Man On Fire Analysis

Man On Fire Analysis

 

The first thing we notice about the opening sequence of Man on Fire is the company logo, it then takes us to an establishing shot of a city, maybe Mexico. We then see the couple which is a young man and woman, they look happy but the music behind them tells us something different. The music is slow and calm and tells us something is wrong and that something is about to happen. All of a sudden the music and camera movements get faster and tension builds up. This is when the young man is kidnapped.

We also get told at the very beginning an important fact about kidnappings which could relate to the plot of the film. We then hear the laughing of children, which creates an image in our heads that the children are happily playing but we know deep down what is going to happen to them. This can create a sad feel for the viewer as they will feel sorry in the fact that they know what will happen in some way.

When the actor’s names appear on the screen we should notice that the first name we see is Denzel Washington’s name, this is because he is the main character and therefore has priority over the others. The other actor’s names come up during the action and when their character is on screen this is so we know who is playing which part. The last title we always see in a film is the director’s name because that is where all the appreciation goes to as they are the ones who made the film what it was. When the title of the film comes up we notice it is flames which gives us the thought that he might actually be on fire, of course it is just a comparison as we all know he wouldn’t actually be on fire, however it is a good way to reflect the title of the film.

The next part of the film is the man who is on the phone to the mother of the boy that has been kidnapped. We hear the conversation between them whilst watching clips of what has been happening to her son. We see him get his ear chopped of, however they don’t show us the bit when the ear gets chopped off we, as the viewers, get this information from the shot we are shown of his head and then the shot of the ear in the bag. We then see a bit with someone driving with their shirt hanging out the window, we see this just and the man is explaining to the woman that this is how she should wave her top to show them that it is her. This is so no-one else gets in and they don’t get found out, I suppose.

Lastly we see a boy getting pulled out of a car, half naked and gagged with his hands tied behind his back. He is pulled out and left in the middle of the main road. He is crying out for help, however none of the cars stops and helps him this suggests to us that these type of things happen all the time and no-one dares to stop and help him in case something bad happens to them.