Dear Mr Hicks, I recently viewed your film ‘Shine’ and today I am writing you a letter which will express my personal opinions and thoughts about the film. I believe this film is tremendous due to the in depth symbolism, camera angles, film techniques and inspiring storyline. This film has been well crafted since you raised a number of important issues such as mental illness, parenting and relationships (particularly between father and son) which is complemented by an inspiring storyline. Firstly I would like to talk about one of the most prominent themes of the film, mental illness. Mental illness is an alarming and increasing issue in Australia. According to Mind frame Australia each year, approximately one in every five Australians will …show more content…
I like how you employ close-ups, slow-motion and point of view shots together to help place the audience “inside” David’s head. This scene is emblematic of the film’s desire to create an empathetic relationship between mentally ill David and the audience. This scene, is the realisation of David’s promising talent as a concert pianist. The anticipation of his performance is built up by the preceding montage of rehearsals, which allows the audience to understand the strenuous amounts of exertion he is putting into his music. Shine additionally manipulates sound and image to signal David’s increasing dislocation from reality and to place the audience in the same sensory headspace as the protagonist. Rachmaninov’s concerto is anthropomorphised as an opponent that must be overcome, and this piece of music stands in for David’s father, Peter, as his harshest opponent. This metaphor can be related to life as we all have obstacles and difficulties that are encountered however if we try our hardest we will eventually achieve. The film’s audience is aligned with David throughout the performance. Close-ups of David’s hands on the keyboard approximate his point of view looking down at the instrument. The intimacy of the camerawork gives the audience the sense of being seated alongside David. The melodic and passionate strains of the concerto are interrupted by a series of harsh, unmusical sounds which express David’s growing separation from the reality of his performance. These sounds create a disturbing effect as they interrupt the melody and technical skill of the