Narrative technique · used in 1 film

Crime and Punishment Mirroring

Staging a legal punishment with the same slow, physical detail as the crime it answers. The two acts echo each other, so you have to judge whether the state's killing really differs from the murderer's.

Examples

Where you can see it

  1. A Short Film About Killing (1988) poster

    A Short Film About Killing

    Krzysztof Kieślowski · 1988

    The hanging takes about as long and looks as ugly as the murder. The executioner prepares, the prisoner is led in and the film does not look away. You are left comparing the 2 deaths and feeling that neither one is clean.

    Where to see it: The execution: on the appointed day, the executioner prepares the gallows while Piotr waits. Jacek is led in and hanged.

Questions

Quick answers

What is crime and punishment mirroring in film?
Staging a legal punishment with the same slow, physical detail as the crime it answers. The two acts echo each other, so you have to judge whether the state's killing really differs from the murderer's.
Which films use crime and punishment mirroring?
A Short Film About Killing (1988).
What kind of technique is crime and punishment mirroring?
It is a narrative technique. Related narrative techniques include Symbolic Object, Observational Restraint, Earned Catharsis.

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