2. Plot: This film is a crime/drama that illustrates that hardships of a small community that is controlled by the iron fist of the mafia.
3.
4. Analysis Of Film Opening The film opens with a very simplistic credits, a black screen and white sans serif font superimposed onto it. This shows that the film will follow the simplistic pattern, excluding glamorised violence. It certainly outlines the director’s style, simplistic and uncomplicated. Next there is a black screen as the camera-man is actually filming in the dark. Also there is diegetic sound of a fan. A blue light begins to become more prominent at this point. However the mixture of the two makes it seem that the genre is subverted and that there is a futuristic element to the film. As the colour blue has connotations towards science fiction and advanced technology. During this increase of blue light and the sound of the fan the audience is shown a large man and it becomes apparent that he is in a tanning booth. The camera angle at this point is low making the man seem even larger. Throughout this scene the camera is very steadily zooming into his face and the sound of the fan is becoming increasingly loud. Until it is almost unbearable and exhausting for the audience for the audience to continue watching. This fatigue is worsened by the fact that the shot is a long take which adds to the intimacy and almost creates a sense of claustrophobia. Eventually the camera flees outside of the room to relieve the audience.
5. Intradiegetic sound connects the previous scene to the next, the fan. Also the audience are aware that it is in the same place because there is a graphic match. The match being the same colour is continued, blue. Also there is another man in the nude preparing himself to enter the tanning booth. The audience know that that these men are quite vain as they are in a tanning booth and obviously think that self image is very important. The men are possibly narcissistic as they are very eager to get into the tanning booth. Furthermore the men all have chains and tattoos indicating that they are all part of some sort of brotherhood or mafia. As the film is set in Italy the latter is probably more likely. Throughout most of this opening there are long takes that aren’t steadicam, which makes the audience feel as if they are standing in the room observing what is happening. Also it adds length to the film opening and creates a sense of anticipation.
6. A different tanning booth is opened to reveal a similar looking man. Once this man is revealed an upbeat music that was otherwise compressed becomes more prominent. This music could be a motif for the man, it follows him as he is the only man the audience is shown smiling. Next a crash cut to a close up another man’s nails with calming old Italian music playing in the background. This juxtaposition of the music and the shot emphasise how upbeat the previous man’s music was. After this the man is followed by the exotic music in the same scene as the man who the audience was first shown. Again the observing camera shot is repeated. Making the audience feel involved. The large man in the tanning booth turns around and puts his hands up. Mirroring the position that Christ was in when he was crucified. This shows weakness and vulnerability. Next the large man followed by the exotic music reveals that he has a gun and literally shoots the large man in the back. This is a betrayal as the men all have the same chains and tattoos meaning that the killing was like an assassination at close quarters. Furthermore there were no lines exchanged they just shot, this being cold killing, with no glamorised violence or extended fight scene just simple assassinations. The final shot is of the assassins walking out the salon giving a suitcase to the women working there. This shows that the people at the salon were included in the killing and it was very much an organised crime. Finally the upbeat music that has before followed the man becomes again prominent at the title scene, possibly symbolising the strength the man has over the other components of the film.