Questions That Demand an Answer

Every picture may tell a story, but words can set one apart from the pack of movie trailers these days. The pick of the litter? Even rivals of Sony Pictures point to Creative Domain’s teaser trailer for the studio’s summer release “The Patriot,” an adventure epic about the American Revolution.

The story line in the trailer races by to a haunting, methodical score, its word-graphic telling peppered with images from the film. No dialogue. No narrator.

Opening with a clap of thunder and lightning that fades over the silhouette of a pensive Mel Gibson, questions form on screen: “What would you do . . .”

The words are shattered by gunfire and a flaming torch crashing through a window . . . “if they destroyed your home . . .” The fear is intensified with shots of loved ones, crying and enraged, . . . “if they threatened your family . . .”

A charging, defiant Gibson comes to their rescue as a soldier fires his weapon . . . “if they stole your freedom . . .” The high price of it is matched only by the pain on Gibson’s face, as he clutches the keepsake of a lost family member . . . “where would you draw the line?”

A series of loud drumbeats breaks the cadence. The camera jump-cuts from a musket to the face of the dauntless patriot, stopping on a side angle shot of Gibson’s gun. He fires. The lens rides the bullet’s trajectory through flash points in the story until it claims its target--a black screen with only Gibson’s name.

A blast from the cannon of a Redcoats regiment shatters his credit moment--the cannonball propelled forth at lightning speed until it hits the screen.

“The Patriot” title credit appears against a black backdrop as the phrase “some things are worth fighting for” fades to a distant thunder. The graphic pause is abruptly aborted with the whooshing sound of Gibson’s ax, thrown dead-on at the audience.

Back to black, as the date June 30 is unveiled on a silent screen.