Formal Analysis/Commentary

      This sequence begins by a dissolve into an image of the countryside flying by, as seen through the window of a train compartment. There follow a series of a dozen dissolves, each combined with the tracking of the camera placed before the train window. The trackings are punctuated by short stops, first at the Alsheim officers’ camp, then at Sente, before the train arrives at the Wintersborn fortress. Wintersborn is a high security prison for officers who have attempted to escape several times. The trip portrayed in this sequence is also marked by a variation in the speed of the tracking shots, which alternately slow down and speed up, suggesting stops in stations or the slow crossing of towns before the speed picks up again and returns to normal. The train’s varying speeds are underlined by the rhythm of the music, which also slows down and then becomes more lively as the train gains speed.

The tracking shots represent quite clearly the movement of the prisoners from camp to camp (without the spectator understanding what motivates the changes). The series of dissolves serve as both spatial and temporal ellipses, suggesting each time the crossing of indeterminate but large spaces, as well as the passage of considerable time.