Sisters In Law “Manka Sequence” (Filmmakers’ Theories)

At the beginning of the Manka sequence, the scene cuts between two camera, one showing Manka and the man who took her to the police station, and the other showing Vera, the prosecutor. Cutting between two cameras avoids panning too much, instead using simple shot-reverse-shots. As the man explains how he found Manka, the camera stays on him and her in a two shot, the size difference emphasising how small and frail Manka is and also her uncomprehending expression, showing her trauma, and the mans concern as he tells the story. The camera also looks down as Manka in a high angle shot to show how small she is, which gives the scene more gravity as the man explains what has happened to her. It also zooms in on her face to bring emphasis on her bloodshot eye, allowing the audience to see what has happened to her, having more of an affect on them than if it was just said without footage to back it up. Longinotto brings the audiences attention to important parts of a scene, but in the process may have an impact upon their interpretation of the scene through cinematography.

The camera stays focused on Manka’s face as as she is questioned, and this brings to the audiences attention the passive expression and obvious confusion and sadness she has, making us feel more sympathy for her and helping us understand the effect the beatings have had on her. The camera then pans to the right to show Vera’s reaction to Manka’s confirmation that here aunty beat her, showing to the audience her clear dismay and disappointment at what she is hearing, showing that she is a good person. It also stays on her as she makes a phone call, showing her mounting anger.

As the police officers get an arrest warrant for Manka’s aunt, the camera follows them and occasionally shows random people to give a better, more authentic image of the environment that they work in. As the aunt is questioned by Vera, it stays focused on her with only her in frame for a while, showing her increasingly distressed reactions to the questions that she cannot lie her way out of. It occasionally zooms out as she tries to defend herself, creating a two or three shot of the aunt, Manka and the man. The contrast between the man, who cannot even bring himself to look at the aunt, and the aunt who is desperately trying to defend herself from her crime, makes her seem like the villain of this scene, and the man the good character in frame. It also shows how passive and confused Manka is at her aunts pleading, which shows how young she is and, therefore, how cruel and uncaring the aunt is, which is emphasised by how she relentlessly begs for mercy here.

The camera does not cut back to Vera often, only panning right to sometimes show how angry she is at the aunt for her actions. Most of the time it stays on the people on the other side of the table, immersing the audience into Vera’s position, which is done to make her seem like a good person to them. It zooms in on Manka’s back as her scars are revealed, and also keeps the aunty in frame in a two shot to show what she has done and her reaction to it. The three shot also shows how the man is looking after Manka, who looks relatively comfortable with him, while her aunt, who is supposed to look after her, only uses her to try and prove her defence case. As all the people leave the room, the camera pans left to show Vera’s expression of disappointment and anger, which pushes the presentation of her as a moral and just person.