Destiny — Fabien Weibel, 2012
A man who is obsessed with clocks and keeping time is about to have his world turned upside down. After waking up one morning and completing his perfectly timed morning routine, he steps outside and is hit by a bus. He instantly wakes up, finding that he is back in his own bed and hoping it was all just a bad dream - only to discover that there are now two of him. However, they are operating a few seconds apart. He seizes the opportunity to try and save himself the same fate again and ends up getting stuck in an endless loop. Will he manage to change his destiny?
Classroom Activities
Print All- Critical
- Cultural
- Creative
- Clip Details
Critical
- Play the first few seconds. Ask pupils to consider what they have seen and the film title and discuss what they think they film is about.
- What is the dominant sound in this film in the first 40 seconds? What does this tell the audience?
- What do the shots of all the clocks suggest to us about the main character?
- What do you think of the soundtrack? What impact does it have on the film?
- How does the music change when he realises there is more than one of him now? What impression does this give?
- How does the music change as the film goes on? What does this tell us about how the character is feeling?
- What happens to the camera angles as the film progresses? What does this tell us about the mind-set of the man?
- Pause the film at 05:17. Ask the pupils what they thought of the film – then ask them what they think happens next.
- Discuss why they think the creators left the end scene until after the credits.
Cultural
- What do you think the moral of this story is?
- Do you believe in destiny? If yes, does this effect the way you live your life day to day or change how you think?
- Discuss the ending of this film. Did you expect that ending? What did you like or not like about it?
- Research claims that people have travelled in time. What evidence do they provide? How realistic do you think this is?
- If you could go back in history and change any event, what would you change? Pick an event and argue your case to the class. Once everyone has had their say, the class could vote on which persuaded them the most.
- Discuss: how important is it to keep time? Do you think it okay to sometimes be late?
- Many people believe in life after death and being reborn. Find a story of someone who believes they have been reborn. What do you think about this? Do you believe them?
- Discuss films that have had surprise endings that might have left you shocked. What was it that surprised you? Did this help you to enjoy the film more?
Creative
WRITE
- Write an inner monologue for the main character. What would each new version of him be saying?
- Create a background story for this character. What do you think he does for a job? Does he have any family? What are his hobbies and interests? You could display your information in the form of a social media profile.
- Think about his feelings as he is waking up to see more and more versions of himself. Write a passage describing how he is feeling.
- Write your own story about trying to beat destiny.
FILMMAKING
- Create your own animation to bring your story about beating destiny at life.
HEALTH AND WELLBEING
- Draw up your daily routine. Do you make the most of your time each day? Is there something you wish you could do more of?
STEM
- How do non-battery-powered clocks work? Draw a diagram explaining.
- Research how to make your own sundial and make your very own. Check on it regularly and record your findings. How reliable is it?
Clip Details
| Year of Production | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama, Animation |
| Curriculum Areas | Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Modern Languages, Literacy and English, Maths, Religious and Moral Education, Sciences, Social Studies, Technologies |
| Director | Fabien Weibel |
| Country of Origin | France |
| Medium / Content | 3D Animation, Fiction, Colour, Sound, No Dialogue |
| Themes | Feelings, Culture / Society, Work / Ambition, Identity / Self |
| Clip Length | 05:25 |
| Clip Length | 05:25 |
| Age Group | P5-P7, S1-S3, S4-S6 |
