Hedd Wyn: The Armageddon Poet PDF Print E-mail

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S4C's Hedd Wyn (Paul Turner, 1992) was the first Welsh film to receive an Oscar nomination. Scripted by poet Alan Llwyd, it tells the tragic story of Ellis Evans, a poet from a farming family in Trawsfynydd, North Wales who was conscripted during the First World War. He was awarded the chair (the award for best poet) posthumously at the Birkenhead Eisteddfod after dying on the battlefield during the First World War. Hedd Wyn (White Peace) is Ellis Evans' bardic name.

Themes

There are clear themes running through the film: the contrasts between Welsh and English (both language and nationality), between war and peace, the family and the army, the farm and the battlefield, the 'gwerin' (or common people) and educated Welsh speakers. A recurring symbol is Arianrhod, the Celtic moon deity, represented as a woman veiled in black. She is Elis' muse, who we see at the end to be a composite of the women he has loved.

Narrative and structure

The film begins and ends with the posthumous chairing of Hedd Wyn at the National Eisteddfod at Birkenhead. We then follow the progression from Elis' first success at the Pwllheli Eisteddfod, through encroaching war and enlistment, to his death. The narrative frequently flashes forward to Elis dying on the battlefield, with excerpts from his poems.

Film language in Hedd Wyn

I've concentrated here on techniques used at the beginning of the film, and in the last twenty minutes.
Opening sequence
The first sequence is a montage of shots of the Birkenhead National Eisteddfod chair; these details - old wood, Celtic symbols - together with the music, convey a sense of tradition. We hear the judge asking for the winning poet to stand and the sound of a falling shell before we move to Ellis dying on the battlefield, and from there to a scene on the family farm where Ellis receives a letter to tell him that he has won first prize at the Pwllheli Eisteddfod. The scene on the farm at the beginning of the film is repeated at the end of the film, except that this time it's Ellis' father learning that his dead son has won the chair. Compare the lighting and colour in these two scenes: the first uses warm lighting for an idyllic harvest-time scene, the second is bluer and colder because of the sadness of the scene.
Moving up to the front at night
(begins about 20 minutes from the end)We see the soldiers' isolation in a harsh and hostile environment. The lighting goes from a threatening red to cold and inhospitable blue. The soldiers are reduced to anonymous cogs in the military machine, by using telephoto shots which flatten perspective and make everyone look the same size, a low angle shot, with the camera pointing up at soldiers who appear just in silhouette, backlighting and low contrast lighting. We get a sense of realism from the shots where a handheld camera follows or goes in front of the soldiers. These shots are also wide-angle, so we feel very close to the soldiers. Later, images dissolve into one another while the 'real' (or 'diegetic') sound of battle fades out, to be replaced by singing (in German, from Mahler's The Song of the Earth). This heightens the symbolic and emotional impact of the sequence. (Try playing the sequence without music to see the difference it makes.)
Waiting to go over the top
This sequence includes tracking shots, where the camera moves along the line of soldiers, and telephoto shots, showing anonymous soldiers awaiting their fate in flattened perspective. We then move in to the characters we know: big closeups are used so that we can see the expressions on their faces. You can also look at the way body language is used to show character: the English sergeant is shown in medium close up (from the chest upwards) so that we can see his 'gung-ho' attitude.
On the battlefield
Once they have gone over the top, the film deliberately breaks one of the 'rules' of editing to show the confusion of battle: the direction of the action is constantly changing, with the soldiers sometimes going right to left, sometimes left to right. Sometimes there are 'tracking shots', where the camera follows the soldiers; sometimes the camera remains static. There's a notable wide shot of tiny soldiers in a hostile landscape below a sinister sky; again, the diegetic sound diminishes and is overlaid by ominous music. The scene where Ellis and his comrades encounter the dead Germans uses a classic reaction shot, where we see the reaction before we see what the character is reacting to. This builds up tension. Even the unsympathetic sergeant is shown in closeup so that we can see his shocked response.
Ellis in the field hospital
Everything in the field hospital is framed tightly, with a telephoto lens and shallow focus (ie the background is unsharp). This indicates Ellis' world closing in. The lighting is harsh and cold. By contrast, when we see his final chairing the light is intensely rich and warm. We see him in soft focus (the edges of the shot are blurred, conventionally used for dream sequences ) so that we know that it's in his imagination. 

Hedd Wyn: Student tasks

1 Summarise the story of Hedd Wyn in 100 words.

2 Why does the film use flashes-forward?

3 When, and why, are Elis' poems used?

4 Where, and why, is humour used in the film?

5 What symbols or themes recur through the film?

6 Who is Arianrhod?

7 These are some of key contrasts in Hedd Wyn:

    * Welsh/English (language)

    * Welsh/English (people)

    * farm/battlefield,

    * family/army

    * gwerin (common people)/ educated people

Pick one of these contrasts and give examples of how it is shown in the film.

8 Pick three characters from the film. How do we know what sort of people they are? Think about: voice, accent, costume, dialogue, expression, action, appearance, age - and film techniques such as framing, lighting and editing.

9 Look at the scene where the soldiers are moving up to the front line, at night. Describe the impression you get from this scene. Now describe the film techniques that have been used to build up this impression.

10 Look at the first scene on the farm, when the letter arrives from the Pwllheli Eisteddfod. How does this scene present the characters, the location and their situation? Now look at the last scene, where another letter arrives. What has the film-maker changed to create a completely different impression?
 
 
Thanks to S4C for permission to use the stills. All pictures © S4C 1992

© 2001 Media Education Wales
 

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