A matter of Life and Death

A matter of life and death is film that is set during WW11 and dips into ideas about the afterlife after an RAF soldier jumps out of his plane without a parachute. It covers themes of love as after the accident he falls in love with the character Jane who was one of his allies. The film also covers themes of sacrifice whilst exploring and incorporating fantasy’s about what happens after death as it due to his miracle survival he is summoned by a divine messenger to take him to heaven as they believe he was wrongly kept alive and should have died from the accident. I felt that the film was very interestingly shot as it plays on how scenes and places can be differentiated through colour. When there was a scene where they were on earth it would be in colour and when it’s a scene with the divine messengers it would be in black and white. The film depicts characters very well through costume as each persons costume is very personal to their character, for example a;l the divine messengers are dressed in eccentric but sharp silhouettes with mixed patterns where as the people on earth are dressed in very period specific garments. The isolated atmosphere alongside the bright colours within the set especially in the scene where they are in the rosebush forest creates a sense of mystery that almost makes the audience feel uncomfortable due to unfamiliarity. I think that this is very cohesive to the idea of the afterlife which is carried throughout the film, as it can be a taboo subject due to religion and the vast belief system surrounding this universally.