Expressive movement unit 1

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In the first half of this scene the shot composition creates a family portrait that takes in the soldiers in varying constellations.  Thanks to the lull in the battle and the moment of relaxation (“Relax Sailor!"), the soldiers can connect through conversation, create calm everyday moments that however show signs of dissolving when the topic of the enemy position is taken up.

The scene begins with a long shot that takes in the whole group in a classic, harmonious pyramid-form composition, directly evident as a supraindividual unit. Epps’ humming and his deep melodious voice also give this composition a harmonious relaxed atmosphere. The 3-person shot that follows of Sailor, Todd and Epps also creates a pyramid-form composition. In this shot the fact is also underlined that this family portrait is created by the continous visual presence of the jungle on the margins of the image, from which the group protects itself with a protective ring of weapons, boxes and sand sacks, creating a furnished “interior” space for their social roles. The latter are created in the rhythm of the figures’ interactions: Todd grumbles, Epps gives out cigarettes and advice, Sailor asks naïve childish questions, Feingold provides worldly-wise answers.

At the moment the enemy rhetorically enters the space ("You figure they'll come at us today, Sarge?"), the composed harmony of the staged family group dissolves step by step: Todd leaves the group space in the long shot and military hierarchy is placed above family structures – the Sergeant is positioned higher than Feingold in a shot that encompasses the two men. This dissolution is heightened by isolated shots of Sailor and Epps and the Sergeant leaves a gap next to Feingold in the image. This dissolution ends with a long shot that – in contrast to the long shot from the same perspective that opened this unit – is characterized by compositional imbalance and unrest.