Narrative/visual pleasures (C1)

• Cinematography elements...
• Wide-angle lens frequently used 

  Distort and enhance sense of separation from audience “close but far”
• Wide-angle lens contrasted with long-lens shots 

  Depth of field is so short, only subject of interest is shown in frame and background is blurred
• Hand-held camera movement 


  Follows characters and tracks their faces
• Tilted shots/canted angles:


  Add to sense of disconnection
• Exaggerated neon-tinted lighting 
• Switches to black and white inserts 
• Unconventional shot composition 
• Mise en scene...
• Feels murky and cramped -shot in locations with small passageways and rooms 


  Captures HK location
• Mise-en-scene dominated by the feeling of night and artificial light 


  Fills the film with surreal, hazy atmosphere 
• Female costuming 


  The partner dressed provocatively (short dresses/skirts, stockings and high heels) emphasizes her longing and obsession with the killer
• Editing elements...
• Both fast and slow motion 

  Manipulates time
• Jump cuts and freeze frames 

  Constant sense that you’re watching a film
• Quick cutting juxtaposed with long continuous takes

  Impossible to predict, spontaneous viewing experience 
• Narrative ellipsis 


  Adds to expressionistic style 
• Slow movement of actor and step-printing of background 

  Disjointed
• No classic continuity editing or 180-degree rule 
• What's step-printing?


  Step-Printing is the duplication of multiple film frames which stretches the running time of the sequence and creates a sense of slow motion
• Sound elements...
• Dialogue is extremely minimal 


  Countered with use of VO narration
• VO from four main characters (The Partner, The killer, The Mute and Blondie) 

  Gives full attention to their hopes, fears and desires 
• What's the killer's let motif

  ‘Because I'm cool,’ Hong Kong’s reworking of Massive Attack’s ‘Karma Coma’ 
• What effect does this have?

  Feeds into MTV aesthetic, enhances isolating nature of urbanity, self-reflexive as affirms coolness of hitman, western influence