A Girl’s own story (Jane Campion, 1984) follows a group of young girls who navigate growing up and the various challenges and changes that come with it. It deals with subjects that are difficult to approach, such as teenage pregnancy, affairs, sex and sexuality.
The film establishes its main character immediately, as we see them as their school. The theme of strict religious education is a theme in this film, but when the protagonist is introduced we do not learn their name and the cinematography makes it hard to tell what is happening, as the frame is completely filled with people and it is a close up of this crowd. The narrative is incoherent as it swaps between characters, and it is not made clear where they are or what their relationships are. The themes are also interchanged at random, and sometimes are not made clear.
There is also a swap to an expressive mode of storytelling towards the end, as the main girls sing in together about their troubles. This swap from real and serious subject matter to a more whimsical and expressive way of conveying the meaning and emotions of the main characters is quite jarring, as it is so unexpected.
The main technique that I took away from this film was the final shot, where multiple people are sat in an empty room and looking at the floor. The camera stays near the floor and dolly’s forwards, towards the girl who is furthest away but centre frame. As it moves forward, the people towards the side of the frame move out of fame to slowly direct the viewer’s attention to the girl who is centre frame, and when the camera reaches her it stops, and the film fades to black.
Finley Cairns A-Level Film Studies Blog 
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