https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7hOJDwLw8g
The Talisman is a short film directed by Mathieu Ratthe. It is based on a scene from a Stephen King book, and has lots of supernatural and otherworldly events going on in it. The narrative follows Todorov's narrative theory, and uses semantic codes to show genre and gain the audience's attention.
The first shot is of a dark hallway, showing only the light through a slightly ajar door. This use of darkness sets the tone for the rest of the film, and acts as a visual code showing that this is going to be a dark story. A figure walks up to the door, and as he walks through, light floods onto the screen, engulfing everything else around it. This use of extreme light in contrast to the pitch black hallway adds a supernatural theme, as the light looks like a representation for something unnatural. The contrast between the light and dark looks like two alternate worlds clashing with each other, and definitely adds another layer of meaning to the story.
The next shot shows a framed photograph of a mother and son. The image looks saturated, and stands out slightly from its surroundings. Both the mother and son look happy in the photo, which could suggest that something bad is going to happen in the near future. The person who had walked through the door in the previous shot walks past this photo, dropping a bag by its side. The next shot shows a zoom on the content of the bag. the music becomes more intense, and has an eerie tone to it, which adds foreboding. The drawings in the bag show lots of dark buildings and shadowy shapes and figures. Then, the crescendo is ended by someone saying "mom". It is obviously the son from the photo.
The next shot shows the son walking into the main room, stating that he is home. The camera shows the interior of the room, and the big window overlooking a beach and pier. Then, a crow flies by, and it makes a caw sound as it flies by. This is a semantic code, as crows are often associated with death and evil. This adds foreboding, and prepares the audience for something bad which may occur. The next shot shows the boy walk into another room, and a mug is brought into focus. The mug is steaming, implying that someone has very recently filled it with a drink. This suggests that the boy is not alone in the house, and that someone else is in there with him. Whilst the camera holds on this shot, the music briefly crescendos, getting very intense for a very brief period.
The next shot is the boy in a bedroom. A radio is playing in the background, whilst the boy walks over to the bed, expecting him mother to be there. As he draws closer, he assumes she's under the blanket, so goes to push it. There is no response, and the camera cuts to a side shot of his face as he turns towards the left, with a cautious look on his face. In the background, the crows caws again, implying that something is not right.
In this shot, a shadow moves quickly through the doorway, accompanied by a loud dramatic sound. This implies that he is not alone in the house, and he turns quickly to see nothing there. He walks over, and the shower can be heard. Following this is a series of crosscuts between the boy getting closer to the shower and the shower door. He is cautious, asking if everything is alright. His tone suggests that he is unsure of what to make of all this, and he is confused at the situation. The non-diegetic music picks up again, and increases as the boy gets closer to the door. He starts knocking on the door, and the music becomes very fast paced and intense, he asks what's going on, and opens the door. Inside is nothing, and the music slows down. His facial expression shows confusion and worry, and he looks to the desk, which is covered in prescription drugs.
He walks back into the main room and call out "mom" again, looking into the room. Suddenly, the window behind him cracks, and as he looks, the crack separates the view into two. The music at this point changes to a much faster paced, more thriller/horror themed soundtrack, with lots of piercing sounds, as well as diegetic thunder. The world in the top left is the normal one, and the crack divides the rest of the window to show a much darker, evil looking world, much like the drawings hinted at earlier in the film. The boy goes over to the window, only to see outside two men forcing his mother into a car. She looks around, screaming, and the boy screams "mom" in response. One of the men turns around, and a close up shows that his eyes are yellow, and his face is unnaturally hairy. This adds to the fact that this is a different world that the boy is looking out into. It is a dangerous world with lots of unnatural events and actions taking place
There are more shots between the mother screaming and the boy, then all of a sudden, it stops, and his mother appears behind him, whilst he still looks out the window. She says "is everything alright" as the boy looks back and forth in confusion. He answers "everything's ok mom", turning around to see her. As the camera pans out through the window, the crow from earlier appears, cawing again, and as shown earlier, the crow represents foreboding. The camera then cuts.
The narrative in this film starts at equilibrium, the boy arriving home. The disruption is his gradual realisation that his mother is not anywhere to be found. There is no resolution, and instead, there is just further disruption in the world dividing, and the boy's realisation of the location of his mother. The narrative then switches back to a new equilibrium, one that seemingly defies that in which the boy entered in. It is an interesting twist on Todorov's theory, and one which plays well with the supernatural themes of the story. I think this works well as a short film because it has an interesting narrative, as well as excellent use of semantic codes and even some red herring such as the prescription drugs and the mug.
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