A good example of a successful opening scene is in Alfonso Cuarona's film "The Child of Man." The scene was shot in a single plan and in two and a half minutes we get an exposure, a presentation of the main character, setting and the first study of the leading themes of the film.
- The first thing we see is a black screen. The first thing we hear is the words behind the scenes: "The thousandth day of the siege of Seattle … The Muslim community demands the removal of soldiers from mosques …" - and we learn that the world that we knew was plunged into chaos and violence. Everything is very bad, and further, it will probably only get worse.
- Further, the news anchor announces the death of "Baby Diego, the youngest person on the planet" - the first mention that children are no longer born in the new world. The tone of the report reflects the depth of the problem - Diego is spoken of as a celebrity only because he was born. Sad music sounds and the presenter names the exact age of Diego at the time of death - eighteen years, four months, twenty days, sixteen hours and eight minutes.
- In a good scenario, the exposition is filled with emotions and action. And this is what Alfonso Cuaron does in his film. In the opening scene of "Child of Man" we see a crowd of people gathered in a cafe in front of a TV monitor and listening to the tragic news. They are absorbed in the report, and judging by the faces, they perceive hard what they hear. Some are crying. So we, the audience, understand how acute the problem of infertility is in this world.
- Then we are introduced to the protagonist - Theo. And immediately they make it clear that he is different from the people around him, opposed to them - Theo enters a cafe and pushes through a grieving crowd to order coffee. Theo barely glances at the TV monitor, turns around and goes to the exit, while the rest continue to watch the news release as if hypnotized.
- Once on the street, we get more information about the world in which Theo lives. We see a dirty city, a garbage dump on the street, everything around is gray, repulsive, people in dark clothes, indifferent face masks. Gray-yellow sky. Signs of decline and desolation on everything - on buildings, transport and the city as a whole..
- After walking a little along the street, Theo stops and pours alcohol into his coffee. So we get an insight into the psychological state of the main character - detachment and despair, in which Theo is at the beginning of the story being told.
- And then an explosion occurs. In the coffee shop that Theo just left. This is the world in which we find ourselves. A world where murders and acts of violence occur in the middle of the day in completely ordinary places like cafes. A world where innocent people are no longer safe. And after all, it is the protection of the weak and innocent that will be one of the main topics throughout the film.
- The opening scene ends with a short but terrible moment - a bloodied woman gets out of the blown up coffee shop and in one hand she carries her other - torn off - hand. So we are convinced that the film will be visually dark, dark, psychologically difficult, full of violence. And the authors are not going to embellish anything and spare the audience.
- In just two and a half minutes we get a huge amount of information and completely immerse ourselves in the world, invented and created by Alfonso Cuaron. The result is three Oscar nominations for the best adapted script, best cinematography and best editing.
