Brief Bio
-An Arthouse movie
-Shot in 28 days
-Richard Kelly's debut film
-Recommending reviews from the Sundance Film Festival
-It had a poor run at Box Office, released 11th September 2001.
-Moved into the realms of cult status
-Adolescence is a central theme
"A filmmaker is a kind of technician or craftsman" - Richard Kelly
There are four ways of looking at the film:
-Science fiction/fantasy
-Religion
-Psychological
-Political
As the first scene opens, there is diegetic sounds of rumbling thunder and we see a ragged cut of location, the landscape cut jaggedly across by the land creating a dark and light contrast, perhaps representative of the duality of the character's mind.
The first time we see the main character we mistake him for an animal, and this shows vulnerability. His costume is made up of muted colours and this makes him blend into the setting, the shape of his body echoing the land and making him part of the landscape.
The scene is harmonious, until the character 'pops' into shot, separating the division between sky and land, a divisive element to splitting the scene.
The music then changes to Echo & The Bunnymen- The Killing Moon as we change to a suburban landscape. We are then introduced to new characters, sweeping by them as our protagonist does on his bike homeward. We then move in to a garden where who we presume is the protagonists mother is sat reading a horror novel, showing both her character and perhaps the anticipation of what is to come, something strange and surreal.
