yearbook 2004/05 - The European Film College

whiteness of the frost. The situation is very calm,
underlined by the shot turning into a tracking
shot, following D’Hubert from the road into a
large field. The calmness of the entire situation
makes us anticipate a dramatic change in the
action, thus changing the mood.
The next shot is a cutaway to the end of the
woods (his Point Of View). This is a time cut,
which becomes apparent as he is now sitting
eating an orange. This enhances the impression
that he is waiting for someone. Furthermore,
the warm colour of the orange contrasts
dramatically to his pale face. It looks as if he
is already dead. The camera zooms in on him.
He is completely calm, the surroundings are
completely silent. It is the silence before the
storm. Suddenly the footsteps of three men approaching
from the fringe of the woods, breaks
the silence. The camera changes to his POV of
them approaching. Two of the men block the
view of the third but we sense the presence of
Feraud in the background. This is what we have
been waiting for. As the three men approach,
seen from D’Hubert’s POV (wide shot) the
two strangers form an unstable triangle with
D’Hubert as the downward point. They also
FROM THE STUDENTS
appear threateningly larger than him as they are
places in the foreground in a shot filmed with a
wide-angle lens.
All of the persons are shown in multiple closeups,
except Feraud, who is kept in the background,
rendered faceless – as a threatening
ghost. D’Hubert says “…We have come here to
kill each other; any ground is suitable for that”
and by that he shows his rational point of view
and his contempt of the concept of duelling.
But Feraud is determined to go through with
the duel and D’Hubert can not refuse. Feraud
is shown in a close-up of him (the first in the
sequence) – he is now taking part in the action,
agreeing on the rules set up by the protagonist.
The dialogue pulls to an end and the adversaries
are seen preparing for the duel in the wide
shot seen earlier. The silence and seriousness of
the situation creates a lot of tension. As the antagonist
walks off into the woods, leaving the
protagonist waiting for the sign for the duel to
begin, we hold our breath, waiting alongside
with him. When the assistant says “Forward”
we can finally breathe again. The storm begins.
D’Hubert starts walking to the forest when one
of the helpers says “Forward”. With this shout
the final duel starts. From that moment on and
until the first shot, the music underlies the sequence
in which the duellists search for each
other in the forest and around the ruins.
When D’Hubert enters the forest he walks from
lower left to upper right of the frame, it suggests
how the duel will end (this movement signifies
the rise of the character). On the other hand