The Evaluative Analysis

The Evaluative Analysis

Beyond is a short film that shows a mysterious woman having to choose between life and death on a subconscious level. This psychological drama portrays a symbolic idea of death as a decision that depends on the individual itself, based on what her subconscious shows her, trying to overcome bad memories. This film presents a lot of symbolism that aims to generate an effect on the viewer and to have them interpret what they represent. In spite of having a baleful atmosphere, the first idea of this short film was not to have it become a horror, instead, to use iconography, sudden transitions and intense sounds to show a dreamy environment where the woman is somewhat trapped. Its main objective is to make the audience doubt about what is real and what is part of her imagination, if she is in danger or if she needs protection from herself. Everything is aimed to make the viewer wonder and come up with theories about what they are seeing on screen. At the end, the main character has to make a choice where she has to decide to either live or die.

“Meshes in the Afternoon”, a short film directed by Maya Deren in the early 1940s, is the film that most inspired “Beyond” narratively and cinematographically. The anonymity of the woman through the beginning of the film was refreshing to see, as the audience had no choice but to side with her in spite of not knowing who she was. The audience relied on her body language and camera work to align with this main character who, for them, was faceless for most of the beginning. The choice of the director to have her face remain a mystery and to have the viewer analyse her body language to read her reactions was risky but worked perfectly in this baleful atmosphere. This grim aspect that surrounds the short film was also represented through the lighting and the mise-en-scene: the way the furniture and other objects were positioned throughout the house helped present a sombre scenery. The audience also had to rely on the framings of her body to catch a specific reaction: for example, the beginning. The woman picked a flower that appeared out of nowhere and walked with it until she saw a mysterious black figure walking away and stopped. Her reaction is seen in her still movements and in her shadow reflected on the wall. The director is also using lighting to focus in her shadow while having the camera synched to her movements – a technique that could be being used to present mystery and a lack of reality. Similarly in “Beyond”, the woman’s reactions are seen in her body language too, as she is also presented as a faceless character to create mystery and uncertainty. The body language helps this happen but, instead of using shadows and lighting as a resource to back her emotions, the viewer can perceive her feelings through sound and camera work too.
The audience follows the woman from “Meshes in the Afternoon” through her repetitive journey, which reinforces the feeling of being in a dream and makes the viewer question the reality of the scene. This binary opposition between reality and dream could be considered the main themes of this short film. It ends with the woman dead but with many questions unanswered: it does not explain what happened to her and/or who was ultimately her threat. The audience now can only speculate based on this semi-opened narrative.
As a contrast to the ending of Deren’s short film, “Beyond” ends with the main character alive, but again, the viewer remains with doubts about the context, the story and the circumstances that put the woman in (what seems) a hospital in the first place. Could she have been running away from herself? Or was she trying to escape death and ended up achieving it?

Similarly, a film from 1962 called “La Jeteé” embraces the themes of time, memory and perception. “Beyond” too revolves around similar themes as the woman’s memories are personified in specific objects that represent a part of her life even though it avoids focusing on any type of specifics. This encourages once again the viewer to find a meaning to what is being displayed in this fictitious world that also seems to adopt a dreamy environment, like in “La Jeteé”. The same effect is produced in this well known short film due to the use of still images and the moving effect that the director achieved through editing. The lack of direct dialogue and the decision of having overlapping voices, inaudible and incomprehensible between the characters is also to compare with my own production. This is used in “Beyond” to create a feeling of disorientation as well as to cause an effect on the woman’s character – to create a daunting atmosphere and to use a diegetic sound to influence the narrative.

The short film of David Lynch known as “The Grandmother” uses resources similar to the films already mentioned. The dialogue between characters being replaced by incomprehensive noises gives a sense of non reality that goes well with the unnerving and sinister theme that Lynch presents in the story of this young boy. The sounds are also somewhat synced to the activities on-screen, which replace the expected interaction between characters. Lynch was inspired by certain paintings, that could be considered part of a gothic style, to create the dark atmosphere that goes along with the dark theme of a kid being mistreated.
Coincidentally, all of these productions have a dreamy and grim atmosphere. They also revolve around a somewhat psychological genre where the lack of colour and dialogue bring these feelings of uncertainty to life.

Aside from these short films, another production that inspired “Beyond” was an American war film called “Unbroken”. A film based on the real story of Louis Zamperini. The main character of this film, a USA Olympian and army officer that survived an unbelievably intense journey, is an inspiration due to his willpower and strong mentality that prevented him from giving up. Something that this film represents and is also reflected in my own production, is how living or dying depends on the individual itself. It is shown as a choice or a decision made by the individual. Louis Zamperini kept fighting and never gave up, and the woman from “Beyond” does something similar to this. She chooses between life and death after having seen her life personified in specific objects and escaping whatever is prowling through the woods. She reaches the end of the path where she feels like she has to make a decision – and she chooses to live.