The Navigator Film Analysis

‘The Navigator’ is a silent comedy produced & directed by Buster Keaton in 1924. The movie revolves around the story of a rich boy – ‘Rollo Treadway’ played by Buster Keaton and girl – ‘Betsy O’Brien’ played by Kathryn McGuire who due to unfortunate circumstances are stranded on Betsy’s father’s ship ‘Navigator’ which is drifting aimlessly in the Pacific Ocean. The movie further focuses on their struggle to survive on the ship and from the cannibal islanders. Keaton uses this plot along with other cinematic features such as framing of the shots, sound, elements of the mise-en-scène such as space, action and performance to deliver one of his best works and a comedy that reaches your heart and makes you laugh without even uttering a single word or dialogue throughout the film. Though the movie is a silent comedy; music plays a crucial part in the form and narration of ‘The Navigator’. The music in the film can be considered Keaton’s biggest asset as well as finest feature in the film. Throughout the movie we can hear the violin virtuoso playing along with the music of the piano. This virtuoso changes its melody and tone into high or low key according to the scene, situation and expression of the characters. In this particular sequence itself we can see and hear how the music resonates with the action of the characters unfolding …show more content…
We observe how the characters constantly keep missing each other just by fraction of a second. The décor of the ship plays a crucial role in achieving the cinematic effect of the shot. The pipes in the middle serve as a partition and enhance the geometry of the scene. The way the staircases are situated on each level follow a pattern. Therefore, to the visual sense of the audience even the characters seem to follow a pattern while running up and down the