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Textual Analysis- Abdur Rahman
Man on fire (2004),
Directed by Tony Scott
Produced by Lucas Foster, Arnon Milchan, Tony Scott
Written by Brian Helgeland
POSTER
On the left is film poster for man on fire. We can tell who the protagonist in the film is (Denzel Washington) by how they are shown in the poster, the man is in the centre of the frame to show how significant he is and that all eyes are on him. We see part of the background as flames and the other, smoke which could signify the meaning, “there is no smoke without fire” he is placed in the centre of them both like a ‘bridge’ between the two. He has one of his hands covering the small girl; this could imply that he is trying to protect her like a bodyguard.
The girl is shown in front the Smokey clouds, and her face seems to be glowing, there is contrast between the background and her and this could signify ‘hope’, so in all the destruction and danger there is still hope and Denzel seems to be trying to protect that. The poster could also signify that the protagonist is going to a bad place or in danger and the small girl is the bridge to what saves him.
Textual analysis – Man On Fire (2004)
The film starts with the production companies and distributors, the sound is relatively calm its slow but seems as if there is tension building up. We see and establishing shot of a city, which we later can tell is Mexico City.
The camerawork is vital in the opening scenes; they use a rather strange technique, the camera is jumpy/ agitated and does not seem to be at a still pose there is many scenes which are mixed in at once and this signifies the uncertainty of what will happen and the trouble. We see the victim at the centre of the frame with the kidnapper as he has his hands on the victims head as he drags him into the car; this shows authority and the difference in power.
People of authority are made to look as powerless as even they cannot stop what has happened. The use of the man’s white shirt represents how he ‘surrenders’ and that he is powerless although he seems to be wealthy.
Tension is built up by shot-reverse-shot from the kidnapper to the victim, there is a fast pace and this is to signify how dangerous it can be and sudden.
The scenes have an odd pace, at times everything would seem fast and the next it will stop and focus on one area this maybe done to create the effect of how fast the situation could occur and a sense of uneasiness, and this was also done in the credits throughout the start of the film
The film is set in modern day Latin America we can tell this by how everyone is dressed. The kidnapped person who is held for ransom is from a rich background we can tell this by the smart suit worn. Although the kidnappers are dressed in suits we can tell they do not have much class for example the way they commit the crime and the car that they drive for example, the kidnapping is done in broad day in front of a public area, in a way this signifies the growing concern of this type of crime as people are shown as vulnerable. The opening is shown as dark and brutal with blood etc, this I believe is done to make it look realistic and as effective as possible.
In the beginning of the film there was a slow placed sound however it was not a sound of ease as you could tell there was certain tension that was building up, as we start to see the establishing shot the sounds start to get more up tempo which could signify the increasing danger. There is allot of various sound techniques used, there is hyperbolic sounds of children laughing in the background which contrasts with what actually is happening this makes the scenes seem even more effective and somehow brutal. We also hear the sounds of a clock as if to say ‘it is time’ as soon as we here this everything goes quite for a few seconds and then more non-diegetic sounds are added to maybe signify we are now in the danger zone, we can tell this by screaming in the back of people running and calling for help.
Here is where we the viewers get an idea of the type of film this is, we witness s kidnapping and can’t tell by the voice-over of the hostage taker, he is holding the victim and asks for ransom. I believe what makes the voice over more effective is that it is done in another language and not English so the audience have to read subtitles in order to understand and this is very smart as it draws them in more as now they are engaging and may feel part responsible.
The sounds are never fully clear as there seems to be other sounds entwined within, for example noises of traffic or screams and this is done to maybe signify the problem as it occurs allot.
The titles and text are like the rest of the opening scene they are jumpy and in different spots for each credit, this could signify the uncertainly and edge of what is happening, the use of text plays a major role in the opening scene as it bridges some scenes together ,it also shows the difference in time and location. The text is used to give people an idea of what is happening for example it says “there is a kidnapping every 60 minutes in Latin America” not only does this tell us where we are but also what they film may be about. The font is bold and white to signify how important it is, so that is stands out from other parts of the scene.
The narrative: we do not see the protagonist yet in the opening scene but do see the antagonist who I believe is played by the kidnappers. We get an idea of what the film is about from the voice over of the hostage taker and also the text which comes up on screen.
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