What Are The Themes In The Film Shine

Shine is a 1996 Australian drama film directed by Scott Hicks, this film is based on a true life of a pianist David Helfgott, who has suffered a mental breakdown and has spent years in institutions. Swimming Upstream is a 2003 Australian drama film

directed by Russel Mulcahy, that is based on a true story of a young boy, who overcame a family dysfunction to become a world-class athlete. Swimming Upstream is a poignant and powerful film about dreams, ambitions and family dysfunctions whilst Shine is applying an emotive feeling to emphases what the characters are feeling. Russel and Scott utilise various Actions, Characters and Themes to contribute to the variations of the films.

The creators Russel from Swimming Upstream and Hicks from Shine,

produce Action scenarios to contribute to making the audience feel exited and emotive. Swimming Upstream involves a series of camera angles that shadow close ups, low angles, high angles, medium shots and over the shoulder shots to imply when important actions are occurring throughout the swimming competition to analysis series of important evidence of occurring actions. The crowd cheering, the commentator talking, and the splashing of the water are sounds that build up the momentum of the swimmers, to address where the swimmers are placing and the braking of the water when the race is beginning to produce different sounds.

Russel comprises different transitions in Swimming Upstream to conversion the different series of actions applied. A swift transition from the swimmers in the water to the crowd, then a transition to the family watching at home was a conversion that was used to demonstrate the importance of the competition. This allows for the audience who is watching the film to become intense and to have the impression of what the characters are feeling throughout the film. Similarly, Shine includes numerous camera angles to apply the important actions that are being implied. Close-ups, side shots, super close ups, and slow mo apply the concerns, feelings, and attractions that the characters are providing. Hicks delivers transitions that glide towards the audience to produce a smooth beginning, the stress of the impact that the song David has shaped and the power that he has involved in the ‘Taming the Monster’. Camera angles are slowed and transitioned

smoothly as the building of the scenes continue, foreshadowing from when David’s coach/father figure mentions that the Rachmaninov Concerto No.3 is like ‘A Monster that must be Tamed’. The transition from David playing the song shows the intensity of his heart pounding and his hands thumping on the piano that creates a thought that David is ‘Battling the Monster’ of the song. Hicks, and Russel were successful with the attempt of producing films that imply actions to yield the characters feelings to the audience. Swimming Upstream and Shine have utilised the amount of actions that are introduced, by also involving the characters emotions and feelings to collaborate with the audience.

Both of these films are efficiently conveyed through different perspectives of two young boys.

Tony Fingleton the antagonist from Swimming Upstream and David the protagonist from Shine. These characters are described through Hicks and Mulcahy’s point of view, to show their experiences from childhood memories to adult hood scenarios. Hicks and Mulcahy use academic and cinematic techniques to allow the audience to connect with the characters on an emotional level through sounds and dialogue. Illusions of images that include family violence and pressures are visible to the audience. Similarly, the films begin when the young boys are living in a poor lifestyle, however the discover they are naturally talented and shadow the activities to embark on accomplishments. David and Tony are passionate about talent to feel relaxed and self-assured while acting. As they grew up many opportunities arised to perform a higher level of success. Through dialogues Hicks foreshadows David’s mental breakdown on departure, ‘In this world only the strong survive. The weak get crushed like insects’. By using actions and dialogues Hicks suggests that David is passionate and willing to take risks. David was invited to study at the United States board, though was told by his father, ‘If you go, you will never come back to this home again….’ While he see’s it as ‘Destroying their family’. Soon after, David’s talent began to weaken as his musical passion festers but receives a scholarship at the Royal

Collage of music in London, he decided to take the offer whether his father substances or not. Consistently, Tony was offered a place to Harvard University and he accepts the invite. Harold his father, tells Tony to ‘Have a good day’, conveying the audience that he doesn’t believe that he will see Tony again. Harold has begun to think at this point as he hasn’t considered the talent that Tony has, therefore this becomes emotional when he leaves. Both of the boys take these opportunities as a chance to gain further experience and achieve new goals.

Supportively, Swimming Upstream and Shine focus profoundly on the issues between the talent of the two boys and the fathers. Tony revealed his thoughts of his father, Harold to the audience through dialogue, ‘I was always a little afraid of my father’. from the earliest memory, there was nothing I could do to please him’. In Shine David and Peter had a strong relationship while Tony was studying the keys of learning the piano. Peter was the man who was devoted to music and winning, he has no tolerance for failure or disobedience. Manifestly, this was revealed, ‘David always win, always win’. Peter had shoved David striving to become better, as he was very much wanted David to win and carry smugness through his success. Inversely, Harold, doesn’t focus on Tony’s swimming as he believes a backstroke isn’t classified as a style of ‘Stroke’ and he would rather his other son to become more successful than the other. At the end of the film, Shine, David doesn’t show any passion or emotion towards looking down at his father’s grave. Swimming Upstream demonstrates David and his father talking before he leaves, likewise, no passion or emotion were shown about his farther. Both of these scenes harmoniously display how their relationships ended and how they didn’t show any emotions or desire.

Swimming Upstream and Shine successfully uses photographic techniques throughout these two films to create a sense of character developments, themes and action. Throughout analysing both movies we are able to understand that Tony and David struggle to meet their father’s expectations to be loved. The young boys share their viewpoints and follow their talents to reach future goals. Hicks and Mulcahy produced two excessive Australian made films based on inspiring true stories that distinctly engage the audience and to ensure that these two famous Australians have their stories expressed for the world to see.