An Analysis Of A Scene In The Burmese Harp


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbejd7WA5kA

53:34-54:43

About 50 minutes into The Burmese Harp, the character Mizushima comes across dead bodies in a desert, canyon area.  If you look at the moment where the film dissolves from a shot that looks like a forest to a shot that looks like a rock canyon, you may notice that white noise is introduced. The use of white noise is very interesting, because it's literally the noise that's recorded when nothing is said into a microphone.  It's essentially the sound of nothing, yet it's still recorded.  When I look at this scene, it feels like something's with or watching Mizushima. In addition to the presence of white noise, there's also a shot of him walking through the canyon that lasts a solid 26 seconds.  It really gives you the feel of a journey that has lasted a long time. There's a shot of Mizushima checking out what's on the ground. The shot becomes a close up because he moves into frame, then moves as he runs toward his right. It emphasizes his place in the canyon, then reinforces his place in nature as well.

Then, a bird flies out from a hidden spot near him (54:31).  It's a close up shot, and the sound of flapping wings comes in only after it cuts to the shot of the bird flying away. It illustrates the suddenness of seeing the bird. That shot is much shorter than the previous ones, and the next shot has Mizushima standing up rather suddenly, then notices something.  It not only continues to make the moment appear sudden, but it also continues the journey of Mizushima. It cuts to the landscape he's looking at, then cuts to a close up of bones on the ground with no change in sound.  The absence of diagetic sound emphasizes the power of the images of the skulls. The whole scene is really interesting in the way that it illustrates his journey without dialogue.

Comments

  1. Veronica FNovember 4, 2017 at 10:55 AM

    Hi Sam, I thought this is a good analysis, and also I hadn't even remembered/realized that there was subtle white noise that plays during this scene! When I rewatched it just now it felt like it emphasized not only Mizushima being utterly alone, but also the quiet nothingness of an empty desert. I feel like this ties into what you mentioned with the 26 second long take of Mizushima wandering around, because watching this scene gives you a sense of a long, slow journey. The bird that flies away and scares Mizushima looks like a hawk or something similar, and since it's seen for the first time after him picking up the cartridges but before seeing the dead bodies of Japanese soldiers, it might've been foreshadowing the latter shots as hawks are predators who also can/do scavenge things that are already dead.

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  2. Suzanne AngermeierNovember 5, 2017 at 3:48 PM

    Hey Sam, I like your interpretation of the white noise. Especially how it helps the viewer find out what is important, like how the music disappears to emphasize the importance of the skulls that Mizushima comes across. I did not even really notice the noise when I first watched the film.

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