I guess for this movie I want to talk about two elements that stood out to me. The first element is lighting. I noticed throughout the movie that the lighting changed significantly as Jaguar Paw got into his situation and than throughout his escape. At the beginning of the movie everything was "natuarlly" bright. The sun was shining and the mood of the movie was happy/easygoing. This lighting shows that the characters and their lives are not troublesome. Later on in the movie, as he is making his escape and fulfilling the profecy, it is shadowy, dark and rainy. At this point Jaguar Paw is getting chased and he is killing of his followers as he trys to make it back to his family. The mood of the scenes are intense amd dark as he has to kill these people and "evil" is chasing him. You also notice almost at the very end of the movie when the Spanish ships arrive that it is raining, possibly showing us that them arriving is not a good thing. The last example of lighting is the very end of the movie, when he is reunited with his family. The rain has stopped and there is a more peaceful shade (if u can picture this) on the scene.
The other element that I want to talk about is Angles. There were various angles used thorughout this movie and it really helped to clarify whats going on and whose in what position. The hunting scene in the very beggining of the movie has the father seen through a low angle shot showing that he is a leader and more important person in the shot. We also see this kind of shot when they are in the city and focused on the "emperor" character of the city. He is abviously an imortant person as he is seen as an almost God to the people. There are several high angle shots in this movie, especially when the the captured are taken into the city. The scenes are shot from the top of that pyramid shaped structure and it shows us everything. It shows us as the audience the whole city and everybody in it. With this shot we can see everything going on below it. Also, with this shot, it is similar to the others as it shows dominance and importance in the scene. One more example of angles is the chasing scene, when the "leader" of the hunting group is going after Jaguar Paw. The angle in this scene was a high angle/ almost birdseye view. This was used not necessarily to show dominance but rather to give us the full view of the action. From any other angle we might not be able to see as much as we see with that angle. It shows space between, speed, obstacles in the way...etc.
This movie has several elements all of which make it a great movie. These elements were the two that stood out to me the most and for me, made the movie more intense and understandable as a critic.
I think you are right that the weather plays a role in setting the mood of the film. Depending on the scene, the rain can make you sympathize with a character for being cold and alone in the elements or give a sense of cleansing or renewal when the rain stops. Good call on the angles, as well:)
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