Lovefield - Narrative

Restricted narration is used throughout the short film 'Lovefield' to try and mislead the audience on what is happening in the story. (Plot & Story)

The are several action and enigma codes. These are (as proposed by Roland Barthes) are things that cause active engagement for he audience and make them question and answer a queerie. Or something that allows us to try and predict the plot by something telling us action will take place.

The first enigma code that we see is the black bird; they are symbolically associated with mystery and the unknown and also darkness. 

The knife stabbing into the ground is an example of an action code as it can help to predict the plot - it could connote violence to come ahead. The bloody material mislead somebody to think that rape has occured.

Todorov's theory of classic narrative can be applied to 'Lovefield' as a linear structure (with closure) has been used.

The first stage of Todorov's theory is Equilibrium:

A flow diagram of Todorov's Theory.

From 'Lovefield' I would identify stage one (the equilibrium) as being the first few opening shots, i.e. the pan of the cornfield, the bird perched on the signpost. As of this point, nothing has occurred to cause any sort of disruption. 

Stage two of this short film is when the disruption has occured; I believe this is when the props of the bloody material, the mobile phone with the constant tone, and the knife become present. This is because the audience now know that something has happened as these objects all convey a tense atmosphere. 

Stage three of Todorov's theory is confrontation. In 'Lovefield' it is not necessarily a recognition of the disruption, as so far in the film, the audience do not know that this man is actually trying to help, and is the story's protagonist. The male character becomes flustered and runs to his car rummaging for something to aid the women, which would be the recognition of the event, however the viewer does not yet know this, making this not an omniscience film for the viewer. 

Stage four is resolution (disruption and problems are solved):
The man eventually finds a towel and runs back over to the women left in the field. The audience then realise that he is actually the protagonist in the film, and by handing the women the towel the situation has been resolved. 

This therefore creates stage five, the new equilibrium. The new normality is that this women has now given birth to a new character and our views on the plot of the film have been changed from the beginning stages. The tracking movement of the camera shows an extreme long shot and the music changes to softer tones which creates a more relaxed feel and shows closure.