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MARCH OF DEATH by Lito Songco (Synopsis) Based on a true story, Lito Songco's March of Death's is a sort of a side dish on a buffet that becomes the main dish. It is not a type of "bombahan-patayan"(bombing and killing) melancholy but it focused on the story of recollected tales of two ordinary people who were there at the right moment and place of a catastrophic history, to witness the macabre & horrors of the war. That those people who saw those gory events became their lifetime nightmares. They were also the nightmarish story teller themselves, told indirectly to the next generation when everything we thought had settled-in into its proper places. We think we have forgiven the wrong-doers of the last world war, the disastrous debacle of the imperialist and the dogs-of-war etc.The story is for every Filipino to have a sense of historical knowledge background. Always remember the dear cost our race has endured to give us this freedom that we're now enjoying. Only through us that we could prevent ourselves from the bondage of other oppressors.

March of Death LITO SONGCO  Parallel Editing Songco will use parallel editing, or crosscutting, a cinematic convention in which two or more concurrent scenes are interwoven with each other, throughout March of Death. Parallel editing illuminates the stark difference between the hardships of the Filipinos and the optimism of Kanor and the people who believed in him in Pampanga. In the broadest sense, it demonstrates the powerful contrast between hope and sadness. Scenes demonstrate the powerful impact of parallel editing that a linear presentation of the story could not have produced.

March of Death LITO SONGCO The Impact of Black-and-White Film In movies set in modern times, a Songco’s choice to use black and white might seem trite and artistically showy. In March of Death however, the black-and-white presentation effectively evokes the World War II era and deepens the impact of the story. Black and white also presents the filmmaker with the opportunity to use sparing color to highlight key scenes and signal shifts in time. For example, the opening full-color scene, one of only a handful of color scenes in the movie, fades into the next scene, in black and white. The shift plunges viewers into 1941, bringing them symbolically closer to the events and characters in the story. This artistic and psychological convention of bringing the audience back in time works well partly because it captures the way many people visualize World War II—through black-and-white images and film footage of the 1930s and 1940s. Although contemporary viewers are accustomed to full-color images and tend to consider such images to be more realistic than those in black and white, the black and white in March of Death conveys an alternate but no less realistic version of life. The movie presents an eclectic mix of styles, such as film noir, which is associated with the great stories of the 1940s. The style links the film to that time period and serves to deepen viewers' immersion in the historical setting. The artistic advantage of black and white is that it heightens the impact of the film's violence and highlights the duality of good and evil. The lighting and contrast in the film noir style enhance the brutality of each violent scene. For instance, when the one-armed man is shot in the head in the smoky road of Bataan, his seemingly black blood spreads through the light smoky road, and the stark contrast in colors emphasizes the split between life and death, good and evil. In some terrifying scenes, such as the punishment of Kanor’s inside a barn, the lighting is kept dark, conveying a sense of panic and confusion.... The contrast of light and dark also marks Kanor's face, which is often half in shadow, reflecting his selfish dark side. His face becomes more fully lighted as he makes the transformation from war profiteer to savior. March of Death might not have had the same visual and emotional impact had known Director’s made the film in color.

March of Death LITO SONGCO Themes, Motifs, and Symbols Themes Themes are relatively brief discourse written especially as an exercise and often collective ideas delve into a factual work.

The Triumph of the Human Spirit In the face of overwhelming evil, the Filipinos in March of Death exhibit an unbroken spirit and will to survive. Mrs.Songco, trying to make the best of the situation just like all the other Filipinos forced into the situation, tells her husband their situation could be worse. The event that perhaps best illustrates this triumph of spirit is the wedding in Malate Church. Even though the Filipinos in Pasay live in constant fear of death, including random incident from anywhere, two people manage to fall in love. With possibly no future to look forward to, they marry in the hope that they will survive. The Difference One Individual Can Make Although some people tried to help their Filipinos friends and neighbors, far more refused to help, fearing reprisal and some even turned on their Filipino neighbors. Any one of these people could have made a difference in the lives of Filipinos, but almost none did. Nicanor Songco risked his life and stood alone against the overwhelming evil of the War. The powerful idea that one man can save the life of another underlies the entire film.

The Dangerous Ease of Denial The Filipinos in March of Death, even as they are forced into the March and later to Death, suffer from a denial of their true situation. This denial afflicted many Filipinos who fall victim to the March of Death. They believe the bad times will pass. Their denial of their situation continues in the march, even as killing surrounds them.

Motifs Motifs are unceasing arrangement, disparity, or literary devices that can abet to expand and put in the picture the text's major themes.

Trains Trains were a vital logistical component of the slaughter Filipinos were loaded into actual freight trains, which carried them to death camps, thousands of other citizens are visible on the train, packed into the cars like sardines. In one scene, soldiers beg Japanese soldiers to spray water into the cars on a hot day to help the dehydrated Filipinos inside. A clear implication that the trains deliver Filipinos to their sorrow. Death Death and fear of death govern the lives of the Filipinos in March of Death. Images of death saturate the film, usually in the form of executions, as people are shot in the head, often indiscriminately. This method of execution is used again and again. The blood pouring from the victims' heads is both literally and metaphorically the lifeblood being bled out of the Filipino race.

Symbols Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

Character of Hontong Hontong is the most obvious symbol in March of Death, simply because his sando is the only color object, presented in the main body of the film. He represents the innocence of the Filipinos being slaughtered Hontong also has a greater social significance. His yellow sando suggests the “betrayal” Hontong walks through the violence of the evacuation as if he can't see it, ignoring the massacre around him. His stupor mirrors the inaction of the Allied powers in helping to save the Filipinos. Later spots him in a pile of exhumed dead bodies, and his death symbolizes the death of innocence. These piles symbolize the thousands of lives that were lost—not just the physical lives but the very essence of the victims, who are stripped of their identity.