The Color of Paradise

Our class assignment this week was to watch and analyze the sound in the film “The color of Paradise.” The story is about an eight-year-old boy who is blind and lives in a remote village with his widowed father, his two sisters, and his grandmother. We realize early on that the father is some what of a dead beat and does not really care for his son who seems as a burden to him. Regardless, the film focuses on the little boy and how sees the world and the beauty it holds.

At the beginning of the film we as the audience start off hearing what sounds like different tapes being played; this relates to how a blind person would experience the world. Continuing this relation, natural sounds seem to be amplified through out this scene and continues on through out the film. When visuals appear, we find ourselves watching the last  few minutes of a class for the blind. Soon all the children are picked up by their parents, except Mohammed, whose father is very late. While he waits outside, we are gradually shown the world as it is to Mohammad, one restricted to sounds and  touching with the hands. At one point, it seems that Mohammad’s ears prick up; as if he has heard something. slowly, he walk through a path full of fallen leaves and starts searching through them. It turns out to be a fallen baby bird that has fallen from a nest.The boy manages to pick up the bird and climb a tree to place the bird back in it's nest.

The cinematography throughout the film is truly speaks out in this film. Shots like the pastoral scenes of the little boy looking out his window and listening to the sounds it gave off. Or the scene with collapsing bridge, which would have been planned out strategically just to capture it all in one shot. Additionally, these amazing shots give almost a character to the evident sound that ensuing it.
The sound in The Color of Paradise is, above all else,  probably most important aspect to the film. The sound in the film allows the audience to experience as if we war hearing the noises through Mohammad's ears. As you may notice, the sound seems to be amplified to real express the amount of detail he can hear. To refer to my previous paragraph, the sound takes on a role as an influential character within the story. At few times within the film, we hear a very strange noise that appears to be only heard by the father. This may refer to a coming threat or a warning to him on his actions as a father.

Over all, this film really open my eyes and ears to the very important aspects to sound. Through out the film, we are shown perfect examples of the balance between sound and images and how they can create a character within the film. For aspiring directors and sound designers, I particularly recommend this film as a must see.