Yale Analysis of a Scene from a Film I saw

 How a Beginning Can Be the Start, Middle, and End

I chose to analyze the opening scene of the film Port of Shadows, especially concerning how it sets the tone for the entire film and foreshadows many of the events to come. Before that, it's essential to understand the rather depressing message that Marcel Carné was trying to convey with his film’s story. Port of Shadows is a film that basks in the tragedy of its own story and seeks to represent the lower-class masses who were trapped in their situation own impoverished situations at the time. It tells the story of a world with no happy endings unless, of course, you  are born into money. The Film sets out to convey the fact that all dreams and happy futures are doomed and out of sight while still giving you a slimmer of hope just like many of the citizens of France had at the time; marching on with their endless cyclical lives trying to reach their goal with nothing but fog in their path. 

With this in mind, it is really impressive what Carné does with his film’s opening. The very first thing Carné shows is a close-up of a sign of the city of Le Havre, being a sort of love story, you would assume that the city where Jean (the main character) would meet his love would be pleasant, but no. Right from the beginning Carné wants to show that this is a tale of tragedy and what better way than to frame the city's sign from a high angle, making it seem in the ground in a tombstone-like nature, this becomes even more ironic later knowing that Le Havre is ultimately the final resting place of Jean. On the road to Le Harve, Carné shows in a POV shot Jean appears almost out of nowhere, illuminated by the headlights only when he is very close. This solidifies the idea that the future can come out of the blue. Jean's entire character comes in seemingly out of nowhere and leaves without a trace which can also be said about the role of his character in the film with only those who knew him left to confirm his existence.

Carné is very clever when it comes to the dialouge in this film. There is a lot of foreshadowing in the dialouge in this scene, so much so that it might appear on the nose to some. The second question and line of dialouge that Jean and the truck driver exchange makes much more sense when you finish the film. “Are you on leave?” asks the driver, Jean doesn't reply and the driver labels him as someone who isn't talkative, but it's much more likely that he was in fact hesitating because he is a runaway. Another impressive sequence is after Jean saves the dog and steps out to fight the driver, the driver claims that he was worried Jean would shoot him. The camera closes in from a two-shot to a close-up of Jean as he ponders about his situation. This close-up shows that this matter is personal to him and this is a close belief of his. The whole shot seems detached from the scene and his ramblings feel above the rest of the situation. Carné foreshadows the very end of the film in this dialogue, he ends up being shot in an emotionally distant manner. 

The most thematic and important part of this opening segment is the mise en scene with the fog. The fog is a central point of the film as it really summarizes the whole point that Carné is trying to get across. You cannot possibly foresee your own future and in this environment, the future feels clouded and dark. 

Carné's intro to this film is close to perfect as it develops the entire theming and message with simple dialouge and minimal scenery. It is a truly impressive scene and completely ahead of its time.