One of my favorite movie openings ever is from Denis Villenueve’s “Incendies.” The first frame is of a desert land. Could be anywhere, really. On it’s own, it is simple: a blank canvas. But, as the camera pulls back, we find we are looking at this land through a window, a man-made structure. And with that, Man’s perspective is already being imposed on that land, giving the land meaning. Through this window, the land becomes something other than what it was initially. We pull back even further and pan left, revealing characters. Costumes reveal culture. Guns reveal circumstance. Man’s impositions on a land that is otherwise innocent, owing allegiance to no one. Pan a bit more, Man is imposing himself on children. Putting them in line. Shaving their heads. They are not children anymore. They are soldiers. There is still an innocence in some of their eyes. While others bear nothing but anger and resentment. But, toward whom? A mark on one child’s heel will become significant later on. He looks directly at us with an undeniable fire in his eyes. Radiohead’s minimalistic “You and Whose Army” soundtracks the electrifying photography… and the rest is history.
– k.
Kasiemba 