'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria

of civilians like Lene and the midwife. The depersonalization of the bomber stands in
stark contrast to the intensely personalized shots of Lene giving birth.
A second high-angle shot shows an Allied plane dropping bombs onto a
patchwork of fields that are almost completely hidden by clouds and smoke. The camera
pans downward to follow the trajectory of the falling bombs. While, in a previous scene,
Lene is shown in the life-giving process of channelling Anna out of her body, the bomber
channels his payload out of his plane giving birth to destruction.
In the following shot, the camera cuts back to another close-up shot of Lene
panting in her most private and personal pain. The midwife tells her to push with the next
contraction. Lene shakes her head. The midwife encourages her again and assures her
that she can do it. Following this, there is a slow pan over to the midwife who looks
concernedly at Lene. Next, the camera pans back to Lene who is looking intently at the
midwife. Lene is overwhelmed by the experience of giving birth and it appears that her
intense focus on the midwife helps her endure the extreme pain. The midwife gently lifts
Lene‟s head and firmly instructs her to push with the next contraction. As Lene reaches
the climax of the birth, the volume of the midwife‟s voice crescendos so that for the first
time it is louder than the sounds of the bombs, anti-aircraft fire, and plane engines. While
this increase in volume indicates that Lene has reached the most difficult and painful part
of the birth, thematically it could also suggest Lene‟s struggle to give life triumphs over
the destruction and chaos that surrounds her.
The action then cuts back to another close-up shot silhouetting an Allied bomber
pilot‟s head against the sky. This is followed by an aerial shot of bombs dropping onto
fields and a German city which is barely visible on the right-hand side of the screen. The
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