
The two words, “I Found”, are very intriguing when standing alone. What was found? Where was it found, and how? How important is this discovery? Was it being searched for, or was it stumbled upon randomly? Amber Run is depicting a new found love that was discovered under an extremely undesirable situation. So when the lyrics, “I found love where it wasn’t supposed to be, right in front of me, talk some sense to me”, are repeated over and over it begs for the listener to find the importance of this loves’ foundation. Throughout the entire video the younger man’s love grows stronger for the young woman he helped abduct. His interest is shown very early on based off his actions and the softness of his eyes, but it isn’t until the last few moments of the video when he forces her escape. 

The opening shot is of a wave crashing into a rock in the foreground, then the camera follows the water as it continues to disperse and float in mid-air. This rush of water is strong enough to break rock, or at least reshape it over time; just like love is strong enough to break down a person’s walls and mold the person’s heart to fit perfectly with one another. When put in slow motion the crashing wave is something so mesmerizing it not only engulfs all focus, but creates a dynamic where chaos is beautiful. The bond that develops between the two younger characters resemble the wave; something that happened fast, yet in slow motion. There is an instant look of regret on the young man’s face, at 1:11, when he actually looked at the girl’s expression for the first time. A face that is pitifully afraid, with tears staining her cheeks, because of him; this was fast. The way he cares for her without the older man’s knowledge, then eventually planning her escape; this was in slow motion. Or when the poison was first inhaled into the young woman’s body, increasing her confusion; making things occur in slow motion for her. The two share their first reciprocal gaze in this scene; however, her eyes were begging for answers while his show sympathy and regret for what he has done to her.

Before they leave her house the younger man makes sure to quickly grab her clothes and shoes before leaving the note for her parents. There is an unspoken awareness that he has already begun his attempt to comfort her very early on in the plot. At 2:00 she is shown putting on her shoes in the trunk of the car, and at 2:34 he is handing her jeans to keep her warm throughout the night. Love is all about actions and all the different ways to show a significant other how important they truly are. He made sure she had shoes to walk through the woods without hurting her feet, and he made sure she had pants to at least give her a little bit of warmth. The verse, “I found love where it wasn’t supposed to be”, is repeated during these few scenes because the situation is beyond unideal, but the young man is still trying to correct his actions quickly without the older man catching on. 

Once 3:29 comes around everything starts to happen very quickly, like crashing water. The young man cuts her hands free, gives her his jacket, then has to fight off the older man before taking off with the girl. The younger man gives the girl his jacket, revealing his grey under shirt. Grey is a neutral color that symbolizes reliability, security and intelligence. At this point he is the neutral person stuck between innocence and power. He was smart enough to use the old man’s poison against him, giving him a taste of his own medicine. By doing this he makes the older man incapable of stopping him from assisting the young woman in her escape. The camera is jolting back and forth between the old man, the young man, and the girl, then it stops. Focusing solely on the convulsing older man. It is now his time to turn to someone for help. His extra diegetic gaze at the camera creates a dramatic effect because it is almost as if the someone he is asking for, is the viewer. But after seeing what he attempted to do to the young woman, who could feel any remorse towards him? 

Colors are very crucial, underlying details that are usually looked over. The young woman is wearing white, which means she is symbolic of innocence and purity. She was abducted in the middle of the night and drugged, she is a helpless and delicate, unlike the men wearing black. Black is a color that resembles mystery, intensity and power. The contrast between black and white allows a greater understanding of the good versus bad, or vulnerable versus all powerful ideal. The older man is first seen wearing a red jacket overtop his black attire at 1:56; red signifies danger and fear. Initially he is the one enforcing the danger, and with one swift pop of the bottle, he becomes the one in danger. The color red acts on the character while simultaneously acting upon the character as well. 

Love comes as an unpredictable wave of emotions that are nearly impossible to contain or control. From the very beginning of the kidnapping the younger man was hesitant, and clearly the sidekick; but everything changes when he sees the girl. Immediately it seems as if he had forgotten what they had come for, which the viewer never exactly finds out. He knew he had to be careful with how he chose to handle her because love acts the same as water. They are both powerful enough to knock the ground out from under even the most stable peoples’ feet, yet they are delicate enough to slip away even through the smallest cracks. 

The young woman is the most important symbol in the whole video, and in a way that can easily be over looked. She is symbolic of love itself, because love is something that is so powerful yet delicate that it has to be cared for. When she is being abducted she is representative of something that is delicate and vulnerable, but once the young man begins to feel pity toward her the power of love washes over him. It guides him to give her little things that shows her he cares and eventually helps him build the courage to make her escape. 