In Inja, the characters are introduced mainly through context– we see Thembile raising a flag soon after a shot of servants working in a field, so we can assume he’s also a servant. He’s kind to the dog, and tries to resist putting it in the bag when his boss tells him to, but ultimately he ends up following orders. The boss is characterized as cruel and unkind. He beats a dog to ensure its loyalty to himself (and further, white people in general), and his wife dislikes him enough to poison him.
In Bambi, both characters are introduced at the same time, eating from a field. Bambi is generally naïve, as shown by how long it took to realize his mother was gone– he kept calling her name until he was told she wouldn’t come back. His mother doesn’t get a ton of development, but we can see that she’s caring, calling out to Bambi to keep running and not look back when she knew she might not make it.
In Inja, most of what we see is the space around the house, though the area where the last scene takes place appears to be further out. The setting is portrayed as being fairly flat and plain.
In Bambi, the setting appears idyllic on first introduction, but things steadily get darker while Bambi and his mother run from the hunter. The running sequence appears to take place over a huge expanse (though this is likely smaller in reality, through Bambi’s perspective it seems large). Unlike the terrain in Inja, the setting here is portrayed as vast and treacherous.
Inja begins with a wide shot of servants working in a field, something they come back to several times throughout. This mostly serves to set the tone for daily life. Closer shots are used during intense moments: in the final scene, when Thembile has to decide whether or not to follow orders and shoot the dog, the directors close in on his face, his boss’s face, and the dog’s face, lending extra intensity to an already dramatic scene.
In Bambi, we see a fair number of close ups, which again serve to up the intensity, and some wide shots: notably, the shot of Bambi and his mother eating, which feels ominous, almost like the viewer is seeing what the hunter sees.
Inja’s editing happens mostly at a slower pace, except during more action-packed moments, where the camera cuts between shots more quickly. Two cuts in particular stood out to me: the cut from Thembile’s face to the dog’s face in Inja after the dog was beaten, which effectively showcased the moment the dog’s trust in Thembile was gone, and the close-ups of everyone’s faces in the final scene where the boss is dying and Thembile has to decide between him and the dog he once loved.
Bambi’s editing is similarly slow during peaceful moments and quick during intense ones. The cut from a wide shot of Bambi and his mother eating to his mother, alert and listening, draws us out of the hunter’s eyes and back into Bambi’s fairly abruptly, which works well for the purpose of the piece. I also liked one of the shots in the middle of Bambi running lingers on the white, snowy space behind him after he’s out of frame, showing us that his mother is no longer following him, then it cuts into a darker forest.
In Inja, the gunshot sound played over a close-up shot of the dog works really nicely. Overall, I enjoyed the film.
In Bambi, the gradual darkening of the scene had the most impact throughout. The filmmakers did a wonderful job making the death of a minor character feel emotionally draining, even though it’s really only an instrument to launch Bambi’s story.
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