How has the short film Missing Her deepened your

understanding of an individuals wanting or needing to belong? In

your answer you must refer to the film and techniques used to
shape meaning.
Experiencing a strong sense of belonging is a fundamental
human need that can only be filled when one truly feels accepted
as they are. However, when the group does not recognize an
individuals perspective, disconnection occurs as a result of
rejection and alienation. The 2011 Tropfest Finalist, Missing Her,
explores the themes of rejection and craving to belong using a
range of film techniques including subtitles, mise en scene, music
and sound effects, and motifs. The short film portrays how an
individuals wanting or needing to belong can be heightened by
the task of overcoming barriers such as disconnection and
rejection.
While barriers to belonging prevent individuals fulfilling their
need to belong, these barriers also serve to heighten the
individuals want to belong through finding acceptance. The
disconnection between the Australian couple and the boy, Henry,
is evident in this short film due to the deliberate film techniques
put in place by director Michael Weisler. The use of subtitles
embellishes the language barrier between Henry and his new
parents. Furthermore, the absence of verbal communication
makes it extremely difficult to establish a relationship or any sort
of trust, which is vital in promoting family acceptance. The
subtitles allow the audience to understand Henrys obsession
with the stars, further enhancing the detachment from the
parents and therefore the unfulfilled nature of his need to belong.
Individuals may struggle to belong to their own family as a result
of rejection, which can dramatically impact on the individuals
need to belong and seek acceptance. The intelligent selection of
mise en scene very much enhances the craving the mother feels
for a sense of familial belonging. The director uses close up
frames to portray emotion, in particular to magnify the mothers
feeble attempts to establish a relationship with her newly
adopted son, creating an emotional connection between the
audience and the characters, and prompting evaluation in the
audience on their own wants/needs to belong. The disconnection
between Henry and his new mother is enhanced by never
showing the two characters in the same frame, only one of the
two is ever clearly visible. Furthermore, the low-key lighting used
in majority of the film contrasts any bright lights, which the
director has deliberately done to ensure the stars- representative
of the dead mother- stand out. The adoptive mother is usually

presented in the dark, and the only times she is presented in a

frame by herself, it is to demonstrate her reaction to rejection.
The concept of belonging consists of both acceptance and
rejection, which can respectively fulfill or negate an individuals
want to belong. The directors use of music and sound effects
develops the idea of rejection and acceptance from both the
mother and the boy and the differing effects this has on their
experience of belonging or disconnection. For example, in the
opening scene, the tranquil sounds of crashing waves suggest
the boy is at peace in his homeland and feels a sense of
belonging as a result of such a connection. This idea is supported
by the non- diegetic use of peaceful meditation music which
slowly fades into silence during the next scene when the boy is in
the car with his newly adopted parents. Moreover, the digetic use
of loud, unfamiliar sounds of traffic and English voices conveys
the boys lack of belonging and dissociation from the new city
environment. Additionally, the awkward silence between Henry
and his mother magnifies his refusal to look at her or accept her
help. The mother is distressed by his rejection, and the minor
music creates empathy in the audience. Ultimately, the mothers
craving for acceptance is rejected by the boy, reinforcing the idea
that not belonging is a direct consequence of disconnection.
Only the individual can determine whether he or she will belong,
and sometimes this will require change in order to find
acceptance. The director creates a sense of disconnection and
wanting to belong by the use the binoculars and the stars as
motifs. The young, presumably orphaned boy has no interest in
belonging to his new family. In the opening shot where he is
placed alone in rural Thailand, and then again when he arrives in
Australia, he seems to be preoccupied by looking through a set of
binoculars at the stars. These binoculars represent a medium in
which the boy can become closer to his mother who told him
shed be watching him from the stars. This motif is ended when
the boy mistakenly rests them on the streets of Melbourne, and a
passing car crushes them. This represents the connection
between him his mother being broken. The final appearance of
the stars motif is revealed to the audience in the last shot, in the
form of glow in the dark childrens stars, only revealed once the
boy has fallen asleep. The connection between mother and son
will never falter, but this final motif creates hope in the audience
that he may be able to finally accept his new family and therefore
experience a strong sense of belonging.
The concept of belonging is closely linked with acceptance. If the
individual does not accept the group, or vise versa, a sense of

belonging can not be established. This notion is brilliantly

executed in the short film Missing Her due to a range of film
techniques. Therefore, the core human need to belong is only
fulfilled by acceptance. While disconnection and lack of
acceptance poses as a barrier to belonging, it also serves to
heighten an individuals want to belong, consequently prompting
change in order to find acceptance. Thus, it is through the
construction of the short film, Missing Her, that the director is
able to effectively deepen our understanding of the influences of
acceptance and rejection on an individuals wanting or needing to
belong, evoking a personal response to the film.
WC: 992