Film Assignment: White Material

This picture above is the establishing shot in White Material. This shot actually happens in the beginning of the film and at the end. It serves as a type of foreshadowing mechanism. This shot shows the audience that the film takes place in a rural setting. It does not provide much more information than that.

Camera Angles

Throughout the film, there were several camera angles. The angles included close-up, high-angle, low-angle, and straight on. During some scenes, the camera acted as if it was from the audience's perspective.

Story Line

This story is about the Vial's, a French family, who has a coffee plantation in an African country. A civil war is taking place in this country and orders for all French people to leave have been set. The Vial's decide to stay and try to save their plantation. Maria Vial is determined to do everything in her power to save the plantation while the rest of her family has given up. Her son, Manuel, ends up joining the fight with the other native people. He ends up burning the plantation as well as himself. Maria is left to fend for herself.

The scene that made me uncomfortable was when the army came to their house and killed the native children. The bathtub scene got to me the most because of the blood. Another scene that made me uncomfortable was when Manuel went crazy and stuffed a ball of hair into Elisabeth's mouth.

Mise-en-Scene

There were mise-en-scene in the film. One that sticks out the most was at the end when Manuel decided to burn the planation as well as himself.

Roles of Actors

The characters that stick out the most in this film are Maria, Manuel, and the Boxer.

Isabelle Huppert, the actress who plays Maria, does an excellent job portraying a woman who is passionate about her life. She is determined to keep her plantation afloat. Her acting abilities certainly portray this throughout the film.

Nicolas Duvauchelle, the actor who plays Manuel, transforms from the lazy son to becoming part of native rebels in an outstanding way. I could feel how the transformation took place because of his acting abilities.

The Boxer is played by Issach De Bankole. The Boxer is supposed to be the legendary person in the country, but he turns up at their plantation as a weak person. His acting ability shows the desperation and longingness for this war to be over.

Music/Soundtrack

The music that made the most impact to me in the film was the radio. During various parts of the film, the radio played upbeat music that reminded me of African music. I found it ironic that during this awful time, there was upbeat music playing.

Genre

The genre of this film is a mixture of crime, drama, and action. There was a tremendous amount of crime and action in White Material. The drama between the Vial family as well as the native people was portrayed throughout the film.

Film Context

I left this film feeling somewhat confused and unsure of what exactly happened. Looking back, I believe this film shows the willingness of one strong woman to fight for what she lived for. She went to every extreme to save her beloved plantation. It also showed the terrible and tragic events that take places during a civil war.