FILM... through our EYES!!!

White Waters is a movie produced by Amstel Malta Box Office. The winner of this acting competition is giving a chance to be the lead actor in this movie. White Waters is set in a village in Plateau state and it basically talks about a boy who has to learn to believe in himself after he was rejected by his mother and step-father. The movie is analyzed below with the following steps:


• The Theme or Meaning of the film: this talks about the social elements that the film relates to or portrays. A major theme in White Waters is that nobody should be seen as a write-off. Melvin was once considered a write-off by both his mother and everyone around him, it was only his grandmother that believed in him. At the end of the day, he won the 100 metres race for his State to the amazement of the rest of the village. There is explicit meaning, that is, the open meaning that can be seen, an example is in White Waters everybody is said to be endowed with talents, it is just for you to portray it.

• Narrative form: here, you form an expectation – this is when the viewers begin to have expectation as they watch the film. The point of narrative form is to discover if the expectations are realized, cheated or was there a surprise to the audience. The surprise in this film was that Banji swallowed his pride and was happy with Melvin. Another surprise was that Melvin’s mother left him.

• Suspense: it was also used in this movie to delay the viewer’s expectation; an instance is during the sports event, the camera followed every athlete until the point where the baton fell. There was also a surprise when Nola was attacked and there was a sudden black-out after which we see Nola on the floor.

• Feeling: from the beginning of the movie, there is the feeling of pity for Melvin as he does not go to school or have anything to look up to but rather is just taken care of his grandmother. There is also the feeling of disappointment, from Melvin’s father and mother then finally Nola believing them and leaving him. Some other themes are love between Nola and Melvin, also between Melvin and his grandmother. There is also hope and feelings of joy.

• Cause and Effect: this shows the cause of a matter and the effect on the character in the movie. This relationship runs through this story. As a result of the plot by Banji, Nola broke up with Melvin. Because the baton fell from Melvin’s hand, he was thrown out of the team and the coach was sacked. Because his parents left him he had several insecurities including inferiority complex. Also, the fact that Melvin was always running made him join the team.

• Similarity and Repetition: it could be a word, and occurrence, event that is similar or a repetition. The purpose of repetition is to lay emphasis on a particular thing. Similarity is when something that has taken place is being carried out by another person. There was a similarity between the role played by Nola and the coach when they tried to build Melvin’s confidence. Repetition is when the character is doing the same thing again at different points in the movie. The word “Massive” was repeated severally in the movie by Banji and the girls. The fact that Melvin runs was stated and repeatedly shown in the movie. Other similar things in this movie is secret admiration between Nola and Melvin, also, between the boys that had been watching and knew that he could run.

• Differences and Variation: the purpose of this is to place emphasis on two different things. An instance in White Waters is seen when Banji is the complete opposite of Melvin, he is confident, proud, rich, e.t.c while Melvin is poor, shy and insecure. The difference between Melvin’s father and his coach is also seen here, Melvin’s father is impatient and does not believe in Melvin while the coach is very patient with Melvin and believes strongly in Melvin.

• Depth of Story: this is how the movie plunges into the character’s psychological state. To what extent do the viewers see what is going on in the mind of the character. An instance is at the last scene when Melvin was about to run and he was thinking that he is not a failure.

• Motif (i.e. Function of Elements): this is the justification of the inclusion of some elements, an example is the White Water shown in the film depicts the film’s title and also peace of mind for him. The part that he was practicing and it was raining.

• Mis En Scene: here, the setting of the movie is talked about, the colour, the behavior of charaters, lighting, costume. The movie is set in the village and stadium. The characters interprete their roles well.

• Cinematography: here, the camera shots, angle, movement and transitional devices are looked at. In Camera shot, long shots were used in so many scenes and this was to familiarize the audience with the environment. Crane shots was used at the stadium when the athletes were running. Close-up shots were also used on the characters. In Camera movement, track shots where used when Melvin’s mother and grandmother were arguing.

• Evaluation: based on a personal critical standard, I feel that the movie was interesting enough but at the same time not good enough for the expectation of the audience of Amstel Malta box office. The characters tried their best to portray themselves well in the movies but there were some unnecessary scenes. As much as they tried to avoid it, the movie was still very clichéd.