TIPTOPSTARS

This piece opens with the grandeur of lush vegetation of where the characters play out the daily theatre of music. This is maintained until we see our first character of this film. The text of title “Diana” is in white as well as our immediate character, this allows the viewer to see the future. Here the viewer is transported with this white colour of purity to imagine a beautiful future. This future is enhanced when you see the sky, similarly white in tone. It’s cleverly contrasting where a character is in a white toned shirt stands in response to the rhythmic tunes. The female character, in synch with the main character is seen smiling in response too, here the viewer can understand and appreciate that future represented by the tones of white colour. Her broad smiles silhouettes into the surroundings, confirming that she is one with her environment and off course this can show that she indeed believes in what the male character is saying in the lyrics. It’s truer as the director deploys one of a favourite cinematic tool, which is merging scenario and character to confirm the lyrics.

There are dual smiles from both introductory characters. Here the director again emphasizes on the future, and the aspect of hope through a carful lower angle in which we see the future in the form of the white toned sky. As we progressed past the first minute of the film, there is a shared moment of laughter; this denotes clear joy and enjoyment from both lovers. The other characters too are introduced, there are seen in hyped danced moves. Movement is deployed from director, situating the rhythm with the pace, it’s carefully handled that one is immerse in trance as they experience the cinema and the music, yet aware through form of the lyrics. The props of circular necklaces from the lead male character and the hand gestures are assurances of love. The use of close up tied in seamless movement of camera including the maintained rhythm of song, these are combined tools to enhance the aesthetics, leaving the background out of focus also denotes the dreamy natures of their tomorrows or emphasis the uncertainty aspects of life as a whole.

As the film moves through the midway mark, white is again brought into focus through the checkered board, two things are clear here, one; the uncertainty of tomorrow or the future and two; the fact that life is as experienced by two lovers requires that each plays their part. The use of space and time is careful, almost economical but allows the viewer to immerse even further into the film’s clever aesthetic. Yellow tones that may be seen as revolutionary and promising are contrasted with green tones worn by the two female dancers. Here the masculine optimism can be read into the yellow tones from the male lead character and the greens worn by the female dancers reinforces yet merges with the background, in random synchronicity It can tell the viewer how the female agency in the film is often seen to be grounded, one with it’s environment.

The evolutionary state of the film maintains close up deployment of it as a cinematic tool for the purposes of pointing to the randomness of life. It lingers into the bar where it really gets dreamy. The use of red tones and the allowance of uncertainty is indeed a careful artistic interpretation of how the director sees this future. Red maintains its presence announcing danger and presents necessity that helps expresses the passion, laden with danger when it comes to love and show that love and hope merge in tandem and its in the air. Either way, the viewers goes away certified that the love relations stands a chance as we see towards end of film the use of camera lens blare and rays of light strong enough to allow for it to be noticed. It’s a happy one.

Editor’s Note

Solomon Atah is a refined writer and speaker who participates profoundly on the media platform and contributes enormously to the development of the civil society sector in Africa. The Johannesburg-based multifaceted young Cameroonian critically appreciates art works and makes brilliant analysis. Atah who possesses a sharp pen in film analysis author of #HelpHope 7 Quantum Humanomics, published recently and now in circulation.

Ernest Kanjo