Peter Weir S Witness Has Elements of Many Genre

Close Study of Text:

Witness

LIFE SKILLS

Year 12

PLOT

Genre (the type of film)

Hybrid Genre

Peter Weir’s Witness has elements of many genre,

some being..

Crime Thriller

Romance

Western

Film noir

CRIME FILMS
- Write down the names of crime films that you have seen on this page.

- If Witness is a crime film, what sort of characters, actions or events does it have in common with any of these other films?

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- Where are crime films usually set, or in what sort of environment does the crime occur?

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- Is there anything different about Witness as an example of a crime film?

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ROMANCE FILMS

- What do audiences expect to see in a "romance"? ADD YOUR IDEAS TO THE BOX BELOW.

- Love stories or romances always have obstacles (problems), that stand in the way of the lovers getting together. What obstacles are there in Witness for John Book and Rachel Lapp?

- How does the romance between John and Rachel end?

Answer the following questions about the plot:

- At the beginning of the film, why are the Amish gathering?

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- Explain how the boy (Samuel) becomes a 'witness' to a murder.

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- What upsets Rachel most about John Book's way of questioning suspects?

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- How does Samuel identify the killer?

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- How does John Book become wounded?

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- Why does Book need to hide out with the Lapp family and the other Amish?

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- Why is it so hard for the bad cops to find Book?

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- Why is Book so angry when he sees Samuel with his gun?

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- Why is falling in love with Rachel not a good idea for John Book?

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- How do Book's enemies manage to discover where he is?

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-How does Samuel help to catch Book's enemies (the bad cops)?

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Other activities:

HOW TO WRITE A REVIEW

• _A review is a description of a live performance, an art show community event or an evaluation of a TV show, movie you have watched, a computer game you have played, a website or a book you have read.

• _Reviews are helpful because they inform the reader about the movie or book they may be interested in.

• _Often a review will influence people by telling them a little bit about the story WITHOUT telling them everything. (You must NEVER give away the ending.)

• _Use DESCRIPTIVE words to describe the movie or book (interesting, boring, adventurous, exciting, confusing, thrilling etc).

• _Your opinion – Why did you like/dislike it?

FILM REVIEW SCAFFOLD

1. Title: ______
2. Director: ______
3. Audience you are writing for: ______
4. Main characters and the actors that played them:
5. ______

1. Opinions/comments: (e.g. Director Gary Ross has created a quirky tale)

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1. Brief Plot Analysis:

Do not reveal the ending or give a recount of the whole film

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8.Characters – Choose one or two characters to look at in depth. Hint: choose ones that polarise the audience e.g. love or hate them.______

9. Film Features –

1. Costumes, sound/music, lighting, special effects, cinematography, framing, shots and camera angles.

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10.Rating:

Remember your review must be informative and entertaining!

* * * * * * * * * *

CHARACTERS:

John Book, detective, Philadelphia Police.

- Do you like John Book? Why/ why not?

- In the scene where he eats hot dogs with Rachel and Samuel, Book shows himself to be uncomfortable with the Amish? Why? Does he show this in any other scene in the film?

- Which scenes later in the film show that John has changed?

- Why does he leave Rachel at the end?

CHARACTER PROFILE:

Construct a character profile using the following guide:

AGE: If you don't know the exact age of your character then you can put it's approximation, such as late thirties, mid-twenties etc.

HEIGHT: How tall is your character?

WEIGHT: You probably won't know your character's exact weight, but I'm sure you can guess its approximate one. Is he really light - or a little more weighty?

BODY TYPE: Is he\she wiry and agile, or does he work out and his body is the proof? Remember that thin and skinny can bring up to different images - and maybe he's small-boned but sturdy

FACE TYPE: Is your character baby faced, or does he have a sharp, chiseled bone structure?

COMPLEXION: Is she ivory white or does she have more of a cream and coffee colour?

EYES: Be specific about the colour. Ice blue creates a different character than sky blue. And what is the look in the eyes - is it hard? Nervous? Or does it have a twinkle?

HAIR: Put not only the colour, but also the style. Is it long and curly - short and spike - or maybe it's died blue and shaved into a Mohawk.

CLOTHING STYLE: What type of clothing does he usually wear?

SPEAKING STYLE: Is he short and to the point? Or is he long winded?

GENERAL DEMEANOR: This is how your character generally acts and comes across to other people. Some people are just generally easy-going, taking life as it comeswhile others are uptight and always looking for a fight.

CAREER: What does she do for a living?

PREJUDICES: Everyone has some, even fictional characters. Does he/she hate slow drivers or maybe he's an intellectual and his prejudice is against something.

BEST QUALITIES: List three or four of your characters best qualities.

WORST QUALITIES: Even the "good guy" has a few faults. What are the worst qualities of this characters?

WEAKNESSES: What is the main weakness in your character's make-up? What is his "Achilles heel"? Is it that he's not really smart or maybe he has trouble getting along with other people.

HOBBIES: When he's not being thrashed about in your plot, what does he\she like to do?

TALENTS: Is he\she an expert artist? Or cook?

Once you've filled out this profile for your own characters, you should know enough about them to be able to make them jump off the page.

Rachel Lapp, Amish woman and mother of Samuel.

- When do we first see Rachel? What is happening?

- Why does Rachel not like Book at first?

- Rachel and Book cannot be together. Who will she most likely end up with?

Samuel Lapp, Amish boy, witness to murder.

- Describe Samuel at the beginning of the film.

- How does his relationship with Book change throughout the course of the film?

- What is Samuel’s relationships like with other males? (Eli, Daniel etc)

- Samuel is a smart boy. Where in the film does he use his brain to get out of trouble?

Other characters:

Daniel Hochleitner, Eli Lapp, Elaine, Schaeffer and McFee.

- Describe each character.

- In what ways are Eli and Daniel different to Book as men?

- Compare the different lifestyles of Elaine and Rachel.

- Are Schaeffer and McFee different? In what ways?

KEY SCENES

The following scenes are important to the meaning in the film:

-Opening scene

-Murder scene

-Identification scene

-Barn dancing scene

-Barn raising scene

-City men putting ice cream on Daniel’s face

-Carter being questioned by Schaeffer

-Bathing scene

-Rachel laying down her bonnet to kiss John Book

-Closing scene

Let’s focus on 3 scenes.

OPENING SCENE:

1. What happens in this scene?
2. Who is involved?
3. Where is it happening?
4. How do you feel after viewing this scene?
5. Does this scene help to make the film a pleasure to watch? Why/why not?

BARN RAISING SCENE:

1. What happens in this scene?
2. Who is involved?
3. Where is it happening?
4. How do you feel after viewing this scene?
5. Does this scene help to make the film a pleasure to watch? Why/why not?

CLOSING SCENE:

1. What happens in this scene?
2. Who is involved?
3. Where is it happening?
4. How do you feel after viewing this scene?
5. Does this scene help to make the film a pleasure to watch? Why/why not?

SETTING

- Compare the world of the Amish the world of the city. How are they different?

-The scenes involving the Amish, often show blue skies, and open landscapes. How do these images of Amish life make you feel about their life style?

- Notice the view of city life shown to us in the early part of the film. What is it like?

Juxtaposition

AMISH / AMERICAN CITY

Amish contemporary society

simplistic life modern life

country city

pacifism violence

good evil

THEMES

Clash of Cultures

Amish vs ‘English’

Violence and Pacifism

Innocence and Corruption

Community spirit and Isolation

______vs Free Love

Salvation vs ______

Simplicity vs ______

______vs Materialism

______vs Commercialism

Conformity vs Non conformity

Violence versus non-violence

- What is a pacifist? Are the Amish shown as pacifists? Describe a scene where this is clearly shown.

- How do the Amish seem to settle conflicts or disputes? How is this different to the way John Book does things?

- How do the Amish play in helping Book capture Schaeffer at the end?

Conformity and nonconformity

A conformist goes along with what the majority of society wants. The Amish expect everyone in their society to conform to their beliefs.

- What do they think of John Book's behaviour?

- What do they think of Rachel's behaviour?

- An Amish person would have trouble conforming to life in the city. List 3 ways they would struggle to cope in the world outside of their community.

- In what ways does Book stand out in Amish society?

Making choices

- Which characters have important choices to make throughout the film?

- What do they decide? How are their lives affected?

Cultural identity and cultural isolation

(Cultural identity is what makes the society you belong to different from other societies or ways of life.)

- List the strengths of Amish culture.

- List the weaknesses.

- List the strengths and weaknesses of John Book’s culture.

- Which one do you think is the best culture? Why?

FILM TECHNIQUES

Find images of the film that reflect the following film techniques:

-Camera shots: Long shot,

-Close up

-Camera angles: High angle,

-Low angle

Other viewing activities:

-Visit a cinema and watch a movie. Tell your teacher whether you liked it or not.

-Watch the news on TV and discuss the news stories you saw with your teacher.

-Look at a catalogue or brochure and identify what they are selling.

-Buy a newspaper. Look at the ads for grocery items and compare the prices. Choose one product and identify which supermarket sells it for a cheaper price.

-Find an advertisement in the newspaper or your magazine. Describe what you see. How does the company make you want to buy the product they are selling?

We have nothing to do with your laws.

Rachel in Witness

I don’t like my son spending all this time with a man who carries a gun and goes around whacking people.

Rachel in Witness

There are many Lapps. They don’t have any telephones.

Sheriff in Witness

While you are in this house, I insist that you respect our ways.

Eli Lapp in Witness

This gun of the hand is for the taking of human life. We believe it is wrong to take a life. That is only for God.

Eli Lapp in Witness

I would only kill the bad men…I can see what they do. I have seen it.

Samuel Lapp in Witness

You bring fear into this house, fear of the English.

Eli Lapp in Witness

We’re like the Amish…we’re a cult too, a club with our own rules.

Schaeffer in Witness

If we’d made love last night, I’d have to stay or you’d have to leave.

John Book in Witness

Lady, if you take my picture, I’ll rip your brassiere off…

Book in Witness

It’s not our way.

Eli Lapp

But it’s my way.

Book in Witness

He’s going back to his world where he belongs. He knows it and you know it too.

Eli Lapp in Witness

What you take into your hands, you take into your heart.

Eli Lapp in Witness

You be careful out among them English.

Eli Lapp in Witness