At the beginning of the sequence, there is an establishing shot with the camera tracking from left to right. It is an extreme long shot of a man trekking through the snow to show the mise-en-scene, the vastness of the landscape compared to the small, seemingly insignificant man. The music is non-diegetic and is peaceful, implying that the surroundings have not been disturbed and it allows us to rule out this film being a thriller or horror as this is not a convention of those genres.
There is then a straight cut to a long shot, focusing on the male character. The camera zooms towards the man, highlighting that he is an important character within this part of the film. Additionally to this, the camera also pans upwards, revealing the distant mountains that represent the distance between the character and his girlfriend. The character sits down, changing the levels and showing he is weak, tired and inferior.
Another straight cut to a mid shot shows both the man’s expression and clothing. His expression is sad and tired, adding to the mise-en-scene along with his black clothes, linking to the idea that he is impure and depressed.
Parallel editing occurs, taking us from the man in the snow to a woman at home. The camera zooms in on the woman’s face very slowly as though I am trying to get into her thoughts and see how she feels. However, this may also show time passing as she is distant from her lover. The use of low-key lighting is a huge contrast to the high-key lighting previously used when we were focusing on the man in the snow. The difference in lighting coupled with the narration of the letter suggests the female has lost hope and is feeling negative compared to the male who is physically looking up and has a positive outlook.
The mise-en-scene of this shot depicts several candles, foreshadowing a glimmer of hope for the relationship as candles can provide comfort and warmth in dark times. Also, the staining on her hands makes me feel that her dark feelings are permanent just like ink, something that cannot be easily washed away. The camera proceeds to stay static as we watch the tear roll down her face emphasising her sadness.
The next shot uses a straight cut to a close up of a fire which instantly represents both passion and danger, leading me to feel that the male is determined to get to his girlfriend, no matter what the consequences are. The camera then tilts upwards whilst panning from right to left to reveal a man at the fire. Another straight cut to an over the shoulder shot allows us to see another man walk into the shot, this shows that he is not alone on his journey.
The low-key lighting used within this scene shows that the men are concealing themselves and that they don’t want to be found, suggesting they are wanted fugitives. The next shot uses a low angle to show the men lying down which suggests that other, superior people are hunting them and they are trying to stay low as they have a target on their back. Another straight cut leads us to witnessing a man sitting up coughing. The camera pans to the human meat which shows how the males are living barbarically and are doing everything possible to survive, even when it is ethically wrong.
An eye line shot is then shown of a man peering up over a log with the diegetic sound of a horse. This shows us something has captured his attention and he remains in the low-key lighting, concealing himself. This makes me feel he is suspicious of the other men who have showed up and foreshadows arguments and fights at a later time.
The diegetic sound of the violin playing is introduced to ease the situation before it gets out of hand, showing me that the men need to be calmed down before they do something reckless. This again reinforces the idea that there is tension between the characters and foreshadows fights. The straight cuts, matching on action, shows the conflict between the men who are singing and trying to keep the peace and the blonde male who sits alone. The low key lighting surrounding the lone man suggests he is someone to be watched and has an evil character which could bring trouble.
The eye line match following the man who stands up, gives me the impression that the characters are wary of each other and there is a lack of trust. The next mid shot of the characters uses a soft focus to highlight that the man standing up is the most important in this situation and is about to take control of the situation. This is then followed by a close up of the side of his face which shows his worried emotions and this gives me the idea that he is aware of something which the others are not. It also shows, he does not have as much control that originally thought.
Parallel editing is again used in this scene, showing the actions of the men gathered around the fire as well as the young man hiding behind the log. This emphasises the distance between these characters and that along the way, they have lost a connection and have parted, losing trust.
Further on in the scene, the blonde man stands as the camera pans up to follow him. As he is standing higher than all of the others, it implies he is more superior and powerful. We then witness the scene from the point of view of the hiding man. We get to see and hear everything he witnesses at a safe distance which shows he is still worried about being in that situation.
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