Critic Paper "Brave Heart"

“Brave Heart”:

In the film “Brave Heart” it sets the scene with Scottish highlands, valleys, rivers and tranquil Scottish music playing softly in the background to show what the men are fighting for throughout the film.

I am going to show through mise-en-scene, camera angles and representation how this adds to the enjoyment of the film.

In the beginning the main character William Wallace’s dad and brother are killed in battle and William attends both funeral. At William’s fathers funeral a young country girl is also there, and when the service finished she picked a thistle and gave it to William as a present to show she was sorry that his dad had been killed. In this part of the film there is a close up on the country girl giving William the thistle. This is a significant part of the film as the thistle reoccurs later on in the film!

An important technique used in this film is mise-en-scene this term describes what the filmmaker has chosen to put in to the scene, it includes the setting, the costumes, the props, the look of the characters and their position in the frame. The camera angles and lighting are also important in the mise-en-scene of a shot.

In the opening scenes the characters are dressed in tatty clothes to show they aren’t well off. The camera angles are long shots to give an overall impression of the location as the camera shows fresh vegetation fields and Scottish highlands this gives the viewers a feel of unspoilt land, very peaceful and clam with Scottish music. This compares with the camera shots of scenes showing the darkness of the landscape and the rain, which is sad, and depressing it reflects the mood of the Scottish people at that time following the funeral of their King.

Before the Battle of Stirling the Scottish warriors prepared for war against the English. The scene shows the William and his men dressed in dark, plain clothing with their weapons made from wood which made them look home made and inferior to the English weapons. The...