Brunswick Thornton Film Analysis

Warwick Thornton is a distinctive and powerful acclaimed filmmaker of Kaytej descent, an Aboriginal tribe who reside north of Alice Springs. Growing up in Alice Springs and being a lost child till the age 13 Thornton understands the struggles of the Aboriginals in Australia. From first hand experiences and seeing the problem surround him as he grew up. Thornton crafts films that provide awareness to the audience about the past and current state of Australia especially the perspective of the Aboriginals. Thornton uses his craft to show the reality of Aboriginals within Australia. Before becoming the filmmaker of many award winning short and feature films, Thornton started off as DJ at the radio station run by his mother, Freda Glynn. Freda

When the scene starts, Thornton uses a handheld camera paired with a close-up shot showing Delilah’s aunties gripping a stick and beating Delilah.As the scene continues Thornton uses high angled close-up shots of Delilah to show the contrast in the characters as she gets beaten up. When the camera is focused on Delilah, the audience get a brutal and real image of a helpless young girl being beaten, crawling on the ground and reaching out for help. These close-ups with the handheld effect makes the audience uncomfortable and tense.When the audience are shown the expressions and actions of Delilah the camera is more focused elaborating on her pain. Whereas when the close-ups are on the aunties there is more camera shake showing us the aggression and power of each strike. Thornton is creating awareness of the violence that is still active within the Aboriginal communities. Thornton subtly makes the audience empathise with the ‘children’- in this case Delilah- and this is effective as the audience are made more uncomfortable when shown the aunties. Further into detail, Thornton uses camera and editing techniques like camera zoom and pan in both shots to show the audience what each character is doing and the importance of their action, as a result the audience feel more involved. For

In this scene, Thornton purposely uses his iconic handheld camera work paired with high angle and close up shots to associate those emotions with violence and thus creating a bad connotation towards violence within Aboriginal lives. For example, the first shot in the scene is a POV close up shot based on what the bootlegger can see- an old lady heading towards him with a stick. This foreshadows the beating that is going to take place and prepares the audience’s emotions for violence. The second shot is a POV medium shot based on what the child sees. As the violence starts the camera shake is put into work creating an unpredictable motion which slowly brings in the uneasy feeling, as the audience are made to feel distorted and closer. The camera sways between Nana and the Bootlegger showcasing the reactions and emotions they are outputting. The composition of the scene with the cars headlights providing all the lighting also further adds to the effect of discomfort, the light is placed in a manner in which the viewers are partly blinded but can see the violence take place. The second shot is mixed in with the use of a jump cut adding pace and tension to the scene but skipping forward in time quickly. Now a high angle shot shows the bootlegger on the floor trying his best to counter the strikes. The higher angle creates