preview

Analysis of Before the Rain Essay

Decent Essays

Analysis of Before the Rain Before the Rain, filmed on location in the Republic of Macedonia and in London is a trilogy that focuses on the conflict between Muslims and Orthodox Christians in the Balkans. The three chapters of the trilogy are " Words," " Faces" and " Pictures." Director Milcho Manchevski states; " Before the Rain, refers to the feeling of heavy expectation, when the skies are pregnant with the possibility of an outburst, when people are silent, waiting for a tragedy of cleansing"(1). The movie is a circle in itself, showing the reoccurring cycles of violence and hate. In the first chapter, "Words," the audience is introduced to Kirkil, a Macedonian Monk who has taken a vow of …show more content…

"The construction of Manchevski's story is intended to demonstrate the futility of ancient hatreds. There are a few moments in the film in which hatred of others is greater than love of one's own. Imagine a culture where a man would rather kill his daughter than allow her to love a man from another culture, and one will have an idea of the depth of bitterness in this film, the insane lengths to which men can be driven by belief and prejudice" ( Ebert 3). Mise-en-scene is a French term roughly translated as " what is put into the Scene." Before the Rain, uses examples of mise-en-scene through out the movie. Each of the three chapters is opened with a plane flying across a blue sky. The purpose to incorporate the plane in each part is used by Manchevski to show a sense of escape. In the third chapter, the plane Aleksander is on lands in Macedonia. This symbolizes Aleksander's desire to be "home," while the other citizens of Albania and Macedonia would rather escape by flying away. The deliberate use of the sky in each chapter of the movie is used by Manchevski to show " the heavy expectation… when the people are silent, waiting for a tragedy of cleansing"(Manchevski 1). Kirkil, Anne and Aleksander all are filmed vomiting, implying that the realization of violence amongst people is nauseating to them. Often children are shown with guns, and in one scene a gun is taken from a child and given to a retard,

Get Access