The Ocean
The film was lauded for its cinematography, and some of the most evocative images in the film are of the ocean. The sunlight on the water often creates a beautiful color and light scheme, as we see characters sitting on the beach or walking along the water's edge. The islanders' connection to the sea is one of their defining attributes, and the ocean is also symbolic in that it is what lies between America and Africa, the continent that their slave ancestors came from.
Mary and Trula in the willow tree
A beautiful and iconic shot from the film is the one of Mary and Truls sitting in the willow tree when they arrive. The two women, a same sex couple, are outsiders in the community, and they wear more modern and urban clothes than the inhabitants of the island. The image of the two women, smiling and laughing while sitting in the tree, shows the ease of their acquaintance, and their comfort with being outsiders and making themselves comfortable, rather than waiting for other people to do so for them.
The Unborn Child running into Eula
The only moment in which the "magic" of the island is physicalized in a shot is when we see an apparition-like version of the Unborn Child run towards her mother, Eula, and get absorbed in her stomach. This is the moment when the Unborn Child becomes a true character in the narrative, and the child's coming into consciousness is made manifest in this supernatural image.
Snead taking the group photo
Snead the photographer has come to document the islanders on the eve of their journey to the mainland. Throughout the day, he takes pictures of various groups on the island, staging tableaus in various locales. Eventually, he photographs everyone in the Peazant family, and we see a theatrical spread of the clan as they pose for the picture that will commemorate their time on the island.
