Film Analysis of “The African Queen” (2013)

“The African Queen”, directed by John Huston and adapted from novel by C.S Forester, was released in 1951. “The African Queen” is arguably the first film by John Huston to be purely Huston-esque-both in its production and its delivery. The film runs in the high adventure genre-as such, it contains several key archetypes and elements that make it distinguishable from Huston’s earlier films of more noir-based genres. One archetype in this high adventure film is the plot. The plot dictates the course of the story and although acts of nature are thrown in the way of the characters, they themselves are not truly the arbitrators nor focus of the film’s structure. Another recurring element of this genre is the secondary love story. Most adventure films contain this added feature to further characterize the leads and add more emotional stakes and depth to the plot. Another archetype is the importance of setting. In “The African Queen”, the jungles of Uganda play a crucial role in impeding the character’s goals of pummeling the Germans. It is also important to note that the setting of adventure genres are often mysterious-the African terrain explicitly matches the dangerous landscape seen in this genre. John Huston’s “The African Queen” is a well-defined adventure film whose characterization matches that of John Huston’s wild and untamed persona.

Although “The African Queen” contrasts the more noir-based films of his earlier works, Huston’s continuing anti-hero protagonists continue into this film. One of he film’s leads, Charlie Allnut, played by Humphrey Bogart, matches this anti-hero characterization more than his counterpart Rose Sayer, played by Katherine Hepburn. The flawed character of Charlie is loud, drunk, troublesome, and often provides much of the humor for the film. Though Rose anchors the story through her primary goal of seeking revenge, it is arguable that Charlie provides an emotional appeal to the audience. Although in his exterior he is uncompromising and rough, his love for Rose eventually drives him to do anything to attain her goal of sinking the Louisa. This especially exemplified in his determination to get the boat out of the immense Ugandan river foliage. In the vein of traditional Huston works, the drunken grump Charlie obsessively attempts to get the African Queen to the vicinity of The Louisa, though his true motive is his love for Rose. Charlie’s journey to the Louisa reflects his inner journey in that his inner journey in that he is seeking something, or someone, to help him through his independence.

As in most high adventure films, there is both an antagonistic character and an antagonistic setting. The most defined antagonists are the Germans, whose actions propelled Rose into deciding to enact revenge upon them. However, I would argue that the more appropriate and terrorizing antagonist is the unforgiving terrain of Africa. Throughout the second and third acts, the African Queen is consistently terrorized by the raging waters and dense aquatic vegetation which impede Charlie and Rose from reaching the Germans. Because of this landscape, the boat required repair and Charlie was forced to brave the waters to steer the boat into a clear space.

The establishing unit introduces Charlie and Rose-each on their own paths-but that conjoin together after an African village is invaded by the Germans. The inciting incident is the burning of the rural village by the Germans, which subsequently leads to Rose’s decision to escape onto Charlie’s African Queen boat. The complication within the film’s structure is when their propeller shaft is bent sideways and a blade missing from the propeller. The crisis is when the two almost give up after taking a wrong turn and winding up within dense reeds in the river. The climax is when Charlie and Rose fail to bomb the Louisa and are taken aboard. The resolution is when the torpedo eventually detonates and Charlie and Rose are able to happily swim away.
An auteur director is a director that has a consistent and familiar body of work. These kind of directors also have complete control over their film and often assume the role of many different filmmaking positions. “The African Queen” embodies this image as a film created by an auteur director and one that is consistent with Huston’s other works. The film is primarily plot driven-as most adventure films. This is shown throughout the film because a majority of the plot occurs outside of the protagonists’ control (other than Rose’s decision to seek revenge). The protagonist’s goal takes them on a journey where outside forces influence the story more than the characters. The film’s focus is most dominantly spectacle, and the secondary element would be dialog, and the least important aspect of the film would be the music.

Because of the film’s environment and plot, a majority of the production was influenced by a desire for realism. Because of this, technicolor was the choice of film stock. The bulkiness of technicolor cameras affected a large amount of the shot composition. The cameras was unable to fit wholly on the boat, so segments had to be removed in order to film. This created very intimate shots with the actors, and placed the African Queen as the focal point within the dense jungle. This intimacy was key for several features in the film. Firstly, this affected the mood because it portrayed realistic characters in a more plot driven spectacle. It allowed the audience to experience the stress and adventure of being in an enclosed space within the dangerous African jungles. The differing moods of light-hearted comedy, high adventure, romance, and action were greatly enhanced because of these realistic visuals by the technicolor cameras. These color cameras also influenced the overall meaning of the story. The theme of two star-crossed lovers facing inevitable odds was largely affected by the colored cameras because it allowed the audience to become close to the characters and more emotionally attached to their struggle.

There are many scenes in the film that illustrate the visual influence on plot and character conflicts. In the film’s establishing unit, the confrontation between Rose and the Germans is made apparent by these visuals. The setting of the village is in an flat open space surrounded jungles-which creates an air of insecurity and lack of protection. The lighting is presented to be natural, which adds to the realism of this event. A key prop in this scene is the flaming torch held by a soldiered African-this creates a barbaric and less human quality bestowed upon the Germans and their helpers. The costumes-especially on the locals-are minimalistic-which contribute to the notion that they are helpless against the powerful and dominative Germans and Africans working for the Germans-who are fully clothed with proper attire. The lack of makeup on these Africans makes them more human-and adds to their helplessness against the lavish Germans. A prominent sound in this scene is of the burning huts and the people screaming in terror. These sounds contribute to the overall chaos. The score orchestrated throughout this scene is traditionally fast-paced full of interwoven instruments playing at high upbeat tempos. This additionally creates an unsettling atmosphere and unnerving scene.

Another scene illustrated visually is when Charlie must pull the boat through the muddy waters. The setting of thin waters within vast grassy areas creates a claustrophobic atmosphere that Charlie and Rose must navigate through. Though this takes place at night, the set is illuminated by manufactured lighting which places Rose and Charlie in the foreground, and their setting in the background. This is crucial to the scene because it allows the audience to recognize the determination of these two protagonists-and that they will be able to rise out of their given situation. The minimalistic props-the oar-increase the graveness and difficulty of their situation as they are near helpless trying to navigate through this terrain. Both their torn and soiled clothing (wardrobe) and matted hair and dirt on their faces (makeup) contribute to the protagonists’ overall deprivation and help the audience see how much the two are struggling. The sound of the oar within the water and the grass beside the boat are very slow and quite-this adds to the tiring labor and extreme tediousness that the two endure. The score also contributes to this through its deep chords and slow, mid-tempo range.

Another crucial scene in this film is at the climax when Rose and Charlie are about to be hung. The setting upon the Louisa completely contrasts that of the two characters who are soiled and dirty-whereas the Louisa is pristine. This creates a complex contrast between these subjects and evokes an obvious conflict. The lighting in this scene implies that it is at the end of the day-which implies the two are at the end of their journey. The props in this scene, the nooses, medallions and other ship attire also contrast the two “raw” leads. Their dirty clothing and heavily soiled faces differ from the cleanliness and white uniformed Germans-which also contributes to the argumentation between the two parties. The sound of the ocean and the light Romantic score of violins adds to the romance and surprisingly light-heartedness when the two are married before being hanged.

I would argue that the film’s primary MacGuffin is The African Queen boat. This boat, which is very raw, lacks the sophistication of the Louisa, and requires constant repair represents the star-crossed love of the two leads. Though the two are against inevitable odds and are at a disadvantage, they are eventually able to complete their task. Even after the boat is destroyed it still is able to contribute to their cause when the Louisa hits the torpedo.

Throughout the film, there are many talismans that are of great importance to the leads. The African Queen defines Charlie’s sense of raw adventure and independence-the African Queen does not require more than one captain and nor does Charlie need anybody else to survive. The Louisa is defines Rose’s determination and ambition as the boat is a complex machine who rivals that of Rose’s only weapon-the torpedoes. The torpedoes are another talisman that define Rose. Rose and Charlie are able to create these torpedoes using scrap parts and materials that the African Queen had. These torpedoes also define Rose’s ambition as she was able to procure these weapons that most likely wouldn’t work-yet she still had the determination to try.

Though the theme takes a backseat to the film’s plot, the theme of love in the face of the impossible is the most prominent-especially within the framework of Rose and Charlie’s relationship. This is most dominantly displayed in one of the last scenes when the two protagonists swim victoriously after the Louisa’s explosion. The two are amongst the wreckage celebrating their victory in each other’s arms. This scene expresses the theme of impossible love because they are shown alive amongst the death of the Louisa. At the end of the film, when Rose thinks they are about to die, she says, “Dear Lord, We’ve come to the end of our journey, and in a little while we’ll stand before you. I pray for you to be merciful. Judge us not for our weaknesses, but for our love and open the doors of heaven for Charlie and me.” I feel as though this expresses John Huston’s overall outlook on life. His adventurous life and dangerous passions were a testament to this. He thought that he should not fear life because we were all destined to the same fate.

The film is like “Moby Dick” in many aspects. They are both high adventure tales that involve protagonists seeking revenge for something. Both of them involve an “underdog” protagonist against a greater antagonist. However, Captain Ahab was less human than Rose and Charlie as he became obsessed with killing Moby Dick-whereas Rose and Charlie gained their humanity through each other. The theme of “Moby Dick” was humans competing against God-like powers, where theme of “The African Queen” lied within the romance between Rose and Charlie.

“The African Queen” reflected the cultural values of the fifties in that a majority of the world’s effort was repairing the catastrophes brought on by the second World War. The film might have reflected this in it’s theme that love and hope endures. Perhaps Huston and his fellow filmmakers hoped to convey an idea of hope for those affected by the war. “The African Queen” changed my perspective on the production of film. Seeing how difficult the process of production was and the lengths that John Huston went to bring this picture to life made me realize how passionate he was about film and how determined you need to be to create films.