Comparing Rainer's Epilog And Erez Tadmor

Critiques of social concerns have constantly been achieved by composers, which simultaneously offer insight into the composer’s point of view. Social commentary encompasses the composer’s opinions on societal practices, which automatically makes it their viewpoint. This is evident in Tom Tykwer’s 1992 short film Epilog and Erez Tadmor and Guy Nattiv’s 2003 short film Strangers. Epilog provides social commentary on society’s lack of personal accountability while Strangers criticises unnecessary construction of barriers between race and culture while they would unite for a common adversary. By effectively utilising mise-en-scene and non-diegetic sound, both composers successfully appraise society.

Tykwer’s 1992 German short film Epilog encompasses

This is further accentuated when objects move on their own which is noticeable the scene where the bed moves out of the way when Rainer gets shot in Rainer’s flashback as this shows that Rainer’s memory is flawed and is untrustworthy. This accentuates Tykwer’s social concern of people not taking responsibility for their actions. Tykwer uses double exposure in unison with a slowed down frame rate in the first scene to manipulate the audience into believing that Nadja is a monster. This is Rainer’s perspective of Nadja, convincing the audience that she is the antagonist. This is followed by an extended panning shot that creates a dizzying sensation, symbolising Rainer’s world being toppled over by Nadja, which reinforces the negative portrayal of her, despite the fact that Rainer was the one who shoots her, emphasising the unaccountability of beings. Tykwer mostly expresses his concerns through mise-en-scene in Epilog, as it set in a relatable apartment. Despite this, the apartment is extremely small and with objects

Like in Epilog they achieve this through the use of non-diegetic sound in scenes to build tension and control the audience’s emotions throughout the film. This is apparent in the unnerving and unusual music that accompanies the Neo-Nazi skinheads as they enter the train. The background music features a croaky voice and repetitive drumbeat, which creates an uncomfortable atmosphere and tension in the scene. The Jew’s upbeat Jewish folk ringtone breaks this tension, which labels him as a Jew for the Neo-Nazi skinheads. There is then a crescendo in the music where both the passengers make their escape and the background music changes to a middle-eastern themed drumbeat, which creates tension. The music suddenly stops as soon as they exit the train showing that they have reached safety from adversity together, despite the barriers present between their cultures. This is further intensified by the chiaroscuro that is evident in the scenes in the dark lighting of the train and with the Neo-Nazi skinheads with their dark their dark tattoos and clothes. The composers cleverly incorporate Nazi symbolism such as the Teutonic Cross and Swastika in the skinhead’s tattoos, which symbolises darkness and hatred as well as a threat to the passengers. Another main symbol in this film is the Jewish passenger’s Star of David necklace and the Muslim