Introduction
The Gathering Storm is a historical movie that documents Winston Churchill’s personal life and the lessons learned from it. The film was directed by Richard Loncraine and starred Albert Finney and Vanessa Redgrave playing Churchill and his wife Clementine, respectively. The movie depicts Churchill’s life in the 1930s as he warned European countries about Hitler’s preparation for war. Although Winston Churchill did not have monetary riches, his determination to resuscitate his political career strengthened him. Churchill’s strategy, discipline, and resilience were the prerequisites for success to emerge as an iconic leader in 1939. Churchill led the Second World War and protected the European countries from the threat posed by Nazi Germany. Throughout the documentary, Churchill’s leadership and rhetorical competence are expressed as the core elements that made him famous and reputable worldwide. His political life began in 1893 as a soldier and advanced to a successful politician in his later life. The documentary achieved its inspirational objective as it depicted the protagonist’s life moving from the political abyss to the stature of an iconic leader in 1939.
Filmmaking Techniques to Entertain and Persuade the Audience
The Gathering Storm documentary expresses how Churchill returned to the political realm after being demoted in 1915. The demotion was due to the disastrous campaigns he conducted in Gallipoli, which caused Britain huge losses. The film depicts Churchill’s strategy, which led to victory against Nazi Germany (Loncraine, 2002). Filmmaking approaches encapsulate all cinematography aspects, including camera movement, angle, lighting, and the background songs used to share the story visually (Maurer, 2019). The techniques ensure that the images are presented to the audience in a way that changes the audience’s perspective and belief of the documentary. The cinematography practices used to persuade and entertain the audience in The Gathering Storm include close-up, quick-cutting, Mise-en-scène, and the long take.
Close Up
A close-up is a unique filmmaking technique where the camera takes only the head or a specific part of the character to display emotions. Only the eyes filled with tears were shown in places where the director wanted to express the character’s emotions. The technique is used in numerous scenes in the video to show how the protagonist and his wife express different emotions (Loncraine, 2002). Through extreme close-ups, the director showed only one detail in the character’s face to show extreme emotions to persuade the audience that Churchill underwent challenges when he had no money to take care of his family.
Quick Cutting
The filmmaking strategy involves using several shots in swift succession during editing. When the director uses this approach, it is possible to understand the storyline of what has happened in the protagonist’s life (Kumar & Anas, 2021). For example, when Churchill flashes back to his painful life moments, it is expressed in quacking successions, giving the audience an overview of his past (O’Donnell, 2022). The editing stratagem is essential in quickly expressing large amounts of content, such as flashbacks, since the documentary shares the protagonist’s resilience as he moves from his political wilderness to a successful leader in 1939.
Mise-en-scène
Mise-en-scène is a French term used to express how a shot juxtaposes objects, actors, and other special features to show what the director wishes to convey to the people. In The Gathering Storm, the technique is used in the different scenes to express particular messages (Kumar & Anas, 2021). During the scene when Churchill was playing cards with his wife, where all their expressions were shown, other parts of the room showed how they were struggling in life and therefore passed the message.
The Long Take
The long takes are special events in a scene where only a single camera view is used to express the message. The technique is proper when the director wants to depict the same character throughout different locations (O’Donnell, 2022). As Churchill moved from one part of the play to another, the tactic was used to persuade the audience that through resilience and discipline, the protagonist moved from the character of low life to a world-renowned leader.
Different Perspectives on the Film
Different points of view have been developed from Richard Loncraine’s documentary. Each perspective shows the documentary’s key theme and critical lessons that could have been learned. The film may be viewed as a love story navigating through the difficulties of the time, political dynamics, and harnessing mistakes to victory (Loncraine, 2002). Every viewpoint is supported by evidence and filmmaking techniques to pass a point. Failure to support a perception with evidence makes it lack credibility.
Love Story Perspective
The entire tale permeates the two lovers’ devotion to one another. It communicates to the contemporary audience that despite numerous challenges in marriage, people can improve their relationship by caring about each other. Vanessa and Finney had numerous misunderstandings over money but ensured they were all resolved without jeopardizing their marriage (Maurer, 2019). The tale proves that whenever people are in true love, there is a tendency to help each other soar toward greater heights. Their resilience and love granted them peace of mind, helped them resolve their differences, and charted Churchill’s political direction. It takes two lovers to believe in each other to help them soar the great heights and solve life challenges.
Political Dynamics Perspective
Winston Churchill is known as a British statesman, an orator, and an inspirational leader who led the Britons to victory during the Second World War. However, his political career faced numerous challenges, such as financial difficulties and forced resignation in 1915 after leading failed military operations. Further, Churchill’s background was that of an unhappy child who could not get what other children got. His struggling childhood and poverty-stricken middle-life crisis prove that anyone can move from a poor state to a level of political prominence when a person is disciplined and dedicated (Kumar & Anas, 2021). The director succeeded in expressing the movie’s lessons that resilience, dedication, and discipline are pertinent skills required for people to succeed. Even after being ousted from the British political arena, he never gave up and continued working towards political prominence. By 1939, Churchill became one of the world’s most respected leaders after beating all odds (Loncraine, 2002). Diligence, persistence, and resilience helped Churchill move from a low life to a celebrated member of society.
Harnessing Mistakes to Victory Perspective
The documentary can be analyzed from the point that life offers second chances, and people may harness their many mistakes to victories in the long run. In the First World War, he led a disastrous campaign against Turkey and underrated the Japanese army. Instead of giving up and languishing in regret, Winston Churchill turned all his mistakes into lessons (O’Donnell, 2022). The director depicts the life of Churchill as a person who could correct all his mistakes and begin life on a better note to be a better person.
Ethical Issues Apparent in the Content of the Film
Ethics play a significant role in the making of a documentary. In the making of The Gathering Storm, numerous moral concerns about the film’s content could have been addressed to improve it. The chronological and historical presentation of Winston Churchill’s life needs to be more historically accurate and may end up misleading the audience. However, the documentary may be an inspirational tool for someone who must have the background story of Britain’s finest personality (Maurer, 2019). A person who understands Churchill’s history may not be convinced and motivated by the story displayed in the documentary. The director focused on the dramatization of Churchill’s life as a motivation for people who wish to learn from past mistakes.
The life of Winston Churchill in the documentary represents a burlesque caricature that may not represent reality. It is imperative to note that movies and documentaries are works of art that are supposed to relate to human nature. However, whenever the protagonist is given the role of a god or goddess, humans are not likely to learn from the protagonist as it would appear as a work of fiction.
Conclusion
The Gathering Storm is a political documentary representing Winston Churchill’s life from the ashes of destruction as he failed in the First World War to become an iconic leader in 1939. The director uses the protagonist’s life to persuade the audience that they should never give up and must remain focused to achieve their goals in life. The director further uses different filmmaking techniques to show the purpose of the movie. As an inspirational story, it failed the authenticity test as the chronology and history represented are inaccurate. Although it has different perspectives and points of view, the central theme is resilience and learning from mistakes.
References
Kumar, A., & Anas, M. (2021). From scribe to statesman (review of Winston Churchill: A Life in the News by Richard Toye). Media Asia, 48(4), 381-383. Web.
Loncraine, R. (2002). The Gathering Storm [Film] 2002 [YouTube Video]. Web.
Maurer, J. H. (2019). Churchill and the Outbreak of the Second World War in Europe. Orbis, 63(3), 305-320. Web.
O’Donnell, T. F. (2022). The Gathering Storm. Journal of Vascular Surgery, 76(6), 1719-1720. Web.