In addition, as in the above categories, little details came into play here as well. There is a brief travelling scene to bring the three men to Poland. It’s a very short montage comprised of footage of an old airplane flying (I have to wonder how that footage was obtained!), and then a graphic map with a line detailing the flight path – a la Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. While it was a brief scene, it helped to both set the distance of the journey, and the fact that our three heroes were now beginning their mission.
There were also some terrific shots – one of my favorites was that of the three men in Poland, coming across a barn in which they stay for the night. It was a very simple shot, and the colors were not nearly as saturated as in other scenes, but just the eerie effect of calm and fog in that scene was absolutely beautiful.
Speaking of saturation, I was not sure if this was a deliberate choice, but all the images of overseas were much less saturated than those of the “home front.” At first, it seemed a little odd and mismatched, but as the story frequently cuts back and forth between the two locations, it is a rather creative way to set a scene without relying on multiple captions. It did make me wonder if there was some hidden meaning behind this visual element as well – whether it was a similar reasoning as Steven Spielberg’s choice to shoot Schindler’s List in black and white (he reasoned that we all see the Holocaust in black and white, since that is all the documentation that exists of it), or whether it was a subtle statement about home being warm or loving as opposed to the harshness and cold of the battlefield. Either way, while it may take an audience a while to get used to the effect, it really does add a lot in the end.
The filmmakers also made good use of the Redrock Micro M2 to create some good rack focus effects. Although I did notice one moment that looked to be a mistake – while the three men are being stalked by German troops, there is a wide shot of several of the soldiers that briefly jumps out of focus. As some brief out of focus moments are used in some of the more frantic sequences, I was not sure if this was deliberate, but it did not seem to fit with the mood of the moment.
Use of Audio
I was surprised to learn that the music in this film is actually a temporary track, as I certainly would have given it a very high score. There are some great vocals and instrumentals throughout, and I certainly hope the in-progress soundtrack follows along these lines. One thing I think would have been a nice addition, however, is that of old radio audio. Granted, its a little clichéd as this type of audio is used quite often in films set in this era. However, radio was such an important part of World War II culture, as it was the means by which families could either learn about the progress of the war or escape from their concerns via music or radio drama.
The film made nice use of voice over. Captain Young set the tone at the beginning, the brief bits in the middle helped set up the top-secret mission, and the final speech at the end brought tears to my eyes.
There were very few audio issues in this film, although I did notice a few instances where the dialogue volume would drop in comparison to that of the soundtrack. This occurred in an early scene in the “war room,” while detailing the mission to Poland, and also later on when Captain Young tells his wife that he has to leave. Also, in this conversation, she slaps him across the face, at which time the audio spikes suddenly and the sound effect of the slap sounds very unrealistic. As the soundtrack is only temporary, these audio level issues are not too major, but it might be something to keep in mind for the film’s final edit.
