Analysis of Film Opening Scene (DYM)

The film I have chosen to analyse is "The Book of Eli". It was released in 2010 and directed by Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes. It stars Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis and Gary Oldman.

The Book of Eli is an action and adventure film, set in a unique situation. The opening scene is full of clues as to what genre the film is. In the first five seconds there is a blank white shot, but you can hear gunfire then an explosion. This already tells you that there was some kind of conflict before when the film starts (later in the film it explains what exactly the explosion was). Then, at 6 seconds in, the scene is established. The setting is a forest, with leaves all over the floor and green mist shrouding the area. The trees appear to have no leaves and what you first assume is leaves falling down, is in fact ash. You can then see a gun and a corpse. The corpse seems to have been looted of its shoes and presumably other valuables. Its foot is exposed, which baits in a seemingly ill and disfigured cat. The shot continues panning to the right to show a man hidden in leaves, with a loaded bow aimed at the corpse. He is also wearing a gas mask. This, alongside the trees with no leaves, the green mist, the disfigured cat, the looted corpse and the ash falling from the sky, strongly suggests the film is set in a post nuclear apocalypse, which it is.

The only character introduced in this opening scene is of course the man hidden in leaves. We assume he is the protagonist as there is no reason to suggest otherwise. The fact that he is seen killing a cat with a skillfully made bow, suggests that he is talented in the art of survival. The scene also connotes that he killed and looted the corpse, which suggest he is lethal and serious enough to kill another human with little consideration. The fact that he looted the corpse also tells us just how drastic the post-apocalyptic situation really is.

All in all, the opening scene is very exciting. It grabs the audience's attention right away and constantly drops hints as to what the setting and situation of the film is. The obvious thing that needs to be cleared up straight after the scene, is who the man actually is.  The setting has been depicted well and will surely get developed as the scene goes on, but the assumed protagonist hasn't even had their face revealed. The audience know of his skill set and that he is a lone wolf, but that is all.

The opening scene is not referenced at all during the rest of the film. Its purpose is solely to show off the first few details of the film. Therefore, it does not matter at all if the audience doesn't entirely understand what is going on. This makes is easier for the audience to simply enjoy it without fear of being too confused in the first 5 minutes of the film.