Narrative technique · used in 5 films
Telling the story through someone at the margin, such as a lowly servant, an animal or a drifter, so the world looks different from their position.
Examples
Akira Kurosawa · 1958
The film follows Tahei and Matashichi, 2 cowards who only care about gold. The general and the princess are the real heroes, but you watch them through the eyes of men who don't know who they are. Lucas has said these 2 inspired R2-D2 and C-3PO.
Where to see it: The ending at the Hayakawa castle. The peasants are dragged in as thieves and finally see the general and the princess in their true clothes, and they are stunned.
John Carpenter · 1988
Nada is a drifter with nothing, so he sees what comfortable people overlook. He sleeps in a shantytown, takes any job and has no reason to trust the system. His position at the margin lets him spot the lie first.
Where to see it: The arrival: Nada comes to Los Angeles looking for work. He finds a job at a construction site and a place in a shantytown.
George Miller · 2006
The story is told through the one penguin the group rejects. Mumble sees the colony's rules and the human world from outside, so you notice what the elders cannot see about the fish shortage.
Where to see it: The zoo: Mumble is taken to a zoo in Miami, where he nearly loses his mind before he dances for visitors.
Steven Spielberg · 2011
The film follows Joey, so people matter by how they treat him. A tender German soldier and a cruel officer are defined in a few moments. You judge the war through its effect on one animal.
Where to see it: No man's land: Joey runs into barbed wire between the trenches, and a British soldier and a German soldier work together to free him.
Rajkumar Hirani · 2014
PK sees Earth like a child. He survives by taking clothes from couples and learns how people behave by watching them. His honest questions show customs that people stopped noticing.
Where to see it: The temple donation box. PK is arrested for trying to take money from a temple donation box, and Jaggu gets him released.
Questions