Hanna Season 1: 7 Brilliant Details You Probably Missed
6. Some Birds Don't Care To Be Watched
When Hanna first gets to Berlin, she briefly stops behind a random pillar. As she's not actually hiding from any particular person at this very moment, this shot seems meant to underscore her general discomfort at being out in the open. The set design, however, may suggest an even deeper meaning.
As the camera pans over to Hanna, the viewer sees a large poster that reads "Vogelbeobachtung Berlin." For those who don't speak German, that first word is a reference to bird-watching. Curiously, not one bird appears in the many trees depicted on the poster. This is unusual, since Berlin is actually one of Germany's main hotspots for birding - especially if you're looking for goshawks.
The opening line of "Anti-Lullaby," Hanna's oft-repeated theme song, plays right before this shot. If you've forgotten, this is the line that refers to Hanna as a starling. Fun fact: starlings are among the many species of avian prey hunted by goshawks.
Juxtaposing this line of song with the strangely birdless bird-watching poster gives the shot an interesting double meaning. On one hand, it's a nice little nod to the fact that this starling has just fled the trees she once called home, and is now hiding from her would-be watchers. At the same time, she's also being hunted by predators who could be anywhere. The goshawks are looking for her, and there's no telling which tree they might be watching from.