The Bourne Identity

What does the set up reveal about setting? Where is this place? What gives you this information?

The first setting shown is the Mediterranean Sea, this is revealed in the set up due to writing on the screen. However, also in the set up, slightly later on, another location is revealed which is The Central Intelligence Agency Langley, Virginia. This location is also revealed via writing on the screen.

What does the set up reveal to the audience about characters? Choose one character and explain HOW the set up reveals this information.

In the set up, the audience is introduced to Jason Bourne who gets rescues from the sea by some Fishermen in a storm. This is revealed through the surprised behaviour of the men on the boat who think he is dead, but then quickly try to save him. They do this by lying him down, and one of the men surgically removes a couple of bullets and a device from his back. The set up also reveals to the audience that Jason doesn't know where he is or why he is there, this becomes clear when he regains consciousness and demands answers from the man operating on him.

What does the set up reveal about the interrelationship between characters?

The man who operates on Jason appears to hold authority over the other fishermen. However Jason challenges him when he wakes up on a table in a fishing boat. The man reassures Jason that he is his friend, trying to help him and that he doesn't mean him any harm. The set up also reveals the language barrier between them, Jason (not knowing who he is) struggles to communicate with the other characters in the set up, but despite this, the fishermen get him off the boat safely into Switzerland.

What is this world like? Safe? Happy? Dangerous?

This world is dangerous and mysterious. In the set up we don't know who Jason is and neither does he, but the fact that he is found floating on the ocean with bullets in his back insinuates that the world he is living in is not at all safe.

What possible conflicts or strains are there that will become part of the story later on?

The main issue is that Jason Bourne appears to had lost his memory, but he keeps discovering things about himself, like that he is good at fighting when he needs to. Also, he finds his passport which he uses to find out basic information about himself, i.e. that he is called Jason Bourne and he lives in Paris. This becomes important to the story later on because he has to find out what he is doing with his life.

How does the opening fit with the codes and conventions of thriller films?

Establishing shot of boat in the water
Fast paced editing (when Jason attacks people)
Point of view shot (when he is looking down at the bag he dropped when he is hanging from a building)
Zoom (onto the boat)
Hand held (men playing cards in the boat)
Close-Up shots to show facial expressions
Tense, eerie music to arise a fearful mood.
Over the shoulder shots to give the impression something is going to happen behind the character.