matril

Confronted with an overwhelming crisis at the very start of her tenure, Queen Amidala struggles for a solution. She only knows that she is determined to avoid war at all costs. Unfortunately, these events were set in motion long before she had any hope of preventing them. We transition directly from her staunch declaration of forestalling war into the scenes of invasion.

These scenes present a stark contrast; harsh mechanical forces penetrating the pristine wilds of Naboo. But it's this image in particular that I find striking.

The tanks in the background, a close-up of one of the soldiers commanding the invasion -- they are all mechanized. The ostensible leaders of the war are so removed from the action that they're literally off-planet, appearing only in hologram. What a powerful symbol of their cowardice. To lead a war by remote control, never even getting their hands dirty. Of course the true irony is that they, in turn, are being manipulated by another holographic figure, snug and secure many light years away. So many people pulling someone else's strings.

Next, unspoiled beauty of a different sort...