The 1985 Peter Weir film Witness effectively represents ideas, attitudes and values held by two vastly different cultures that live in the same world. Witness effectively conveys themes of power, murder and corruption along with contrasting themes of peace, community and harmony. This is achieved through the use of various symbolic, written, audio and technical codes used in several scenes in the film to highlight the ideas, values and attitudes held by two different cultures as shown in the film. .
The 'Murder Scene' in Witness conveys values of innocence, murder and the jarring nature of the modern world as it corrupts the innocence of a child. The scene highlights these values and attitudes through the use of various camera shots and music. The scene begins with a long shot of Samuel entering the toilets and establishes both the setting of the scene and the naive manner of Samuel as the shot sees him curiously exploring parts of the bathroom. The man in the toilets smile at Samuel and washes his face as Samuel enters a cubicle. There's an extreme close up of Samuel watching the man through a gap in the door, further emphasising his curious and naive nature. This shot places the audience on the same perspective as Samuel and allows them to witness what is to occur through the eyes of a young child. There is still a notable absence of any music or sounds. Two more men enter but don't speak. The absence of music now adds a sinister level of suspense as it foreshadows a possibly damning situation that is to occur. The two men now quietly acknowledge each other and walk up to and brutally murder the first man, all while Samuel is watching. High tempo music starts playing as soon as the two men acknowledged each other and adds drama and tension to the scene.Throughout the murder, interjecting close up shots of Samuel's face through the gap in the door show the fear and conflict he's feeling through his facial expressions as he is taking in the whole exchange.
