Harry McHale - Poster Analysis #4: Ce Lume Minunatâ

This poster provides a strong visual image of life in Moldova during civil unrest. We see a shoe on the ground, part of a costume for an unseen character. This abandoned shoe represents the people of the county- abandoned by their government and neighbouring countries as the Communist party ‘rigged’ the elections and led them to civil unrest. The setting is that of a runway- again, representing the people of Moldova and their desperate attempts to flee the corrupt government- hitchhiking on planes as a way to escape. The shoe itself is clearly battered, showing the plot of the story in a single instance- a journey. The shoe shows that the journey has been rough- the ‘make up’ effect of dirt and the battered, broken shoe. The composition of the shot allows the shoe to be centre frame; while the rest of the text shown on the poster is also aligned to the centre- emphasising the shoe itself. Through colouring and lighting we see that the sky is a deep grey with hints of yellow- almost as if there is a fire burning to the right of the shot; out of the poster view. This creates the feeling of imminent danger, and provides a short insight on the narrative plot as well- showing that the characters in the plot will be going through a dangerous situation. These all detail semantic codes for a thriller; telling the audience that this is a thriller film.

The lack of characters shown in the poster makes the poster much more personal; the viewer is met with an emotional reaction as we wonder what has happened to the owner of the shoe. Using an enigma in the poster it not only solidifies the genre of the film but also creates a sense of hope within the viewer; if they aren’t from Moldova than the viewer will hope that this situation is now long over and people will not be in any more danger. And if the viewer is in Moldova they will remember he pain that everyone went through, and remember the trials they endured and rightfully got through.

The age certificate is shown clearly as being 18+, shown in the same simplistic font used in the rest of the text- perhaps telling us that the plot is something that is simplistic, or so common, in Moldova that it doesn’t require any flashy text to tell a riveting story. This also attracts a more mature audience, those who want to see a proper narrative story and those who want to be thrilled by an event based on real life.

Through the layout of the poster we can see he large amounts of people listed on the credit block; however each of them are names and none are huge in the film industry- showing that this is an independent film (expected with a foreign film.) Both the director and the producer are shown at the top of the film poser; emphasising their positions in the making of the film.  By making their names capitals it emphasises them; giving past viewers the momentum they need to watch this film.