Northfork - Effect of Cinematic Elements

This film portrays the various emotions of members of a community in Montana being evacuated in order to release a dam and flood the area into a lake. According to Munsterberg in The Aesthetic of Film, emotion is considered the most complex cinematic unit, accompanied by both attention and memory and imagination. The emotions and feelings of the pastor and orphan, Irwin, are depicted through their strong resistance to evacuating town; as opposed to the other residents, who got up and left without hesitation. The evacuation team tasked with removing the few remaining residents show emotions on the opposite end of the spectrum - happy to remove all inhabitants and eliminate their town after being promised lake-front homes after the evacuation. The cinematography, or attention as referred to by Munsterberg, also plays a large role in this film. It begins with a car driving down the road with a coffin attached to its roof, portraying that death is eventually the end of change, as well as the transient nature of life. Also, the dark light contrast presented while a man and woman shown wearing all black and a white angel suit, respectively, represents the varying emotions and feelings towards the evacuation of Northfork’s residents. Additionally, the cinematography places the audience’s attention on the mountains depicted behind the pastor in his chapel with the back wall blown out. These mountains represent the natural element of religion, as well as its relation to Christ, who would typically be depicted in various art forms behind the pastor in a chapel. Lastly, the film depicts a crossroads with a field of bison, which can be seen as representative of the town who, like the bison, almost became extinct but thanks to the construction of the lake will be brought back to life once again.