Film Openings- ENIGMA BI

BORNE IDENTITY

The Bourne Identity is a 2002 American-German action spy film adaptation of Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. It stars Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, a man suffering from extreme memory loss and attempting to discover his true identity amidst a clandestine conspiracy within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The film was directed by Doug Liman and adapted for the screen by Tony Gilroy and William Blake Herron.

Borne Identity is a brilliant example of how directors use enigma to captivate the audience to watch the rest of the film. Enigma means: the feeling of curiosity and increased suspense as time elapses. Thus the audience when watching Borne Identity have many questions regarding the character in the sea and the narrative/location. Enigma has been created in numerous ways:

• The Universal Logo is silent which is different immediately demanding the viewers attention.
• Quiet through the landscape.
• Introduction of the sound and visual lightening, there is tension as the dramatic music first plays and the lightening can connote fear/threat.
• The Weather is stormy and dark which immediately evokes negative and mysterious  connotations and the sound of the harsh wind and rain accompany this.
• The random men (crew on board ship) are unrevealed and the fact they are speaking a different language to English could demonstrate a hint at their location. However the location is not specifically revealed; boat in the middle of nowhere.
• The film opening is fast paced (shrinking screen time) and this is evident especially with the mid shots/close ups when the body is pulled out of the sea. The fast pace and unrevealing the features of the man that was floating in the sea certainly create enigma because of the glimpses of the characters rather than focusing on them.
• Evident changes in the sound track but tempo increases as the first title that is significantly the title of the film "Borne Identity" appears, thus creating emphasis.
• Colour and Lighting is very blue and cold colours are used.

Thus the film opening does not follow typical convention of a film opening such as establishing the  time and location explicitly and there is missing parts to the narrative which evokes enigma for the audience. However although it does not follow the conventions this style is appropriate for the genre which is a spy film thus creating elements of mystery.