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before the rain

before the rain Before the Rain, filmed on location in the Republic of Macedonia and in London is a trilogy that focuses on the conflict between Muslims and Orthodox Christians in the Balkans. The three chapters of the trilogy are " Words," " Faces" and " Pictures." Director Milcho Manchevski states; " Before the Rain, refers to the feeling of heavy expectation, when the skies are pregnant with the possibility of an outburst, when people are silent, waiting for a tragedy of cleansing"(1). The movie is a circle in itself, showing the reoccurring cycles of violence and hate. In the first chapter, "Words," the audience is introduced to Kirkil, a Macedonian Monk who has taken a vow of silence. Kirkil discovers an Albanian girl hiding in his room. She is suspected of killing a Christian. Kirkil decision to protect her ends with dire consequences. Since he has taken a vow of silence, the viewer never really understands who he is. His vow of silence reinforces the old adage, "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil." Kirkil does not see of feel the political problems going on around him. The atmosphere in this part is " heavy with anticipation and foreboding, as before a heavy rain"(2). The second chapter, "Faces," introduces Anne, a London photo editor. Anne is torn between two men Nick, her estranged husband for whom she has a little passion, and Aleksander, a passionate, Pulitzer Prize-winning war photographer. Anne's personal crisis heightens when a conflict suddenly erupts in a London restaurant and Nick is killed. Aleksander leaves his life in London to return to his childhood village in Macedonia in third chapter, "Pictures." Things have changed dramatically in the years since he left; old neighbors have turned into enemies. Aleksander is thrown into an ethnic conflict, which has tragic consequences. "The construction of Manchevski's story is intended to demonstrate the futility of ancient hatreds. There are a few moments in the film in which hatred of others is greater than love of one's own. Imagine a culture where a man would rather kill his daughter than allow her to love a man from another culture, and one will have an idea of the depth of bitterness in this film, the insane lengths to which men can be driven by belief and prejudice" ( Ebert 3). Mise-en-scene is a French term roughly translated as " what is put into the Scene." Before the Rain, uses examples of mise-en-scene through out the movie. Each of the three chapters is opened with a plane flying across a blue sky. The purpose to incorporate the plane in each part is used by Manchevski to show a sense of escape. In the third chapter, the plane Aleksander is on lands in Macedonia. This symbolizes Aleksander's desire to be "home," while the other citizens of Albania and Macedonia would rather escape by flying away. The deliberate use of the sky in each chapter of the movie is used by Manchevski to show " the heavy expectation… when the people are silent, waiting for a tragedy of cleansing"(Manchevski 1). Kirkil, Anne and Aleksander all are filmed vomiting, implying that the realization of violence amongst people is nauseating to them. Often children are shown with guns, and in one scene a gun is taken from a child and given to a retard, giving the suggestion of innocence and learned behavior. One is not born with hatred and the ability to be violent, but rather these are learned from others, and often taught at home. The film beautifully mixes old Europe with new Europe images and cultures to show how the past clings to the present. An ancient monastery in one section, a busy London intersection in another and nowhere is it safe. (Armaly1-2) "The shot is the single image you see on the screen before the film cuts to a different image"(Corrigan55). There are several good examples of this in the movie. Professor Platt suggests that not a single shot is wasted in the movie. The scene of the funeral is a wonderful shot of a man holding a gun and a torn flag. The reason for showing the guns and the torn flags is to suggest blood shed. Several times the Orthodox Cross is framed in a shot by itself. The cross keeps an unerlying tone of religion throughout the whole movie. One may think the movie is about religion, but it is not it is about "500 years of our blood". Which is to say, it is about the past. Manchevski masters the use of foreshadowing in Before The Rain. Anne tells Aleksander "Look at your face" which is a foreshadowing the events about to unfold at the restaurant where her husband, Nick is killed. Ironically, he is shot in his face and she kneels to him and says to him, "Look at your face!" Milcho Manchevski's Before the Rain is a complex trilogy with many aspects to be reviewed. With more than one viewing the use of mise-en-scene, the shot and foreshadowing become apparently clear to the viewer. Milcho Manchevski summarizes the movie best with this quote, " Before the Rain, refers to the feeling of heavy exception, when the skies are pregnant with possibility of an outburst, when people are waiting for a tragedy of cleansing."(1) Bibliography:

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