The scene that I chose was the inspirational speech that Rocky gives to his son in the movie, Rocky Balboa. I saw this scene long before I saw the actual movie and it was what started my love of the Rocky movies. Mr. Hunter showed it to me when I was having a particularly hard time, knowing there was nothing that he could say that would help. I feel that this scene sums up the entire Rocky series more than any  other event. It is everything that people have learned from Rocky over the many years in a nice little monologue.

    This scene is pivotal in Rocky’s relationship with his son. Rocky and his son were never close, he was away boxing for a lot of his son’s childhood and as his son grew up, he felt as if he was stuck living in Rocky’s shadow. He claims that’s the only reason he got his current job, because people knew he was related to Rocky. This speech is the culmination of all the resentment that Rocky’s son feels towards his father and all the love that Rocky wish he could give his son but doesn’t know how. It sparks the change in their dynamic, beginning to heal their relationship.

    This scene is shot in a way that slowly brings the viewer in. As they begin talking, the camera switches between their two point of view shots. When Rocky starts to raise his voice and get more emotional, the camera gets closer. First switching to a close up of his son’s face and then a close up of Rocky’s face. It stays as a close up until the speech is concluded, leaving a close up of his son’s face in shock. Rocky then walks away from the scene but toward the camera, making his son look over his shoulder in the direction of the camera. You can actually see Rocky move out of the way of the camera instead of following a normal walking path. Next it shows Rocky’s back as he walks away from his son, switches to a shot of his son, then back to Rocky as he looks back with a stricken look. He walks back into his restaurant, looking completely defeated. All of this is from his son’s point of view. As Rocky opens the door, you can see his son in the corner of the shot but he’s extremely out of focus. When Rocky is out of the shot, his son fades into focus without switching the shot. The final shot is of his son walking away.

By using such simple shots and slowly moving in, the scene draws the viewer in without them knowing that it is intentional. Pensive music starts as Rocky begins to tell his son how much he loves him, which helps pull at the heart strings and make the viewer feel for Rocky. Everyone has had some sort of trouble in their relationship with their parental figures and this part of the scene is so basic that anyone can relate. Rocky is simply telling his son that he loves him and will always love him. You can tell that he is sad for his son, he’s sad that his son feels that he’s stuck in his shadow. He’s sad that his son doesn’t know how much he loves him. The raw emotion in this scene makes it my favorite scene in any movie ever.