live
‘happily ever after’. This changes the audience’s reaction, they may be
dismayed by it but perhaps it has allowed them to appreciate their loved ones
more.
It can also conform to the social realist genre. It makes the audience think
about issues of grieving and remembrance. It represents an old person with
traditional views. We are made to assume that even though his wife has died he
still hasn’t married anyone else, with his determined expression to make it up
the hill, it shows she was the only one for him, conforming to traditional
marital views.
Representation
The man carries the prop of the photo of them both around everywhere. This
extends this representation of the traditional views of love. This gives the
male and female positive representations; we find they’re love endearing. The
importance of the picture is furthered through body language. When he falls
over and is clutching his heart it links the woman and the love he had for her.
Also it shows her as a symbol of getting him through. He looks at the picture
three times in the film, then by the end he is in the location of the picture,
reiterating the importance of it, and his wife.
The end shot is a long shot where they have re-enacted the picture the man has
been carrying. This prop is significant as he gets it out to look at in hard
times on the journey, then the fact he mimics it at the end shows it is a
peaceful and significant time for him. The long shot allows us to see the
setting, they have a picnic and so this has romantic connotations. The body
language of their back being towards the camera has a sense of secretiveness
and intimacy, reminding the audience of their love. The prop of the photo is
tattered to signify it’s age. This combined with the flashbacks allows the
audience to foresee that something bad has happened to her. This means that it
can carry on conforming to the romance genre when we see the flashback of her
dying. Because we have foreseen it, it is not a shock to us, only a sad
confirmation that our assumptions were right. It is not dramatic or shocking,
it just means we can identify with the protagonists pain, and adds a tragic
element to the romance.
The music is slow, making it inspirational: we are rooting for the man to make
it to the top of the mountain. There are lots of long and mid shots of the sun
and clouds, these are ethereal images so have heavenly connotations. This is a
sad reminder of how his, what we assume, wife has died. Yet, the clouds also
have happy connotations, and the way he is looking up to the sky shows that
climbing the mountain is something he has to do. After this shot looking up
into the sky there is a close up of the male character, we are connected to
him, and are rooting for him in the situation.
The weather is nice in the flashbacks when he is with his wife, for example in
the close up of her underneath the duvet, the sun is in the background. This
characterises the female as happy and positive, further portraying this with
her facial expression, where she is happy and smiley in every shot. We can then
identify with the man, as it allows us to think about people who we remember,
and their positive characteristics as opposed to their negative ones. This
contrasts with the weather in the shots where he is climbing the hill. It is a
dull, grey sky, so pathetic fallacy is used to reflect the protagonists
attitude in both times of his life. The happy weather signifies that the time
of his life shown in the flashbacks was when he was happier. This is where
lighting is important. Low key lighting is used when the man is on the
mountain, as the darkness of it reflects his struggle up the mountain. However
high key lighting is used in the flashbacks to show that it is a happy time he
is thinking back to. Furthermore, the shot at the end has the sun in the
background, this is happy, but the image of the sun setting on a couple on top
of a mountain has romantic connotations, conforming to this genre.
The film finishes with a long shot where the couple is sitting on the top of
the mountain. This is an interesting use of time, as the man has joined the
image in a flashback, but as the old man he is now. This shows his longing to
be with his wife again, by having his present self who is dying, it shows us
that the happiest time of his life was with his wife as he would like to
metaphorically go back to that time before he dies.
In the close up of him sitting in the car at the beginning, only the front
light is used so we can’t see his face. This makes it seem ominous, but then
his face is unconcealed when he moves forward, and he looks up towards the
mountain. This is where we discover his dream of climbing it, then we see his
determination when he climbs the hill, and drops the prop of the oxygen mask.
Media Language
There are a series of shots when the man is climbing up the hill that are particularly
effective in portraying his struggle to climb it. Cutting is used to create a fast pace,
as this intensifies his urgency to climb the hill. This is extended with the series of
shots used. It starts with a long shot, then a mid shot, then a close up and finally
there is an extreme close up. These help to add to the tension created in the
urgency, yet we can also identify with him. By having the shot so close to his
face we see his emotion fully.
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