My sweet, loving grandparents recently came to visit me at college for a burger and a film. My grandma, being the awesome lady that she is, went ahead and bought tickets to the American Sniper premiere. American Sniper chronicles one of the most incredible stories in all of military history. Chris Kyle was a US Navy SEAL Sniper and this film expertly delivers a first hand experience of his multiple combat tours in Iraq. Kyle is said to be responsible for the killing of over 130 documented kills during his time in the SEAL teams. What I would like to focus on here is not Kyle himself, but the film as a production. There were an array of many captivating film techniques that were used and I would just like to touch on them a bit. The film starts off with a tear-jerker of an intro. Kyle is positioned on a rooftop in Iraq providing over watch sniper coverage for a marine tank convoy. As the convoy creeps down the ravaged streets, a women and young boy approach from a shop on the street corner. Kyle radios into command and reports that the women appears to be carrying some sort of Russian grenade. She then proceeds to hand it to the child, the child then runs full speed towards the convoy in an attempt to throw the grenade. Kyle (played by Bradley Cooper) recognizes the threat at takes the shot. The child was killed and shortly after his mother because they were deemed a clear threat to the mission. What I found most interesting about this scene was the techniques the film makers used to really "put the audience in Chris Kyles shoes". Wide angle shots as well as close ups of faces coupled with intense heartbeat and mental dialogue (narration) made the scene quite moving. I could barely stay still in my seat, the intensity was very real. What I really enjoyed about this film was the fact that it touched on so many of the aspects of war that few films succeed in doing; the home life, relationships, PTSD, and many others. Bradley Cooper couldn't have been a better actor for this roll. From his chewing tobacco addiction (a clear aspect of war), to the intimate relationships with his wife and children, American Sniper really seemed to hit the aspects of war superbly. What I found most moving about the film was the bit about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a disorder diagnosed to those that suffer from paranoia and impulsive behavior because of traumatic events, such as the brutalities of war. When Chris left the Navy he set up and operated a shooting range for soldiers who suffered from PTSD as well as purple heart recipients. Upon working with a PTSD Marine one afternoon, the ex-Marine turned, shot and killed Chris Kyle at his shooting range. The part about PTSD really hit home for me. My father served in several combat tours overseas during the 80s and 90s. He was, like Kyle, a member of the US Navy SEALs. I am extremely proud of my father and his many years of service to our country. However, his job did not come without sacrifice. Years of service took a toll on my father physically and mentally. I will never fully understand the sacrifices my father has made or the experiences he has had. I do, however, know how hard of a toll my fathers service took on himself, his wife and kids. I felt a unique sense of relation to the film because of the relationship to my father. I believe this experience was a major part of the "Mise-en-Scene" because of this. From the nostalgic feeling of a father leaving for deployment (as Kyle does in the film), to the pain and grief a SEAL and his family endures as a result of the job, to the sounds and sights of familiar places, I was quite thrown. There was one scene in particular that really hit home for me. A part of the film focused on the training of Navy SEALs in Coronado, CA. Coronado is the birthplace of me and my two brothers as well as the location of my parents wedding. You could say that Coronado holds a great deal of sentimental value to me. The Coronado scene opens with a squad of SEAL trainees on a conditioning run down the beach my father taught me to surf at. It were scenes like this that made me want to jump out of my seat and scream something like "That's my home town!!!". This film made me feel something that I haven't felt in a very long time. I felt a sense of pride mixed with nostalgia and sadness. The fact that this film was able to move me in such a drastic manner is quite remarkable in itself. I believe that this was the biggest contributing factor to the Mise-en-scene. Films have never been able to elicit such a response for me, especially at such a personal level. For Kyle to have survived all of the dangers of Iraq and be killed at his own range in America is quite sad. However, the film portrayed this aspect of the movie expertly as well as respectfuly with capturing dialogue and visual candy for the audience, the "Mise en scene". I strongly recommend you to watch this film as it is moving, entertaining, educational and a professional portray of proper film making.