Analysis of Before the Rain

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Analysis of Before the Rain Before the Rain, filmed on location in the Republic of Macedonia and in London is a trilogy that focuses on the conflict between Muslims and Orthodox Christians in the Balkans. The three chapters of the trilogy are " Words," " Faces" and " Pictures." Director Milcho Manchevski states; " Before the Rain, refers to the feeling of heavy expectation, when the skies are pregnant with the possibility of an outburst, when people are silent, waiting for a tragedy of cleansing"(1). The movie is a circle in itself, showing the reoccurring cycles of violence and hate. In the first chapter, "Words," the audience is introduced to Kirkil, a Macedonian Monk who has taken a vow of silence. Kirkil discovers an Albanian girl hiding in his room. She is suspected of killing a Christian. Kirkil decision to protect her ends with dire consequences. Since he has taken a vow of silence, the viewer never really understands who he is. His vow of silence reinforces the old adage, "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil." Kirkil does not see of feel the political problems going on around him. The atmosphere in this part is " heavy with anticipation and foreboding, as before a heavy rain"(2). The second chapter, "Faces," introduces Anne, a London photo editor. Anne is torn between two men Nick, her estranged husband for whom she has a little passion, and Aleksander, a passionate, Pulitzer Prize-winning war photographer. Anne's personal crisis heightens when a conflict suddenly erupts in a London restaurant and Nick is killed. Aleksander leaves his life in London to return to his childhood village in Macedonia in third chapter, "Pictures." Things have changed dramatically... ... middle of paper ... ... is about religion, but it is not it is about "500 years of our blood". Which is to say, it is about the past. Manchevski masters the use of foreshadowing in Before The Rain. Anne tells Aleksander "Look at your face" which is a foreshadowing the events about to unfold at the restaurant where her husband, Nick is killed. Ironically, he is shot in his face and she kneels to him and says to him, "Look at your face!" Milcho Manchevski's Before the Rain is a complex trilogy with many aspects to be reviewed. With more than one viewing the use of mise-en-scene, the shot and foreshadowing become apparently clear to the viewer. Milcho Manchevski summarizes the movie best with this quote, " Before the Rain, refers to the feeling of heavy exception, when the skies are pregnant with possibility of an outburst, when people are waiting for a tragedy of cleansing."(1)

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