Prequel Posts #1: Brothers’ Farewell

Brothers’ Farewell captures an unfortunate reality about human relationships. Anakin and Obi-Wan both realize that all is not right within their relationship, yet still insist on overlooking it. When people love each other, they prefer to wish away their conflicts, if only to avoid feelings of awkwardness and uncertainty. Dialogue works as a grand act of denial, an inert magic spell stubbornly chanted in hopes of gaining mastery over reality. Images provide honesty and insight that words cannot.

Panning Two Shot – Beginning

Panning Two Shot – End

Opening Shot – All Shots Sourced from the DVD

The scene opens fifty minutes into the film with a panning two shot of Anakin and Obi- Wan. A docking bay provides the setting, an image that presents the audience with the theme of transience, more commonly represented by train and bus stations in other films. Both men believe they are temporarily saying goodbye, but the theme of transience points to the subtext…The impermanence of the relationship itself. The dominant weight of the first shot is movement. Our eyes initially go to Anakin and Obi-Wan as they stroll down the veranda. A counterweight is provided by the bright pillar on the right side of the frame. The pillar is one of two that forms the threshold to the boarding plank. By the end of the first panning shot the threshold occupies one third of the frame, the equivalent of the characters themselves. By placing visual emphasis on the threshold, the image highlights Obi-Wan’s impending departure. Through a combination of setting and camera placement, the image makes the audience aware of the reality the characters attempt to avoid.

The exchange begins with an over-the-shoulder shot. George Lucas describes the scene as having an “overhanging reality of the fact that their relationship has been strained…that Anakin is trying to repair it” and that Anakin is worried about the Jedi’s opinion of him (2008). Anakin tries to repair the relationship by admitting to wrongdoing. He hopes this action will both gain him the approval he seeks while simultaneously convincing himself that there was never a problem to begin with. Of course, Obi-Wan happily obliges Anakin’s attempt at self-persuasion. When Anakin apologizes, Obi-Wan reacts by praising him. This praise gives Anakin half of what he was looking for. However, his own egoism blocks his ability to fully persuade himself. His egoism wants to be satisfied more than his desire to be persuaded or praised. The ego believes there is a problem and refuses to be swayed. In fact, when Obi-Wan offers his praise, Anakin returns it with a suspicious once-over. Only when Obi-Wan humbles himself by telling Anakin, “you have become a far greater Jedi than I could ever hope to be,” does Anakin react in a positive manner. As we will see, the praise and approval are but a temporary remedy. Unfortunately, apologizing to forces outside of the self is not an effective method of addressing the true problem.

Beginning

Middle

End

Panning Medium Shot Across the Threshold

Despite receiving approval, Anakin still isn’t satisfied. A part of him can sense the problem has not been adequately addressed. At the end of the exchange a panning medium shot follows Obi-Wan as he crosses the threshold. In the middle of the shot Anakin falls out of the frame, only to re-enter at the end of the shot. The panning movement draws out audience apprehension. The audience can sense Anakin isn’t satisfied and wonders if he is going to leave the conversation where it is. By re-entering the frame he is also re-entering Obi-Wan’s attention, and confirming for the audience that he isn’t done yet. Anakin declares “May the Force be With You.” With this declaration, either through stubbornness or momentary elation, Anakin attempts to reinforce everything that was said during the previous conversation. He wants to confirm it has had the desired effect in an attempt to negate his lingering feelings of dissatisfaction. When Obi-Wan returns the gesture, Anakin gets his confirmation. His declaration can also be interpreted as a thank you. The urge to thank Obi-Wan with a cordial farewell is like an additional show of submission. It says: “Yes Obi-Wan, you were right and I was wrong. Thank you for making me realize I had to admit that.” This kind of submission is a characteristic of the kind of apology you make when you hope the other side is correct about the dispute. If they aren’t correct, that means you have a real problem to confront. In order to end the feelings of awkwardness, and to avoid confronting the real problem, we become willing to admit to wrong doing. Additionally, the act of apologizing can also cause feelings of vulnerability, as Obi-Wan could reject Anakin at any moment. The declaration is not only a thank you for Obi-Wan’s approval, but also for being spared the pain of rejection. Within a simple panning medium shot, a story about Anakin’s desire for reassurance plays out.

Light & Dark

Before Anakin makes his farewell declaration, the camera cuts from the panning shot to an over-the-shoulder shot from Obi-Wan’s point of view. The shot visually and figuratively separates the two men. Anakin occupies the left of the frame while Obi-Wan stands on the right. They maintain a formal distance that mirrors their formal goodbyes. The threshold pillar bolsters the effect by placing a physical barrier in between the two characters. Despite the characters’ efforts the two men literally stand on the precipice of the relationship, on the threshold to new territory. Obi-Wan crosses that threshold with the belief that everything has been set right, but Anakin’s egoism does not allow him to follow. He feels truly slighted by the Jedi and cannot bring himself to see things from Obi-Wan’s point of view. An excellent blog titled swPrequelFrames points out that Anakin’s background is dark while Obi-Wan departs in warm sunlight. Over the course of the post, a convincing argument is made that Obi-Wan’s absence makes Anakin more vulnerable to the dark side (“Good Bye, Old Friend,” 2015). Anakin’s vulnerability likely explains his desire for reassurance.  The light and dark symbolism also further separates the men and foreshadows the future of the relationship itself. To add to Anakin’s isolation, the Gunship hangar behind him is tinted blue, accenting the darkness with a cold, gloomy feeling. In combination, character placement and light/dark symbolism establishes that Anakin and Obi-Wan’s relationship will now be that of opposed adversaries in a cosmic destiny.

False Ending

Once Anakin and Obi-Wan have exchanged their final goodbyes the film cuts to a long shot and slowly pulls out. Obviously, movement and camera distance ease the audience out of the scene. The shot itself is not unusual because such shots are often used at the end of scenes in classical cutting. However, in this case the shot is used as a false ending.  Like Obi-Wan reassuring Anakin, this shot lulls the audience into a false sense of security. We are lead to believe, for a moment, that maybe the characters have successfully repaired their relationship. False ending acts like a semicolon in a sentence, creating a pause before adding two final shots to the scene.

Shot #1: Two Shot of the Hug

Shot #2: Close Up

Shot #3: Close Up

Shot #4: The False Ending

Shot #5: Cut Back In for the Kiss

False Ending in Avatar: The Last Airbender

Another excellent example of false ending is found in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko mention their use of the false ending technique in the Kataang kiss scene during the series finale (2008).  First, a two shot captures the two sharing a hug. Then the camera cuts in for a couple of close ups on each character. The fourth shot is the false ending, used to scare the audience that maybe Aang and Katara will end the series without becoming a couple. Audience anxiety is relieved in the fifth shot when the camera cuts back in for the kiss. The Kataang kiss scene uses false ending to delay audience satisfaction. Brothers’ Farewell uses it to delay a sobering revelation.

As the camera pulls out the score prepares us for the revelation, instilling a feeling of quiet foreboding. Music continues uninterrupted into the final medium close up where Anakin observes Obi-Wan’s departure. Christensen’s performance takes us through a distinct beginning, middle, and end.

Medium Close Up: Part 1

Medium Close Up: Part 2

Medium Close Up: Part 3

Medium Close Up: Part 4

The Turning Point

First Anakin wears a smile of restrained caution. He savours the echo of kind words in his mind, but the spell is only temporary. At the second stage of the performance Anakin’s attention sinks downwards. Whenever a character looks down in a film it is most often never a good thing. The dam of self-deception has broken in Anakin’s mind. Once the dam breaks Anakin looks off screen, indicating that something has regained his attention. That something is all of the negative feelings and thoughts he was attempting to wish away. The final piece of the performance has Anakin returning his attention to the departing Obi-Wan, where he is simply left to absorb the realization that his attempt to delude himself has failed. His revelation creates a quiet yet devastating turning point.

Beginning

End

Star Destroyer in Long Shot at Low Angle

The scene concludes with Obi-Wan’s Star Destroyer departing the docking bay—depicted in long shot. The camera tilts up to capture the ship ascending overhead, dominating the top of the frame and blocking out the sun above. Yoda established earlier that, “a Master is needed, with more experience,” to go where Obi-Wan is headed. However, to go where Obi-Wan is headed extends beyond the literal. No doubt Anakin is stranded on the darkened ground by his immaturity, egoism, and inability to be honest with himself, for his “ascension” will only come at the eleventh hour during the Battle of Endor. The low angle shot of the shadow casting Star Destroyer places the audience in Anakin’s state of mind, one where the Star Destroyer instills the feeling of being cut off from the light—from access to heaven, and by extension access to Obi-Wan. His feelings of isolation, confusion, and inability to reach Obi-Wan in an honest manner are all painfully rendered in this unsettling image. Furthermore, even Obi-Wan’s ascension is a false one, for he departs with the mistaken belief that everything has been set right with Anakin. Not only this, but he rises into heaven within the belly of a war-machine, which is the perfect image for the flawed legacy of the Jedi Order. Even Obi-Wan himself will eventually urge Luke that the only solution to the problem is violence. Truly this scene is a saga defining moment.

If Marcus Aurelius were to give Anakin advice, he would likely tell him “If you take away your opinion about what seems to give you pain, you yourself stand in perfect security” (pp. 86, VIII.40). Anakin makes an effort toward such security, but in the wrong manner. By apologizing to external forces, it is obvious that Anakin blames them for upsetting him to begin with. Apologizing to such forces does not address what is within, but without. Anakin can’t change his opinion by getting approval. The two goals are at odds with one another. To change his opinion is more complicated than simply flipping a switch. Change requires an entire process, and process takes time. In Anakin’s mind, he does not have that luxury. Even after his heart to heart with Obi-Wan, he is left alone with his own thoughts and feelings, which ultimately have the most sway over him. Obi-Wan’s words of reassurance can only do so much and immediately wear off after his departure. Denying what is wrong only prevents Anakin from effectively addressing the problem.

Works Cited

Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations. Trans. George Long. Roslyn, New York: Walter J. Black Inc., 1945. Print.

DiMartino, Michael and Bryan Konietzko. “Audio Commentary.” Avatar: The Last Airbender – Book 3, Episode 21. Viacom International Inc., 2008. DVD.

“Good Bye, Old Friend.” Web blog post. swPrequelFrames. Tumblr, 8 Mar. 2015. Web. 18 May. 2016.

Lucas, George. “Audio Commentary.” Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2008. DVD.