wallander opening sequence analysis

wallander opening sequence analysis

The beginning opens with a fade in to the sea. the camera pans across it then tilts up.

As the camera tilts up, the audience is presented with an isolated country scene. The audience can see scattered houses and trees in the background with a faint white blur on one of the tracks.

As the camera continues to pan over the scene, it becomes clear that the faint white blur is actually a car. The audience can now see two black figures walking away from the car. They're briskly walking  away and the audience can tell that the car door is open. The car is also not on a road, it's only on a track, this emphasizes the isolation of the scene.

The camera then cuts to a close up of two girls, both wearing black with their hair tied up. The one on the left, has brown hair, tied up and wearing a black jacket. where as the one on the right, has red streaks in her hair and is wearing a black leather jacket. The audience now thinks that the girl on the right is a more suspicious and the girl on the left is more sensible.

The camera then cuts to a shot where there's blood on the windscreen of the car with someone or something lying in the front seat. A drivers license is also shown, suggesting that this is a taxi and that the figure in the front seat is the driver. The two girls are also shown in the background. The audience does still not know who they are or what's happened.

The camera then cuts to a side view of the girls. The girl in the foreground looks stern and serious, where as the girl in the background looks agitated and scared. 

A close up is then shown of a man that's been beaten up. However, the audience does not yet know for certain that this is the man on the driving license. His eye twitches suggesting he's still alive.

a mid shot of the two girls is then shown to not only show all of their face but also to show that they both have blood on the faces. The audience could interoperate this that he two girls beat the man up. The audience might also think this because of the razor blade the girl on the left has around her neck suggesting she's violent. 

An extreme close up of the mans hand is then shown, it twitches for a moment then stops, another sign the man is still alive.

This photo suggests to the audience that the taxi driver was family orientated. The audience now thinks that the taxi driver wouldn't have done anything to provoke the girls behavior.

A close up is now shown of one of the girls holding a knife with blood  on it. She continues to hold the knife then drops it. The audience can know this is the girl with red streaks in her hair as she had a black leather jacket, red streaks in her hair and a razor blade worn around her neck, all signs of her being violent and aggressive.