Insights about the narrative strategies employed by the filmmaker of: Listen (2014)

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Written by sophiebudgenmp

For my first blog post for the Imagining Reality: Video Production unit, we had to analyse the techniques used in a short film. I chose the film Listen, 2014, which is a short film was produced by Valeria Ritcher and Helene Granqvist, both female producers, which hugely inspired me and also made me chose the film. The film is about a woman telling the police about the abuse she has endured from her husband. However, the film includes complexities across cultures, religion and language barriers in Scandinivia which is where the film is set. 

Key things I noted from the film were:

  • Dark, very monotoned colour palette – very little colour
  • Lighting is dark – shadows on faces, son is half lit for example
  • Medium close ups on police, mother and the translator
  • Different perspectives – from the mother telling her story, to the translators face, to the male police officers and to the female police officers.
  • Translator changing the words of what has been said, lighting is much brighter then, on her face and officers.
  • Cut to her son waiting outside, fast upbeat music
  • Music then stops in time when he takes his headphones out
  • Little non-diegetic sound, more diegetic sound such as talking
  • During argument scene,  shots on each person in the room, mainly close ups
  • Dim lighting when her son is translating
  • Few seconds of blackness between each scene
  • Moment when her son betrays her, it all goes black

My thoughts:

The film was produced by a Danish production company, meaning that this film based in  Denmark which faces a lot of these issues on a daily basis. The film uses voice to create an emotional impact, which is one of the key things that drives the films narrative.  Key themes of the narrative are manipulation, prejudice, and strategic misinterpretation. (Hjort, 2018) These are all shown through the abused mother, her translator and her young son, all in the police station with her. These key themes are shown mainly when the translator and her own son betray her. This makes you think, not everyone is easily trusted, especially family.

 

 

 

 

 

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