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If it's not a netting, it's probably a "star filter" intended give the sun a more interesting shape than just a blob in the sky. Not having seen the film, is the sun prominently featured in any part of the shot in question?

I doubt it's a star filter. It's a darker pattern which is most visible on large patches with uniform color, like blue sky. A star filter, in contrast, makes brighter rays which emanate from the image's highlights. When I first noticed it, I thought maybe it was a very out-of-focus fence they were shooting through while focusing on the people behind it - but I think swo is right, it's probably some kind of netting over the lens to soften the image or reduce the light.

This adds nothing to the conversation...but I was just watching Corbucci's The Great Silence and saw the exact same effect in some of the opening shots. Shooting through cheesecloth? Gauze? They weren't POV shots, so...is this an Italian thing?

domino harvey wrote:

Spoiler

What was the significance of the protagonist being made to eat salt during the first ending?

Spoiler

I understood it to be a way for him to be cleansed (forgiven) since salt is used in religious and cultural cleansing customes.