The opening sequence of 'Lord Of War' shows the life of a bullet, through the manufacturing process, right down to the point when it enters a soldiers head. This technique shows the corruption and destruction one bullet can cause, and the places it travels before settling in, making its self at home, killing someone. In the nine shots, vivid colour is used to highlight the life of the bullet, showing the short explosive life it leads.
The sequence opens at a factory, unknown to us why we are there, a high angle shot establishes that this is a working factory that requires hand on care. Clocks on the wall indicate there is a time limit in this particular factory, and maybe a dead line that people have to meet. Personally having seen this film before, know that this could represent the amount of time some has before they die, and this may come across to the audience, highlighted by the red warning light, indicating that there is death and havoc amidst the product they are making. Connotations to evil may be made when looking at the factory its self. What appears to be a factory used by the Ukrainians during the cold war, the use of the production line is some what old fashioned, and the colour of the image reflects the mood of the country and times they are in. The blue tone reflects the cold war, and the struggle it brings to country's, making me think that perhaps the worker is being forced to work there, and maybe this is the only job that someone can do in this time period. These are dark times, and the factory shows this.
The sequence then moves to a shot of the production line, showing the metal casing of a soon to be bullet. Low key lighting, enhanced by a blue filter creates a dark atmosphere, giving off vibes which makes the audience uncomfortable. The tone of the clip represents the tone of the film, and the audience know this right from the start. The gold casing of the bullet shows the glamorous side to war, connoting the money and the power behind the act of crime; and the only light being reflected off it makes the audiences attention solely on this. This is what the film is about. The filth of the factory contrasts to the delicate copper plating running through it, reflecting the light of the factory. I can tell that the bullet is valued more than the workers or factory that makes it, they are just mules to be used and thrown away. The machine that creates the bullet has overcome the use for people, and that in the industrial struggle they are in, the bullet rules over men. The production stage of a bullet reflects the life it has, how it can start and end, just like the sequence when shot, how it can leave the barrel of the gun, and then end at its final destination; or relate to the life it has taken. The soldier who started by being trained to kill, and the end when a bullet reaches its target destination, and ends the life of its self and the soldier.
This shot introduces the camera work that has taken place, unknown to us before, we actually view the bullet in first person, giving it an identity, and forcing the viewer to forge a relationship with the bullet. this gives us a much more in depth understanding of the power it holds, as you see the delicate process that takes place. The metallic gold color shows the struggle between good and evil, as the contrast of the factory, just like before, represents the cold war that is taking place, and the effect it has on the world. The title 'LORD of WAR' comes on the screen, instantly confirming to the audience that this is actually about war, and not just a common relation with the term 'war', just like many films are. The size of the text is over shadowed by the presence of the bullet, towering over the letters, stating authority. The font isn't fancy. It doesn't need to be, the words that it says is just enough. It has no point to prove, and no means to over complicate the mise-en-scene of the shot.
The angle the bullet is pointing in the next shot proves the point of destruction. We see workers working the production line, making sure every bullet is perfect enough to kill. Its this deadly accuracy, and precision that makes these weapons the most destructive in the world, killing more people than any other. Numerous bullets flood the line, showing the mass scale of the operation. Sparks fly from machinery connoting the death and mayhem they create. The light passing through the window high lights the open world, and how these weapons are going to be released upon it. It also shows how poverty can affect the way people need jobs. The workers in this scene wont earn much, and I doubt their doing it for the passion of making bullet's. During war people are forced to do things they wouldn't normally do, making them at the mercy of their bosses and ranking officers, and especially in the production of weapons, they do not hesitate to eliminate you if you do not do a good job.
Corruption riddles the industry, as we can see here. A soviet officer checks the stock of bullets, in return for a cash bribe. Keeping in theme with the first person rule that we saw before, it now starts to document the journey of the bullet. Massive tankers haul crates of what the audience perceive to be crates of weapons, on the same journey as ours. The soldiers behind the ranked soldier obviously turn a blind eye to the whole operation, some hoping not to get revoked from their job, and some wanting to get in on the corrupted action. The cranes obviously signify this is a huge operation, and the distribution of weapons of mass destruction, which you wouldn't normally consider come under this title, but in this case they do. The formality of the officer shows the level he is, and how the consequences of doing this will not affect him. This resembles the theme and over all plot of the film, showing how once you get to a certain level of power, you are unaffected by anything and everything, nothing can harm you. Which goes hand in hand with this picture, as the two guards carefully scout the surrounding area, protecting the officer from harm, politically and physically.
The last few shots are the most significant, as they connote the contrast between the two worlds, brought together by the bullet. A young man carefully places the bullets in the magazine of his gun, and many others behind him do the same. The scattered mess of the bullets resemble the organization that they are, a harsh contrast to the general and shipyard previously. The canted or 'dutch' angle creates the perspective of the bullet, moved by all the others beside it, keeping in theme with the first person narrative. As a chicken runs around aimlessly we can tell that this a village, meaning other people live here. The colors show the lives they live, happy to be fighting for what they think is right, but is in fact the order of a higher up officer, using them as a means of extortion and money. The false hope they have means that they will buy weapons to support them selves, which predominantly means more money for the general we saw in the previous photo.
"The first person POV reminds one of a first person shooter video game and never seemed suited to the subject matter"A quote taken from the artofthetitle.com, the place where I originally got my shot sequence, and I happen to agree with it. It does somewhat relate to a first person shooter, in the sense that you view where the bullet is shot, just as you would in a game. It also relates to the way people view the gun running world, seeing it as a game, not really thinking about the consequences of the reality of what they are doing, and in order to be respected you have to be at the top level, connoting the gaming element once more.
We watch the bullet enter the magazine of the gun, and then from the view of the chamber. We know what this means. The product of what the bullet is designed for now is apparent, we watch the bullet fly through the air, focus individually on it, all other distractions are cast aside. We also see the desolate place they are fighting in. Burnt out cars lay barren on the side of the road, shanty town esque buildings falling down, reminiscent of the vibrant color, symbolic to the promises they held when first built by building manufacturers, hopes of a new land. The vast emptiness of the sky tells us that this is just one street amidst many like it, and that this is just one battle taking place amongst many.
The final shot tells it all. It resembles the end of lives, not just the life of the child soldier, but the life of the bullet, and how its purpose was fulfilled. The blank expression on the kids face shows he is used to this kind of fire fight, it is the ordinary, little does he know it will be his last. The light that shone on the bullet has now gone, leaving the black darkness in its wake, telling us that this is a sad moment, sub consciously signifying the audience to feel some remorse for this poor boy, who has known nothing other that this way of life through out his whole child hood.
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