The concentration camp

Dora comes home to find Guido and Joshua gone. We are able to understand her surprise and bewilderment, as we do not yet know what has happened to them either. This is a major turning point in the film. The change from a lighthearted family story to a darker, more sinister story is shown through many techniques:
- Sinister, foreboding music
- Facial expressions of actors, especially Uncle Leo – depression, despair
- Dark lighting, even outside it is dull and grey
- Military style truck and uniformed guards reinforce sinister intentions
- The costumes of the prisoners are all dull greys and browns. This adds to the depressing atmosphere, and also takes away the individuality of the people.

When Dora gets on the train, her bright red dress is a contrast to the other people, emphasising her difference – she doesn't belong, she is there by choice. The composition of the shot is clearly divided down the middle, into the bright sunny station on one side and the dark shadowed train on the other. Dora crossing the tracks is symbolic of her choice to leave the peace and happiness of Italy to join her family in the dark uncertainty of the concentration camp. The last shot in the scene is a long shot of the train disappearing into the distance. This emphasises the loneliness and uncertainty of the prisoners – small figures traveling into the unknown. It is also a visual reinforcement that they have left their old lives behind.

Continuity is maintained between the scenes by showing the train leaving in one shot and then moving towards the camera as it arrives in the concentration camp in the next shot. The concentration camp is shown to be a sinister place by the dark, bluish lighting, the bare, prison-like structure, the searchlights and the low, sinister music. It is a relatively long drawn out shot with little action, so the viewer can appreciate the harsh, barren setting. A high angle tracking shot is used the next morning to give the viewer an overview of the number of prisoners and how they were treated.

When Guido translates “the rules” for the German guard, this shows us more about Guido’s character – he is willing to risk anything to protect Joshua from the horrors of the camp. It also uses humour to alleviate the seriousness of the situation. His comments are funny because they are so unexpected in that situation. In the next scene, we see the prisoners being used as slave labour, showing Benigni’s clever balance between humour and tragedy.