Chloe & Emily's Analysis of Man on Fire.

Man On Fire Analysis

In the opening sequence of ‘Man on Fire’, there is a establishing shot of Mexico City, which portrays the idea of a large busy city setting. This scene is accompanied calm and peaceful music, with the sounds of violins and cellos. This sets the scene of a busy city early on a morning. However, there is use of diagetic sounds. Such as church bells, the sharpening of knives, children’s laughing and chatting. These sounds give significance to the film, as it suggests the film’s theme of kidnapping. The sounds imply death, due to the knife sharpening and church bells, and eerie sounds of children’s laughter, adding a suspicion to the audience.

As the scene progresses, the beat of the music becomes more rapid, and the camera effects differ from fast pans, and quick zooms. This suggests a change in the films pace, and that more action is about to happen. In this scene we hear a scream, as a car pulls up to the two main characters, in which the camera had been focusing on throughout the scene. The camera shops become more unsteady and more zooms are added. This creates tension and uncertainty in the audience.

There is then a phone call. Which has voice over the action of the car speeding away, and showing the victim being tortured. This presents a typical kidnapping scene, and creates suspense to the viewer.