TITLE: Jerusalem Countdown
GENRE: Thriller, Christian Film
DIRECTOR: Harold Cronk
WRITER: Harold Cronk @ 7 writers total
SPECIAL EFFECTS: Darren Bondy,
Aaron Helferich, Don White
VISUAL EFFECTS: Emily Amadhia Albee,
CGI modeler and @ 3 digital composers
ORIGINAL MUSIC: Jeehun Hwang
EDITOR: Vance Null
PROTAGONIST: Shane and Eve who are FBI and CIA agents,
Angela & Daniel the couple who lives next door to terrorists.
ANTAGONIST: Javan and the terrorists
YEAR: 2011 (Runtime 1 hr 25 min)
References:
Barsam, Richard. "https://www.wwnorton.com/movies.
"https://www.wwnorton.com/college/film/movies4/ch/06/studyplan.aspx.
W.W.Norton, n.d. Web. 20 Jul 2013. Chapters 1 through 10. Plus
DVDs that come with ebook with video explanations of concepts.
www.Imdb.com Search "Jerusalem Countdown" “The Encounter”
Wikipedia: Search David A.R. White on 20 Jul 2013.
www.Imdb.com
Movie Review by: Crystal Day Summer 2013
~~~
CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Camera angles and camera movement consists mostly of 2 frame shots and chest up while sitting. The rest were action shots of running or walking. They seem to use a Middle focal-length lens so the audience can get that day-to-day experience and a normal sense of focus. There are occasions when the background is a bit blurred like with colorful nightlights and possibly a Long-focal-length Lens is used. During the action shots I believe a crane and possibly a dolly were used. There was a steadicam for the 2 and 3 shots.
Visually, the movie appeared clear. There may have been both digital and color film used. The overall lighting is dim because the narrative takes place at night. The wardrobe is mostly dark colors or all black attire.
INTRODUCTION:
The Title Jerusalem Countdown is meant to catch the attention of a certain audience. In my church there is a lot of discussion about Jerusalem, Israel, Muslims, Christians and politics of repressed regimes. There also is discussion about China and how in some countries they are afraid to admit they believe in Christianity.
SETTING AND LIGHTS:
The opening setting takes place in the evening still not much light or shadows. The Protagonist looks up as he sees people’s clothes falling to the ground as if coming from heaven. This scene is symbolic of the Apocalypse. There is a little extra light on the falling clothes, possibly lights on stands or with cranes.
GENRE:
Thriller Per Imdb but there are also elements of Action, Religiosity aka a Christian film rated PG13 ( I think this is the reason why it got bad IMDb audience reviews because they omitted the word Christian film, which probably caught people off guard).
I was able to figure the description of drama by the rarity of music and sound, titles, and action by the speed of the camera during action scenes.
SOUND AND VERISIMILITUDE:
Sound is the first thing you hear, like rifle shots blasting and fire engine sirens blaring. There is chaos in the setting. The camera is bouncing as if this were an ammature video by a casual observer (this could be critical flicker shots giving illusion of movement). Most audiences are aware that sirens mean ambulance or fire trucks. In some these sounds evoke sadness, fear or caution.
EDITING AND CONTINUITY:
The mood is quickly changed by cutting to a large ship at harbor and through Nondiegetic Movie Titles we are transported to “six days earlier, Chicago, Illinois.” The setting is at night. There is a lot of dark space in the frame. Most of the scenes are shot in a closed spatial relationship with very little depth. The continuity of the narrative is a sort of an eclectic montague.
Then the credits: Pure Flix Productions. Again NonDiegetic Third Person Narration through Titles transports us to Washington, D.C. We see camera angle upward looking at the Capitol building (audience feels inferior to its power) then an “Israeli peace talk” news cast comes on the TV talking about nuclear weapons Foreshadowing what is to come.
INTRODUCTION TO THE CHARACTERS:
There is a waist up shot of the Protagonist talking on Facetime to his co-worker. This is our first real introduction to his character. He works for the F.B.I. There does not seem to be good use of facial or body shadows. Perhaps this was due to low budget?
The protagonist is Shane.
COMPOSITION AND SETTING: A lot of the 2 shot camera conversations take place in either a car or an office. There are a couple of 2 shots inside a couples’ house. The director favors a closed-frame composition.
There was a choice to do filming in a variety of locations. The locations selected are relevant to the narrative plot of politics, government and foreign policy as it relates to the threat of nuclear arms and high crime. The reason he talks about Jerusalem and nuclear arms is because that was going on at the time this was written in our world news. With a Google search: (Jerusalem and nuclear arms) a lot of newspapers pop up talking about what is going on and that Israel finally admits in 2012 to having nuclear arms.
NARRATIVE:
An Inciting moment is presented with a phone call. Someone has some information. . .now there is snow on the ground and we are cut through the wonderful world of editing to Edgewood, Virginia. Snow is symbolic of people trying to survive harsh conditions.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND RISING ACTION:
Here we are introduced to the Antagonists. We know they are Antagonists because one person is talking in an obviously disguised voice-over (on the phone prop) that sounds like a computer and the other one talks in what sounds like some type of code language (“The 7 Wonders”). No goals are obvious yet.
(Runtime 8:02). This Scene is a Medium 2 shot. Shadows and dim lighting are used to imply seriousness and foreboding. There is little Camera Movement until a man breaks into the house shooting at the informant.
It’s hard to tell if a Steadicam is used or a dolly following the two actors as they run and shoot. Protagonist going after the Antagonist. Then there is a Special Effect of an explosion as one of the shooters hits what looks like a barrel of oil. Then came the Freeze Frame for emphasis of this event (the fire burning high).
We are transported to a house with a couple talking about an article that the man is going to write, about “the Israeli peace talks.” His wife Angela, is trying to give him some Bible readings, which he ignores.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT:
Another cut to a Medium 2 shot of CIA agents (Eve and her co-worker)talking about some Suspects (Antagonists).
Inciting Moment two is when another one of Eve’s co-workers talks to her about a “Biblical moment.” Implicitly referring to the Apocalypse. Eve is a Round character because agents and Christ don’t usually go together on screen.
The Protagonist finds out the captured Antagonist is praying from rote memory, of the Book of Revelation. This scene takes place in an interrogation room. They are trying to find out why the informant was killed and what was meant by “The 7 Wonders.” Audience Point Of View (POV) is Restricted to Protagonist’s and shares curiosity.
We are back at the couple’s house where Daniel is looking at the Bible his wife Angela brought him. The Music gets louder a sort of pinging-alarm sound as audience Expectations wait for something to happen. He is still thinking about his article on “Israel and the peace talks.”
INCITING INCIDENT:
The audience still hears the TV news talk about peace talks while the Antagonist works with what looks like an explosive and a knife. The Camera Angle is looking slightly up (lower angle) at his face while he does this. When the audience sees the prop of explosives there is some fear and the seriousness of the Antagonist face is Foreboding.
(Runtime 21:43 min)The goal is made more clear. The FBI (Josh) and CIA (Eve)agent are trying to figure out what “The 7 Wonders” are. As part of the audience I am saying to myself, finally!
The character dialogue is still Restrictive. Using dialogue, the actors say that Israel is our ally, clearly indicating a political Plot Point. The audience still is not sure about what is going on.
IMPLICIT MEANINGS:
The Prophecy/theory of Apocalypse is coming true. Iran, Russia have formed alliances and Angela refers to the Book of Ezekiel (from the Bible).
MUSIC:
(Runtime 31:46) Russ (Jamie Nieto) the agent, gets killed while they are investigating the informant sister’s house.) There are some cut shots and jump shots as Eve runs out of the house to catch the Antagonist. Music and camera movement speed up.
PLOT POINT:
(Runtime 41:01) In this scene, they are talking about “the Rapture.” It’s a closed room with limited space and the focus of the camera sees only those who are talking, at times panning back to the reactions of those listening. Here the agent says what is at Stake is his “daughter and Israel’s lives”. An example of Rack Focus.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT:
(Runtime 45:48) We find out after this talk that it was Eve’s father who is also a “high-level agent.” These two unrelated actors are wearing all black at night while they sit inside a room and talk about their next move. I had seen this movie a couple of times and never noticed the wardrobe before.
MISE-EN-SCENE AND ACTING:
The choice of wardrobe here helps bring out the facial features and hands of the actors visually. I believe that was deliberate because there were some scenes where the acting was very subtle. I feel it also helped to simplify the dialogue to let us focus on dialogue and plot points.
There is very little actual Music. It’s mostly all dialogue with some appropriate sounds for Verisimilitude.
CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS:
Josh and Eve. We are given the implicit impression through dialogue that they have met before and don’t like each other. Josh and Eve are Flat characters although towards the end of the movie, they say they are friends again. Basically they are the stereotypical government agents that we have grown to expect as an audience. Although, a subtle change with Eve does evolve later on.
The supporting actors, Daniel and Angela are shown in their house arguing over religion and politics in the comfortable setting of their living-room. There is a lot of wood and browns, the colors of coziness and comfort.
[SPOILER ALERT]
Daniel and Angela also start out as the Flat characters we have grown to expect. Especially Angela, who keeps trying to get her husband to read the Bible, because she has been born again. Daniel shuns her suggestions. He appears a bit cynical about things, and it causes the argument. However, in the end, his character is Rounded into a more caring individual who now is open to the idea of believing in god. Basically in the Resolve; he is the hero who saved the world from nuclear destruction by terrorists.
NARRATIVE PLOT POINT:
The Problem is some terrorists smuggled in some nuclear weapons in order to set off bombs on American soil. Their purpose appears to be the crumbling of the government structure and financial systems. This is explained through explicit character dialogue.
RISING ACTION:
What is at Stake is the lives of all the people in the USA. And, the stability of our government and financial institutions. This invests the audience in the narrative as implicitly they are now included.
CRISIS AND PLOT POINT:
(Runtime 25:46) The friend of the dead informant says “there are 7 nuclear weapons smuggled into” the USA in suitcases. He talks about the New World Order is what is happening now. There was an internet rumor about the “New World Order” around the time this movie was written.
OBSTACLES:
There were several Obstacles in the movie. At first, they did not know what “The 7 Wonders” meant. Their first informant was killed before he could tell them. They were not able to get any information out of the first Antagonist who shot the informant. When they got to the informant’s sister’s house, she was dead and an agent got shot. Still about halfway through the movie Josh (Josh and FBI agent talking) says, “we don’t know anything.” The audience waits in anticipation.
Occasionally there are a few inciting moments when we keep flashing back to the house with the couple in it who have noticed something suspicious next door.
CINEMATIC INVISIBILITY:
When talking about Christian views, the camera gives a Close Up shot of them in the car, panning from Josh to Eve, her talking then the look on his face. It’s a simple view highlighting their faces and their emotions. It more closely resembles Western Christianity and symbolically represents the fears around nuclear weapons and power in the hands of unstable governments. These are prominent themes in USA and world news. By unstable I mean where there might be laws that are either archaic or not enforced allowing crime (harms to society) to thrive unchecked.
IMPLICIT CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS:
Among several inciting incidents, the “peacekeeping diplomats” plane blows up. Then we cut back to Daniel, who finds guns and bombs next door. The terrorists appeared to be Middle Eastern which plays into the rumors and stereotypes of the year. It also incites and possibly confirms the fears some Americans were feeling during the year this movie was made.
CLIMAX:
We are finally brought to the climax of the movie when the police get called by Daniel who has taken it upon himself to investigate his neighbor and is now caught in their house basement. The Antagonists just get home. Daniel had seen the bombs. However, the police are there and they start shooting back at the Antagonists. One of the Antagonists sees Daniel and he is almost shot.
FALL OF ACTION:
There is a Fall of Action after the bombs were found and we are transported back to the couple who talks about god.
RESOLUTION:
The man now believes in god and he and wife are the happy ending. The world is saved.
SUMMARY:
On the personal side of things, I met David A.R. White who also teaches acting, through my son, who was in one of his Acting Classes and a movie called “The Encounter”.
David White tends to do mostly Christian films. We all went together as a group to Boston when “The Encounter” came out. Jamie Nieto was a co-star in “The Encounter” one and in this one “Jerusalem Countdown”, he had a small bit part.
I picked this movie to do my formal analysis on because of the symbolism of the Rapture and the politics of it seemed interesting.
David White wrote 8 movies and Directed 4 per IMdb. He was also an actor. My favorite one of his is a comedy called “Holyman Undercover (2010).” [IMdb.com]
MORAL OF STORY:
I feel there is a moral to this story. If you see something suspicious happening in your neighborhood, report it to the proper authorities, you could be saving lives.
And, we are fortunate that we can continue to have open dialogue (Democracy in action) about world politics without getting shot for our beliefs.
WRITER AND DIRECTOR’S POINT OF VIEW:
I saw this as an artsy film describing the point of view of the writer about how he feels about religion and the political issues of the day. When I approach the movie this way, it feels like the writer’s thoughts played out well.
STAR POWER:
I believe the Star Power of David White, Randy Travis [IMdb.com] and Jamie Nieto were utilized to attract viewers to the message.
~~~
RESEARCH:
This is the Summary provided by IMdb.com:
By Anonymous;
When nuclear weapons are smuggled into America, FBI Agent Shane Daughtry (David A.R White) is faced with an impossible task -- find them before they are detonated. The clock is ticking and the only people who can help are a washed up arms dealer (Lee Majors), a converted Israeli Mossad Agent (Stacy Keach) and a by-the-book CIA Deputy Director (Randy Travis).
END Jerusalem Countdown Formal Analysis
~~~
