What I See

For this assignment I watched Herbert Sauper’s Darwin’s Nightmare. I had seen the film before but the first time I watch a film I prefer to just enjoy it and allow myself to be transported. With subsequent viewings I can dissect the method in which the filmmaker has affected me. One of the reasons I enjoyed Darwin’s Nightmare so much is the intimacy that the viewer and filmmaker feel with the subjects. There is definitely a feeling of sympathy for the poor of Tanzania but the sentiment does not degrade into pity. One way the filmmaker achieves this is through shot composition. Whenever his subject is outside Sauper uses a wide lens and frames them so that they are on one side of the composition and are visually surrounded by their environment. This way we may not judge the individual but are forced to see him as part of a larger whole. From the prostitutes to the street children and even the eastern European airplane pilots, everyone is part of a larger structure over which they are essentially powerless. The intimacy in the film is enhanced by the camera angles. Usually Sauper films people from either a slightly low angle or level as though we are standing in the room with them. In one of the films most powerful moments, the interview with the prostitute Eliza, the frame is almost entirely taken up by her face. Apparently while filming Sauper was also holding the candle that served as the scenes sole light source. One of the aspects of this film that I love is that even though many of the filming techniques are dictated by budget (or lack of) and the necessity of a crew of only one or two people, the shots still carry meaning and add to the story.