Monday 31 January 2011

The orphanage - Opening scenes

The orphanage is a Spanish thriller we watched the opening of in class.  The film which was made in 2007. It was directed by Juan Antonio Bayona. I'm now going to analyse a few shots I thought was effective and why. 

The opening shot is of a girl who's playing games. You see the silhouette of her against a tree on a bright spring background. The backgrounds bright and creates a happy atmosphere although all may not be as it seems. This sets a false sense of security to the audience.

The scarecrow you see in the opening scene is important. You see it in the garden in the beginning however later on you see it on the child (like in the photo on the left). 

You see a close up of the phone in the opening sequence as it rings. You then see a close up of the adoption papers, that say "Laura" is being adopted. Weary music is playing creating an unnerving atmosphere. This tells the audience nothing good will come from what's happening. 

The woman who took the phone call then walks outside where the children are playing. The games the children are playing show their innocence. The children are playing "it". When Laura becomes "it" they use a cut shot. This is effective as its almost as if the games are over and she's it. 

I also liked the way the opening credits were displayed. They were written across old wallpaper and they then used a child's hand to rip the wallpaper and reveal another name on newer wallpaper. This hints at what is going to happen later in the film i.e. Laura returns back to the orphanage when she's older and re-opens it. Although it hints at whats going to happen later in the film it doesn't give it all away which is good.

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