Fellowship of the Ring - Minor Detail

[butterfly]

Something I noticed this time around was Frodo's look when Merry and Pippin start to distract the Orcs. He mouths "no" - and you can see him telling Merry not to with his eyes. He just has this horrified and sick expression when he gets what Merry plans to do.

Then, after they've run off, when we see him again, he's miserable - he hates that he's leaving them to face the Orcs alone, but understands that they've made this sacrifice for him. And so he runs as well, but only after a couple of agonized glances in their direction.

No wonder he's crying by the side of the lake - he has to be certain that he just let his baby cousins go off to die... for him and his quest.

And his giddy joy at the reunion scene - with everyone - just illuminates this. He'd been certain of Gandalf's death and had no clue whether he'd ever see the other members of the Fellowship again. He knew of Boromir's death, but not that Merry and Pippin had survived their run. He's incredibly happy to see that these people lived.

And after rewatching Fellowship, that look between Frodo and Sam connects to the look they share after they've been saved.

"I don't suppose we'll ever see them again."
"We may yet, Mr. Frodo. We may."

There are tons of connections between the two endings - Frodo saves Sam from water and Sam saves Frodo from fire in the same manner - even with the same kind of moment of almost not connecting.

Also, on reflection, I think that May It Be is Aragorn's song to Frodo. It scans, including having a touch of Elvish in it. And he's the one who sent Frodo off with his blessing.

Comments

[ex-grievous-115.livejournal.com]

You really do see these films in very much the same way I do. I've always thought 'May it Be' belongs to Frodo, and is Aragorn's way of blessing him, thinking/suspecting that they may never meet again.

And as for the reflecting/repeated shots - very much. The looks, the way Frodo saving Sam from drowning is repeated in Sam saving Frodo from the fire ... it's a very well constructed film, and far more clever than I think we realise.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

And it works well with the other end songs - they're all about dudes singing to Frodo. Aragorn, then Gollum, then Sam.

It's all about Frodo, even as it's about the Ring. Frodo is the personal face of the quest for everyone.

And yes, I love all the connections - I'd love to be able to sit down (with three tvs and the RotK EE dvd) so that I could just compare them all. And one of the reasons that I adore the films is that it connects characters that don't get that connection in the film (I've mentioned loving the cut from Merry watching Pippin ride away to Arwen riding away - I also love that Pippin is climbing even as Frodo is).

Correction -

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

It connects characters in the films that don't get that connection in the books.