Little Terrorist found on Ticklebooth
Synopsis:
Jamal, a young muslim boy, accidentally looses his cricket ball while playing with friends. It crosses the border to India where soldiers fire upon him while he dodges landmines. The guards search for him and find an Indian school master who sends the guards away. The school master takes him to his village where they cut Jamal's hair to fool the soldiers. The schoolmaster then sneaks him back to the border where he is returned to his mother who is joyous to see her son, but then spanks him for cutting his hair. The boy can do nothing but laugh.
Shot Analysis:
The film utilizes a lot of P.O.V shots during high tension timss for the Jamal. The director chose this to put us there at the border as Jamal to see the tower above us, the mines below us and the soldiers aiming at us. These P.O.V put us further into the body of Jamal because they were handheld shots that shook and darted across the landscape. A good example of the tension it portrays is when it is juxtaposed against other shots that are not. When the soldiers find the school master, the soldier's view and the school master's are steady. A cut to the boy hiding with a handheld P.O.V makes us feel his uncertainty and fear.
Another way in which the tension of this piece is executed is through the editiing and music. When the wife of the school master cuts his hair, the pacing of cuts is greatly speed up. High tempo music is also added to further raise tensions.
One of my favorite sequences is starts with a close-up of Jamal, a pan to the left that reveals a guard tower, cuts to a shot of his leg (urine dripping down) and another tower in the top right of the frame, then a pan to follow him running to the left part of the frame. Music is utilized in this portion with a single drum beat to emphasize the discovery of the tower, silence to heighten tension and high tempo music to accompany the escape.
Story Analysis:
This short film depicts the state conflict with terrorists that even children are now suspect. At the same time it
shows the unity that can exist between two cultures, no matter how different they may be. I thought this was a very solid piece of cinema and deserves your attention.
Comments
this indeed, is a beautiful short film. beautifully shot and edited. the boy's performance is strong. use of colors - reds (in wardrobe, ball, the bike guy's turbin & bike decorations, etc. show director is really constructing each element of the piece.
one thing - this is a short film seemingly shot for distribution (do you know anything about the filmmaker? intended audience?) we have an upcoming post on short films distributed online in coming weeks.
for this assignment, i was looking to start with more personal expressions and less cinema using web as distribution.
excellent post in any event!
Posted by: Rachel | September 28, 2006 8:07 AM