Wallander- Opening sequence analysis

Cinematography
During the opening sequence of Wallandar there is an extreme close up of the movement of hands. This is significant to the opening sequence as the audience are led early on to believe that man was dead. However, by the clever use of cinematography, the director has allowed the audience to see the slight movement of the mans hand, which could only be done through the use of an extreme close up. There is also an extreme long shot used, to allow us to see that in this frame that it is completely deserted. This could cause an intense atmosphere as it's kind of ironic that something so tragic and horrifying (such as the mans death) could of taken place in a succluded, quiet setting. This then yet again adds mystery to the opening sequence, as it causes suspicion and questions will immediately start being asked.

Mise-en-scene
The murder that has taken place has been set in the daytime, which could suggest that the killers motive was that this person did'nt want to disguise their identity, and the mystery isn't who killed the person, but why! In the car where the bloodied body is there is a taxi badge hanging up. However, the badge is shown in a negative, shadowed light. This suggests that their might have been more to the killers motive then the director is letting on, as the shadowed badge could suggest that the taxi driver was corrupt, and that their attack wasn't random.

Editing
The low key lighting used throughout the first few minutes of the opening sequence is purposely used to create a tense atmosphere. For example, if something magical or happy was happening, bright and vibrant colours would be used to represent the joy of what might of happened. However, the dreary, washed out colours are used for the representation that nothing in this scene is worth happening. They want their audience to be able to relate to their characters in their film, and therefore by using specific colours it could help prevent an audience from feeling a certain way, instead they feel involved in the scene and feel the downfall that everyone else in the scene seems to be experiencing. There is also a panning shot of two girls walking away from the car where the body has been found. This allows the audience to suggest that these girls were involved, which enables an eerie atmosphere to settle.

Sound
When the body that is believed to be dead is in the car, digetic music is played in the background. I don't think that this piece of music really fits into a category, but sounds like something that would be played everyday on the radio. This scene is ironic in someway, as when a body is found there is generally always sad and depressing music. However, because there is music that you'd hear everyday, there is a realisation that things like this happen everyday, and that the world is becoming self-desrtuctable. There is also a scene where the girl drops the knife. The non-digetic sound used is an over-exaggeration as to what it would sound like in real life, as it's connoting the danger that may still lay ahead.

Overall, this is an excellent opening sequence as it really engages the audience with it's suspense and continuous use of a tense atmosphere. Every frame captured is beautiful, and looks like a photo on it's own.