Conversation in the break*

Classification in categories

• Transition between two social systems

Metadata

This two-part scene is a short phase of relaxation between the group’s last attack (>Kamikaze) and the Japanese counteroffensive (>Close combat). The entire group’s calm, everyday mood is established and then dispersed in the first part by the shot composition. In the dialogue that follows between the two figures - the most important secondary plot of the film - a latent underlying tension is made clear.

At first the group creates an immanent social structure, the positions of which follow the model of familiar family relationships. This structure is established as harmonious in the balance of the shot composition in the first long shot, intensified by Epps’ deep melodious humming. In the following close ups and character movements it is however dispelled. The fragility of this social sphere is present from the very beginning, created visually by the focus on military equipment as a barricade against the ever-present jungle (>EMU 1). The social roles taken on are conveyed as concrete interaction; grumbling and solidarity, sharing cigarettes and mutual advice. The Sergeant is highlighted among the figures in that he both initiates and ends the break (>EMU 1).

In the dialogue that follows, in a prolonged shot that separates the Sergeant and Todd from the group in a new space, on the one hand the strain of war becomes visible in the bodies’ physical exhaustion and the figures’ movements (>EMU 2). But what is said in the dialogue and interrupted by the underlying tension between the figures is the opportunity war provides to reassess earlier relationships and experiences (>EMU 2).    MG

Expressive movement units

Materials about the scene

Position of the scene in the film