What Made It: Raise A Question In The Opening Scene
By: Mia Hagerty
Tags: Veterans, Documentary Film, Filmmaking, Art, Documentary

Filmmaker Mohammad Gorjestani’s short documentary Exit 12 is equal parts beautiful and insightful. Following the life journey of Román Baca, the film is full of nuance from the very first scene. The opening scene provides a well-spring of questions and unique visual imagery that sets the scene for the rest of the 23-minute film. Here’s what made it.

This film is about Román’s complicated return to civilian life after serving in the Marine Corps. In order to integrate the lessons and experience of his service, he starts a New York dance company whose work deals with aspects of war and engages directly with veterans through choreography, performance, and workshops.

The opening scene asks a question: Why are ballet dancers holding prop guns? The visual itself is powerful enough to pique our curiosity as Román, his mother, and another veteran Everett meditate on their life experiences with war.

What I find so compelling and unique about this piece is the way that the dance performances integrate seamlessly with the verité environment.

Conflict(ed) begins with Román entering the subway and transitions to soldiers and muslims dancing together, with subway riders looking on.

The the scene leading up to Everett’s Peace, we watch him walk through the woods and descend into a dark tunnel, revealing the dancers in formation.

Before Sometimes Silence is performed, we see Román’s mother alone in a living room filled with photos of her sons, watching delivery room footage on her TV. We swoop into another room and settle in as the three-person dance is performed.

In this piece, the use of color is also noticeable. The cool white balance lends itself to stark blue-yellow contrast, and in general, there is a cold, green hue to the majority of the film.

This colder color theme is broken in specific moments, like Román working late at the office, or the film’s final close-up of his, bathed in warm light as he watches the dance performance come to a close.

In all the moments where Román is reflecting on the impact of war in the voiceover, we see him performing an everyday task like showering or walking to the subway. This interview-visual combination underscores the fact that Román’s experiences from serving stay with him throughout his life.

Overall, the film has a relaxed, meditative feel to it. The heavy use of steadicam, smooth one-take shots that orbit around a character, a beautiful piano score — key-crack imperfections and all, a relaxed voiceover cadence delivered by Román all contribute to this feeling.

Whether it’s Román’s late nights working at the office, his mother saying farewell to her boys, or Everett’s last look at the end of his dance piece, these are all human moments of emotion that compel us to connect.

The transformation of the self — which results in the transformation of others and the world at large — this is why I make cinema. Hats off to Mohammad, his team, and of course, Román.

Is it the epic shooting style? The sound effects? The ingenious story build? Each week, I deconstruct a favorite video of mine and explain What Made It. I’m Mia and I’m a freelance videographer. I make videos under Missing In Action Productions and I love to talk about, collaborate on, and make films.