What strikes the viewer right away is the compositional framing; the lone snow covered mountain, the forest, the river, side view of the wagon train in the foreground. The parts of the story that matter are imbedded in this frame, centering on the back-and-forth seizure of the winter supplies.
Superimposed on this are the vicissitudes of complex loyalties, backstabbings and skirmishes. It all has a simple, unironic resolution. We reach the end credits with the wagon train movement reversed, balancing the beginning with the end.
Two instances of good visual storytelling involve Kennedy's facial reactions when Stewart fires shots offscreen; the first time, Kennedy is disappointed that there are no antagonists left for him to deal with; the second time, he is enraged at the loss of his fair-weather allies, balanced against the earlier scene.
Superimposed on this are the vicissitudes of complex loyalties, backstabbings and skirmishes. It all has a simple, unironic resolution. We reach the end credits with the wagon train movement reversed, balancing the beginning with the end.
Two instances of good visual storytelling involve Kennedy's facial reactions when Stewart fires shots offscreen; the first time, Kennedy is disappointed that there are no antagonists left for him to deal with; the second time, he is enraged at the loss of his fair-weather allies, balanced against the earlier scene.