Forrest Gump

Plot Summary

Slow-witted Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) has never thought of himself as being disadvantaged because of his supportive mother (Sally Field). He leads anything but a restricted life. Whether dominating on the gridiron as a college football star at Alabama, fighting in Vietnam, or captaining a shrimp boat, Forrest inspires people throughout the film with his childlike optimism. But the one person Forrest cares about the most is his childhood love, and troubled girl Jenny (Robin Wright).

Film Clip

In this scene of when Forrest and Bubba are first arriving in Vietnam, there is a lighter sense to war since RESPECT by Aretha Franklin is playing from the Lieutenant Dan's tent. Also, the rest of the soldiers are cooking steaks and drinking beer acting like they are having a wonderful time and aren't in any danger at all. They are arriving in a war zone where they are given certain orders to stay alive, but the film brings in Forrest's comedy to show a different light and also romantic view to war.

Cinematography

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Extreme Long shot/Wide Shot-captures wider angles of the whole scene going on
Close Up-we see the emotion and reactions on the face of the characters
Deep Focus-involves a large depth of field where ever the plane is in focus
Long Shot-shows the whole person or a large section of the location

Themes

Destiny
Chance
Choice

“I don’t know if we each have a destiny, or if we’re all just floatin’ around accidental-like on a breeze. But I, I think maybe it’s both,”

Forrest Gump's view of the Vietnam war is different since it is his choice to join the army. The film only shows one man dying, who happens to be Forrest's good friend Bubba. When Forrest goes to war he doesn't understand what is really going on, which seems unlikely because of the issues with the Vietcong. There is hardship in war seen from the one fighting war scene when they are in Vietnam, but there isn't much violence. Since the movie is a comedy, chance becomes his luck where he is barely injured compared to other men in the film. Therefore it is seen how men are injured in war, but shows a much smaller percentage of soldiers getting killed. In the end, destiny brings him the opportunity to save lives, like he did in Vietnam, and also to marry Jenny.

Mise-en-scene

The bright colored costumes throughout the film represent Forrest Gump's character where he is happy and has a unique personality.
The type of lighting used for this movie is traditional three-point lighting as well as high-key lighting, since most scenes were filmed in outside natural light to capture the realistic setting of being in Vietnam (during the Vietnam scenes).
Forrest Gump's facial expressions throughout the film show his innocent curiosity, sadness, and hope.

Sound

Scenes of Vietnam are filled with diegetic noises of gunshots, explosions, and helicopters that show what type of horrors war was filled with.
The music in the film creates connections and relates the songs to events. The songs represent the popular music during the time of Vietnam and the 1970s; the music gives more comedy as well.