We started watching a short story called Inja. The entire story was supposed to display a lesson or story with in a 10 minute timeframe, and convey a message with very little dialog. There were a few things that needed to be noted when watching the clip. Inja means dog in the language they were speaking, which was Zulu. The very beginning we see two key pieces of the entire story, the boy, Thembile, giving the dog a collar by using rope from a flag pole. The flag on the pole was the Union of South Africa. These two bits of information are important to the story. The kid was of color, and during that era of South Africa whites were a minority as the were colonizing in the country and wanted to have a display of some power. After realizing the kid had made the collar for the, the other lead character Johannes, a white middle aged man, decided to show a display of power. Johannes had Thembile shove the dog in a bag, where he then proceeded to abuse the dog. After the violent act he then asked the young boy, who cared for the dog, to open the bag. Thembile then replied with,”but the dog will think that I did it.” Then proceeded to open the bag. We then have a time jump, a decade as an estimate, in which the flag changes to the South African Flag. We now have an adult Thembile and an older and weaker Johannes, which appear to be more friendly with each other. We see the dog to be very loyal and defensive toward Johannes. This being a result of the abuse in the beginning of the short film. Toward the very end we see Johannes and Thembile trying to place a pole in the ground, and Johannes has what appears to be a heart attack. Thembile trying to aid Johannes, was blocked off by the dog, and couldn’t get by him without getting attacked, or killing the dog. This created a conflict in which Thembile still cared for the dog, and the dog is trying to defend Johannes while he is dying.
The major lesson in this story evolves around trust and dominance. The dog trusted Johannes, believing that Thembile abused him as a puppy, and would defend him at any cost. Johannes in order to display dominance to the dog and the boy, had abused the dog. If Johannes had not abused the dog in the first place, Thembile may have had the chance to save him, rather than killing the dog first, or even having the dog as a problem at all.
The characters within this short film are introduced casually as if we were looking upon them with in their everyday life. Of course the characters were shown for reasons of the plot, but it’s necessary for the development of the plot to understand their relationships.
We know for a fact that the film takes place in South Africa, during and post the Union of Africa. This piece of information is hidden, but it provides historical and minor details of the characters.
The film had a lot of close up shots, and a few pans. Most of them were used to dramatize the scene, or to show the scene. The shots weren’t taken as if we were in third person, nor as an audience, they mainly put us with in the shot, to make us feel like we are there, and the eye level shots really sold that effect.
Since this is a short film every scene has to have a purpose and it can’t serve as filler. The shots were picked entirely to show a plot, and develop the characters individually or as a group. The edits and views really do add an effect to the scenes themselves, but the way the story is scripted, other angles would not have worked.
The use of the gunshot at the end of the film left you on an uncertain ending, It is inferred that Thembile shot the dog, but since it’s not on screen, and it was a close up shop, we have no way to tell what actually happened. I thought that the film itself was really good, and it portrayed a really defined story. It really displays the effect of our actions and how they can come back to haunt us.
Compared to another film: The opening of the Indiana Jones compares well with Inja. Both films start with an opening that involves a very slow pace and subtle music, until the start of the plot sequences. The moment Indiana picks up the treasure, the music switches to a very fast based thriller, and it matches the speed and cuts of the scenes as well. While in Inja, the music relatively stops, to focus more on the dialogue rather than the action with in the scene. Both films serve their purpose, and comparing them directly isn’t like compare an Oreo to an apple, because both are foods. Its almost like comparing a sharp knife, and a pool of water. The both have traits they can share, but not on the visible layer of plot, and genre.
Comments