ELLIE LINTON

An important character in the film is Ellie Linton. Ellie comes from a rural background. She is a leader and the narrator for much of the film.

An important scene in this film is when Ellie kills a young soldier with a makeshift bomb. While out on a scouting mission, Ellie’s group is discovered after seeing her father and the rest of the town imprisoned in the fairground. Ellie, Corrie and Kevin are chased by enemy soldiers and in order to escape, use the fuel tank of a ride-on lawnmower to create an improvised explosive. Ellie’s plan is successful and kills four of the young soldiers chasing them. Ellie goes into shock after noticing the youth of one of the dead soldiers and has to be forced by Kevin to flee the scene.

Ellie is shocked by the youth of the dead enemy soldier. She is largely concerned by the fact that she is also a young woman and could be the same age as she is. It is at this point in the film where Ellie starts to lose her innocence.

Analyse how the following techniques help show the loss of innocence in Ellie’s character in this scene., Close-ups Panning / Point of view shot Dialogue / Voiceover narration Lighting Music Setting / Props

1. Shows Ellie’s horror and obvious distress at having killed someone. Especially someone her age. 2. Focuses the audience on the youth of the young soldier and the fact that Ellie is traumatised by this detail. 3. The panning shot from Ellie’s point of view gives an overall picture of the destruction she has caused. Ellie is shocked by what she is capable of.

Despite the fact that she has just killed someone and feels scared and vulnerable Ellie is often shown using low angle shots. This portrays her as being someone who has strength of character and as being determined to survive.

In this scene the music is slow paced, low key and sounds very melodramatic. You can hear violins playing quietly in the background. This use of music reflects Ellie’s emotions. She feels sadness at the senseless death of a young female soldier who she sees as being just as young and scared as she is.

“She wasn’t much older than I was and she looked just as scared…I’ll never forget her” “It’s not your fault” “We were so innocent back then. I feel like we were innocent right up until yesterday. We didn’t believe in Santa Claus or anything like that. No we believed in other fantasies. We believed we were safe” These dialogue examples convey the shock and fear Ellie feels after being forced to kill someone in order to survive. It also reflects her realisation that perhaps the world isn’t the safe sheltered place she believed it to be. Like Santa Claus her childish illusions are being destroyed. She is forced to face the terrifying reality that her and her friends are no longer safe in their own country.

The low key lighting used on Ellie in this scene reflects her inner turmoil and conflicting emotions. She is trying to deal with the fact that she has just killed somebody in order to protect herself and her friends. By framing her face half in shadow it implies that her character is having to deal with some sort of internal struggle.

This series of close-ups are significant in portraying Ellie’s loss of innocence. Ellie plays with a number of childhood toys – pony, stuffed doll, dollhouse. These objects symbolise her childhood and the naivety or innocence that she no longer possesses after killing the young female soldier. Ellie appears to almost mourn this loss. It was taken from her rather than gradually losing it through growing up and maturing naturally.

The setting of the treehouse is important in conveying the loss of innocence in Ellie’s character. It is where she used to go as a child with her friend Corrie and is a place of comfort and fond memories. As Corrie and Ellie stare out from the treehouse they see an Australian plane set upon and destroyed my enemies fighter jets. The treehouse can no longer provide the safety and comfort it gave Ellie as a child. Leaving the treehouse is symbolic of Ellie leaving her childhood behind and becoming an adult.

Watch the ending scene. How has Ellie developed as a character? Explain how visual and aural film techniques help show this development.

“Ok, um…alright, give me your shirt. Quick!” “It’s not your fault” “She wasn’t much older than I was and she looked just as scared…I’ll never forget her” “That was soo much bigger than I expected” “A month ago we were just an average bunch of teenagers…now we’re soldiers trapped behind enemy lines and fighting to survive”

Ellie has changed significantly over the course of the film. In the opening scenes Ellie was clearly your normal teenager concerned with school, friends and boys. She feels terrified after learning that Wirrawee has been invaded and is traumatised after killing an enemy soldier. At the end of the film Ellie is now confident and self-assured. She no longer has the same difficulty in rationalising the killing of the enemy. It has simply become what she must do to survive. She has moved from making impulsive decisions to organised mass attacks on the invaders which she almost seems to enjoy. Despite her loss of innocence Ellie still retains some of her childlike qualities, as shown when she “pinky-swears” to Corrie that she will come for her. Ellie has become a hardened soldier but still has the fears of a teenager.