Week 25.38 - Socials Roundup
15 Sept - 21 Sept 2025: Blindspotting, Giri / Haji, Saving Face, Ponyboi, Crooklyn
Week 25.38 posts include shots from Blindspotting (2018); Giri / Haji (2019); Saving Face (2004); Ponyboi (2019); and Crooklyn (1994).
Saving Face
These two images perfectly convey how Hwei-Lan (a superb Joan Chen) is conflicted, but ultimately accepts, her marriage.
The mirror splits both her and her father (Jin Wang) who has pushed her to accept this marriage for convenience and respectability, and ultimately she stands up and walks off with him, bringing the two ‘sides’ of herself into convergence.
No spoilers for what happens in the ceremony itself, but if you haven’t seen Alic Wu’s beautifully shot first feature, do yourself a favour!
Ponyboi
Speaking of mirrors and doing a LOT with a small budget, this dreamlike ‘flashback’ shot as Ponyboi looks into his past is set up so it can be filmed practically, with the mirror tilted so the two arguing actors (Ponyboi’s dad and Young Ponyboy) can be seen by us while the third (Current Ponyboi) leans in to watch from Frame Right.
The crossfade to a closeup of Current Ponyboi’s eyes is an easily achievable way to add to the scene’s dreamy quality.
Crooklyn
Spike Lee could have staged this final moment between Troy (Zelda Harris) and her father (Delroy Lindo) anywhere in the house the film has spent so much time in.
But staging it in the outhouse enables two things; the wall and door to create a smaller frame-within-the-frame, and the yellow lighting and wood wall to create a strong contrast to the white light and brick wall. Altogether this creates a safe, warm place where, just for a moment, Troy can be completely sheltered from the harshness of the outside world.
Blindspotting
This transition makes immediately clear a lot of time has passed:
It’s the same character in the same pose, but everything else changes: lighting, colour, hair, wardrobe, background, audio.
With such significant changes, we know we’ve jumped quite a bit of time and place even before the next shot gives us the specific details via words on screen:
11 MONTHS 27 DAYS LATER
Giri / Haji
Meanwhile this transition makes it clear NOT much time has passed, but a monumental event has occurred.
The flash of white shows a second whiskey glass exactly where it was left, but now with a crime scene marker next to it. It’s a clear, simple way of signalling a guest was expected, somebody arrived, and our whiskey pourer has met an abrupt fate.