The films narrative is largely linear, however there is use of ellipsis in the montages, where time is compressed to convey information faster, and the montages themselves are expressive, shown what life is like in general through specific images, e.g., happiness in the fun with friends montage, shown through jumping in puddles and laughing with friends.
Key Elements:
Ideology:
The film never establishes what Shaun’s time in Combo’s gang did to his relationship with his other friends (Woody, Lol, etc.). By the ambiguity of whether or not Shaun’s life has been permanently stained/damaged by his time in Combo’s gang, the film shows that racism leads to harm for everyone. Milky, the victim of a hate crime, Combo, the regretful perpetuator of it, and Shaun, the helpless bystander, tied to the awful occurrence by his place in the gang. Even the other members of Combo’s gang were caught up in the chaos of the assault scene, assaulted by Combo as well, showing that racism is a poisonous whirlwind of violence that drags everyone up into it.
The film ends the same way it started, with a montage of news reel footage from the 1980s, here displaying the end of the Falklands War. The footage shows the spoils of the British victory: the raising of the Union Jack over a town hall in a small, unassuming village on a derelict island, scared and helpless POWs, dead British soldiers. This imagery displays the results of patriotism, when nationalism descends into violence, and what it costs, e.g., lost fathers, like Shaun’s. This questioning of the morality and necessity of nationalism and pride in one’s nation contrasts Combo’s own ideology. The film forces the audience to confront the question: what is the cost of nationalism? The juxtaposition of Britain’s violence and Combo’s likens the two, questioning the morality of both. What is the reward of the ideology of the people that Combo represents? The people that claim England to be a glorious land. By showing the results of that ‘glory’, the film explicitly tells the audience that this ideology only leads to pain and suffering.
Shaun throwing the St. George Cross into the ocean is an explicit symbol of a rejection of nationalism, of the hate that it can lead to. He even wears his normal skinhead clothing now, having rid himself of the hate he held while in Combo’s gang. The film here, using this imagery and the sorrowful non-diegetic compiled piano score, conveys its ideology to the audience that racism only leads to regret, violence, and loss. It influences the audience to agree with its ideology, done through Shaun breaking the fourth wall by looking directly into the camera at the end. The film is not interested in letting the audience make up their own mind, and so it is not true British social realism. This is an opinionated film with an explicit ideology that it influences the viewer to agree with, and the viewer would have to try very hard to have an oppositional or aberrant reading of the film.
As with previous montages, the camerawork in this one is more gliding and graceful, carefully framed, such as the shot that smoothly dolly’s backwards as Combo and his gang walk, in slow motion, towards it.
Ideology:
Shaun is shown being indoctrinated by Combo into the gang. He is told what epithets to say, how to talk to the ethnic minorities Combo targets, being cheered on by Combo and the others as he begins to walk and talk like they do. He is also shown in one shot of him walking through a graffitied underpass, which he is superimposed against, literally descending into a world of racism, far-right sentiment and nationalism.
Combo and his gang are presented as pathetic, but imposing. The characters are shown to be truly low, as they harass women and children, thinking that they are making a difference, or are in the right. In the shot shown below, they are even shown to be laughable, as Shaun wears a coat too-big for him, and Gadget walks like a thug. However, the men are also made intimidating through their use of fear to scare away the Muslim children. Combo carries a knife, and the group, in this way, reflect their real-life counterpart nationalists. Risible in appearance and nature, but intimidating in their methods.
Again, the film strays from the nature of true British social realism, as non-diegetic compiled piano music plays, somber and sorrowful, over the montage. This music tells the audience that what Combo and his gang is wrong, immoral, and Shaun’s growing inclusion into their ideology and methods is tragic, regrettable, a low point in the story. In this way, this sequence is a direct parallel to the one where Shaun has a fun day out with his friends, the other skinheads (non-racist ones). There, the non-diegetic compiled score is soul, upbeat and positive, giving the montage an optimistic mood, and manipulating the audience to feel happy for Shaun. Here, the mood is made more miserable and downtrodden by the despondent piano tune, influencing the audience to feel sad for Shaun, and regretful of the current events in the film.
This scene is the disruption of the equilibrium, a clearly defined turning point in the narrative where an infectious force of hatred worms its way into an otherwise picturesque friend group.
Key Elements:
The more gritty, real use of a handheld camera is done here to give the scene, in contrast to the montages, a more brutal and dark feel. In this way, the film has all the trappings of a British social realism film, except for the use of montage and manipulation. For example, as Combo continues with his story, performing an outrageous impression of a caricature black man, the diegetic sounds lower in the sound mix and a non-diegetic compiled somber piano score rises in the sound mix, juxtaposed with Milky and Woody’s ashamed expressions and Combo’s glee in his blatantly racist impression. This is manipulative, as the film is influencing the audience to feel repulsed by Combo’s story and impression, empathising with Milky, who has been singled out and humiliated here. A true kitchen sink drama would show the scene and allow the audience to come to their own decisions on the story and Combo’s character, rather than trying to tell them how to react to it. In other words, diegetic sound is the mark of true British social realism, so This Is England goes away from true British social realism by subduing its diegetic sounds in favour of a manipulative non-diegetic compiled score.
There is deliberate focus and emphasis on Combo’s use of racial epithets to highlight his sheer hatred, his rage towards ethic minorities. It highlights the poison and vitriol of his words, and the enthusiasm of his odium.
The camera focus is tightly on Combo in this scene, the camera close to his face, and he gets the majority of the screen time during his speech. However, the film cuts away to reaction shots of other characters, like Milky, who is clearly ashamed, angry and disapproving. The use of reaction shots here shows the clear divide between the people who are rightly embarrassed by Combo’s story, like Woody, and those who find it funny, like Gadget, foreshadowing the ,after split in the group, and conveying the hidden prejudices amongst some in the group.
Meadows uses montage to compress time and convey messages in short time spans. Here, an entire day out with friends is shown in a short montage, which communicates to the audience that Shaun has found a place in this friend group, and is happy with them.
The film is almost episodic, with the periodic use of montages acting as book markers dividing different segments of the story. For example, the first montage displays Shaun bored and sending his Summer alone, and after that he first meets the skinheads. In this montage, we see what his life is like now that he has friends to spend it with, but after this montage the equilibrium is disrupted, and Combo’s infectious character is introduced. After that, a montage is used to convey his negative influences on Shaun.
Key Elements:
During these montages, the film plays out almost opposite to how Trainspotting does. It uses a gliding steady cam, with carefully composed and framed shots , the use of slow motion. Whereas Boyle uses more chaotic, playful and interesting camerawork, This Is England is mostly more gritty and real in its camerawork, aside from in the montages, where the film becomes more conventionally pretty. For example, the montage os highly edited, even to the point that its doesn’t reflect reality, e.g., we see the gang jump into a pool three times.
The non-diegetic compiled score is soul music, the music that the skinhead group is formed on. The montage also takes place against the backdrop of a deprived urban landscape with graffiti, showing the setting they live in. Clips of Shaun having fun with friends,played in slow motion to emphasise his happiness, show his acceptance into this new, surrogate family. The clips also show off the inclusive nature of the group, which contains men, women, black and white people, younger and older people. They are all bonded by their shared sense of fashion, taste in music, and eccentricity as a group. They are no the cool kids, so to speak, rather a group living on the outskirts, an edgy group. They are from a particular subculture, and they gang together. They are also given a childlike innocent by being shown jumping into puddles together, laughing giddily.
The film is prevented from being true British social realism through the manipulative editing that encourages the audience to react to the film in certain ways. For example, in this sequence, the upbeat, lively compiled music juxtaposed with the shots of Shaun and his friends having fun influences the audience to feel happy for him, which is not true to the subjective nature of kitchen sink dramas.
Meadows as a director favours the use of montage, which he uses frequently in This Is England. The film immediately begins with news reel footage from events and examples of pop culture in Britain in the 1970s, such as skinhead fashion, the Falklands War, Margaret Thatcher, nationalism. This is done for the same reason that Boyle opens Train spotting with Lust For Life by Iggy Pop: to immerse the audience in the time period, conveying the attitudes and mood of the time.
For example, the non-diegetic compiled score used is soul music, the music that the skinhead gangs are formed around an appreciation for. Milky, later on in the film, refers to himself as one of the original skinheads. The juxtaposition of soul music here and news reel footage of racist skinheads at rallies conveys the infiltration of racist nationalists into the skinhead subculture.
The conflicts present at the time are conveyed through the contrast between black music and racist rallies, violence with pop culture, Thatcher with miner strikes. The film then transitions from this montage into Shaun’s bedroom, which contains a photo of his deceased, military father, and a radio playing a broadcast of people discussing Thatcher’s politics, immediately rooting Shaun in this time period, and to an extent a product of it. He is part of the films hyper real reflection if 1983 working class Britain.
The film is narratively satisfying, coming full circle by the end. Renton’s motivations were established at the start of the film, and now his change in motivations/actions has been explained,. Despite the fact that we don’t know what happens to him or the other characters next, the story has been finished, having told the story that it set out to tell.
Key Elements:
At the beginning of this sequence, the camerawork has calmed down, with a higher use of static shots, with a signifying the calm before the storm. Renton, too, seems to have lost his cool confidence, now acting more cautious than he did when he was someone with no care for the consequences of his actions. This change in behaviour and filmmaking signifies a shift in Renton’s world.
Ideology:
The narration, too, is less poetic here, more an explanation of why Renton chose to betray his friends. It is less nihilistic, more pragmatic, even confessional in tone. As his explanation has a moment to sink in, there is a call back to the poetry of the narration at the start of the film. Renton begins an almost reversed versions of that one, with the same rhythm, cadence, but a different delivery, like a mirror image of the first monologue. He now accepts and embraces ‘life’, capitalism, Thatcherism, rejecting nihilism and hedonism. In this way, the film argues that nihilism ultimately fails, leading to nothing, and mist give way to pragmatism.
The montage begins with sudden, jarring stock footage of thongs that are distinctively from London. Rapidly edited shots of pigeons, ice cream, tourists, double decked buses and famous street sign convey the new location to us, alongside the use of current dance chart music from the time, a switch from the cool retro compiled music used before. This use of shallow chart music that would have been popular at the time signals a change to a new place. Even the camerawork loses its signature playful flourishes, reverting to a more conventional style of cinematography, signifying Renton’s turn to consumerism and some level of ‘normality’ in modern life, and a turning point in the film.
Ideology:
The use of new chart music and the distinctively London things serve as the embodiment of all the things that Renton rejects in his initial ‘choose life’ monologue. The typical working-class values are embodied here in the montage of a modern, bright metropolis. It also signifies Renton starting a new chapter in his life, accepting capitalism, work as an estate agent, and a rejection of heroin, hedonism, etc.
Renton’s fast paced, energetic and almost poetic narration connects the scenes in the film, acting as a bridge to maintain a constant fast pace. His narration is accompanied by visuals, such as when Begbie finishes Renton’s sentence, speaking directly to the audience and thereby breaking the fourth wall. His narration is rhythmic, bridging the large ellipses between scenes, which are used to compress time in this opening sequence to give the audience an introduction to the lives and personalities of these characters.
Key Elements:
The film opens with an ‘in media res‘, or a cold open, immediately cutting to a low angle shot of feet running from an unseen threat, then cutting to Renton and Spud, who we do not know, running from security guards for reasons we do not know. This is done too shock the audience, throwing them into the story and the pace of the film, overwhelming them with the sudden information. The song ‘Lust for Life’ by Iggy Pop plays to the scene, lending an upbeat energetic pace to the scene, but also conveying the shared culture and tastes of the protagonists, who would have grown up listening to this type of music, as it was released in 1977.
The film is rapidly edited with unusual angles, a playful style of cinematography, such as the arching shot of Renton on the floor. Another example of the playful editing and camerawork is the action match between Renton falling on the football pitch to him falling in the drug den. It uses freeze frames and captions to introduce the ensemble cast of characters, which also breaks the fourth wall, a narratively engaging strategy. The film also uses highly exaggerated, heightened mise en scen, such as the red drug den and the green hallway outside it. The film is rooted in British social realism, but presents a grim situation in a mostly comedic, fun, even exotic way.
The film is highly expressive, conveying the lives and circumstances of the protagonists in a light, comedic, even cartoonish way. For example, the film conveys Renton’s addiction and his struggles to get off heroin through the comically jagged planks of wood that he uses to lock himself in his room. He then comedically breaks these down to escape, which is unrealistic, and so the film is not true to British social realism, but presents the grim subject matter in a lighthearted and fun way. It is storytelling through metaphor. This is most done i8n the ‘worst toilet in Scotland’ scene, where Renton literally climbs into a toilet to retrieve some suppositories. In the next scene, he is soaking wet, even though we, the audience, understand that he did not actually climb in. The toilet itself is comically and unrealistically dirty, to the point of absurdism. This is a metaphor, done to convey the filth and squalor that Renton lives through in a funny and comedic way.
Ideology:
Renton’s omniscient narration plays over the scene. In it, he sarcastically mocks the ‘choose life’ anti-drug campaign, in which he rejects stereotypical middle-class values, instead embracing hedonism, approaching life in a nihilistic way, rejecting the status quo, authority, social conventions and aspirations. He instead chooses to live a life for pleasure, claiming, “why? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you’ve got heroin?”.
His message has a strong counter-culture message to appeal to the younger audiences. Renton has an angry, defiant punk attitude, and is made likeable through his intelligence, charm, and enthusiasm. The 1970/80s cultural references are targeted at the more youthful audience, e.g., Sick Boy talking about James Bond, making pop culture references for the younger British generation watching.
These stills from the opening sequence convey the pace and disjointed scenes used to introduce us to the characters and the story.
Merab is threatening, and shows no sign of fear with a rifle aimed at her, showing that she is used to violence. Ree, also, is bloodied, aggressive and quick to anger.
The Sheriff at the end of the scene looks disgusted by the sight of the hands, whereas Ree has no visible reaction to it, having, seemingly, overcome her grief. The man is the coward here., the one displaying hysteria.
Ideology:
In summary, the film is about a woman struggling against problems forced on her by a patriarchal society, and in the end survives by her own resilience, independence, and help from a group of women. The men in the film either represent the threats she faces, such as the bale bondsman or the Sheriff, or the toor of her problems, like Thump Milton and Jessop, or are entirely useless to her, again like Milton or Jessop.
The story is not resolved through a violent climax, as it would typically be in male-dominated Hollywood. Instead, the resolution contains only female characters, and overtly avoids a showdown or a fight. Therefore, the film is atypical, following women from a woman’s POV, made by women, resolved in a rare way. This choice to go against violence is seen in Ree choosing to leave her gun behind, on trust, putting herself at risk to protect her family. In contrast, Teardrop, at the end of the sequence, implies to Ree that he is going to kill Jessop’s murderer. Due to a sense of toxic masculinity and a belief that he is bound through some sort of flawed, invisible code of loyalty or honour, he puts himself at risk not to protect the family, but to enact petty revenge, only exacerbating the cycle of violence. Ree was only ever involved in this situation out of necessity, wherea Teardrop had no actual need to take revenge. It is his choice, and he, weakly, decides to pursue violence, rather than protecting his family, like Ree did. Ree even chooses to stay home and help the kids rather than following g her dream and joining the army, sacrificing her own life for theirs.
Often in film women are objectified. Here, the opposite happens, as Jessop serves only as a corpse, an object. And in the end, a woman saves the day. Ree commits to a horrific task of removing her fathers hands, all to protect her family, despite the obvious trauma it causes her. Alongside this, in her final conversation with the Sheriff, Ree holds the leverage, not the man, as he pleads with her not to expose him as a coward. She knows this, mocking him, and leaves knowing that she has the power over the man, not the other way around, for once.
In the final scene, Ree, her mother and the daughter do the laundry, whereas the boy, Sonny, just plays idly on a nearby skateboard. The chicks that Teardop gives to the kids as a gift represent the children taking on their own parental responsibilities.
The scene is shot entirely differently to the rest of it, done in black and white and in a smaller 4 by 3 aspect ratio, with a grainy, vintage video quality that evokes the aesthetic of a documentary or home video. This creates a surrealistic, intimate feel to the scene. The scene feels real, yet surreal and metaphoric.
The camera movements in the scene are disorienting, moving randomly and shaking. A worms eye view and an arch shot around a tree trunk put us in the squirrels POV, evoking the sense of panic and rushing momentum of the scene, also helping us understand the fear that the squirrel has.
Ominous imagery like burning woods and a canted angle shot of vultures disregarding their carrion create a gloomy atmosphere and imply that danger is encroaching on Ree’s life at a rapid pace, and that she cannot do anything about it. This is also seen in the shot of the squirrel clinging onto its tree, it’s gone, protectively, played before a wide shot shows the woods burning up, conveying a sense of finality and doom.
Sound –
A loud, imposing and disorienting diegetic sound of chainsaws dominates the sound mix, putting the viewer on edge, as it does the squirrel. It evokes a feeling of impending doom, emphasises by the images of fire and the frantic squirrel, as if the animal, representing Ree, is being closed in on by threatening forces. The sound also emulates the wood cutter that Ree was using earlier in the film, a device typically used by men. Therefore, the sound of it used here can be interpreted to mean the approach of men, cutting down the woods, which here represent Ree’s home and lands.
A non diegetic composed score dominates the sound mix. It is overbearing, discordant and imposing on the audience, building tension and a sense of chaos in the scene, alongside a sense of impending doom. This sense is also created when the sound of chainsaws is louder the second time it plays. This same chainsaw sound also foreshadows Ree’s later task of sawing off her father’s dead hands. The entire scene, in fact, implies that Ree will have to make drastic decisions to save herself from a cruel, tragic fate.
Editing –
Mise-En-Scen –
Performance –
We understand the imposing sound of chainsaws to be intimidating the squirrel due to it’s frantic, panicked and darting movements. It looks around as if searching for a threat, and runs as if trying to avoid one.
Ideology:
The squirrel in the dream represents Ree, with smaller squirrels dependent on it, as it panics and tries to avoid an imposing, unstoppable approaching force that traps and encloses her, helpless. The whole scene evokes her slipping control over her circumstances as she nears losing her home.
In conclusion, this sequence presents Ree as trapped in by a cruel system and an even crueler fate that she is almost hopeless to survive, which approaches her, her home, and her family at a rapid pace.
Ree stands behind bars, which the camera looks through to show her or the men in the seats. This presents her as physically segregated from the men, who are above her, and do not notice her. This is reinforced when she walks along the walkway above the cattle cages. She is shown, in a wide shot, to be physically trapped in and removed from the men, also shown through the juxtaposition to the caged in cattle below her. However, she is shown to rebel against this entrapment, shouting and running, facing the opposite direction that the cows do. A close up of a screaming calf at the end of the scene represents Ree’s struggle, her panic and helplessness, and her slipping control over the situation.
The cattle cage environment is shown through a cold, blue and silver colours palette, and the dark area below the walkway seems large and imposing, as if it were stretching on forever. Close ups of cattle throughout the sequence build a sinister tone, and build contrast between Ree and them, both of whom are trapped, scared, out of control and relying on their fates to be decided by men above them.
Sound –
A loud, non-diegetic composed sound rises in the sound mix throughout the scene, disorienting the audience and giving the scene a dramatic tension, alongside a sinister, ominous undertone. The blaring, distorted, unintelligible voice of the auctioneer over speaker remains present in the background, evoking the sense of this being a masculine, “anti-feminist world”.
Editing –
Mise-En-Scen –
The men in this scene are all made to look like a singular mass, each one indistinguishable from the other, wearing similar clothing, typically with facial hair, white, middle aged.
Performance –
Ideology:
The auction is completely male-dominated space, where some stand physically higher than the rest of the room, and all the men sit above Ree, most not even noticing her. This makes Ree look physically smaller in this space. Close ups show that the men all look the same, an anonymous mass of masculinity. Ree is out of place here, seen in how she is below the men, behind bars, and when she walks in she does so beside a dog, who also looks out of place here.
Ree is also shown to be out ignored and separated from the men when she shouts down at Thump Milton, who physically cannot see or hear her. She does not have a voice, but she continues to shout and give chase to Milton, defiant against her segregated and enclosed space in society.
The woods stretching into the background of the shot of Ree and her siblings look monotonous, grey and dead, evoking a quiet, still, empty environment.
Ree is shown in the shot to be the one in charge, centrally framed, surrounded by her shorter siblings, with the prominent rifle aimed.
The camera focuses on the gutting of the squirrel, displaying the gruesome nature of this lesson the kids have to learn.
When Ree is cutting wood, she is shown in a wide shot, showing that she feels trapped in her environment, reflecting her struggle with poverty, surviving, and finding Jessop. This shot also allows for us to see the large mound of discarded tyres littering the foreground, further establishing the poverty of the community, alongside the large, imposing barn that Ree stands in, which is made crudely out of wooden planks. Tight over the shoulder shots during her conversation with Teardrop increases the tension and uncomfortable nature of the moment.
Sound –
The choice of only using diegetic sounds in the sequence create a sense of realism, and evoke a silent, dead atmosphere, also giving the film a more serious tone.
Editing –
Mise-En-Scen –
An example of Ree being presented in a way that denies the male gaze by being naturalistic and unappealing is through her chapped lips. Teardrop is also presented in a realistic way, presented as a man who is clearly living in depravity and addicted to a harmful drug. He looks menacing, and this is also shown through Ree’s clear discomfort around him.
Performance –
The characters act in a naturalistic way, seen in how Ree tells her brother “bless you” after he sneezes. This presents her as caring, polite and a realistic person. Her behaviours and mannerisms are naturalistic. She is also shown to be a strong, if harsh mother figure, sternly telling her brother to get used to gutting the animal. She takes on the attitude of a stern mother while doing a typically male job, acting as a parental/teacher figure. She is also clearly knowledgeable on the subject of hunting, showing her experience and her comfort ability/skill in these traditionally male roles.
When Ree receives news of Jessop’s burned car, she gives no apparent emotional reaction, presenting her as mature, composed and strong. It also shows how disconnected her father is from her family. Teardrop is patronising to Ree, calling her “little girl” and trying to intimidate her by grabbing her face after she confidently tells him that she wont sell her land. She does not seem afraid though, meeting his gaze and refusing to shy away. In this way, she is presented as being above Teardrop morally, physically healthier than him. He blinks slowly and speaks in a way that makes him sound slow or inhibited or tired. She speaks with confident clarity, while he has to rely on intimidation to sway Ree. This subtle power dynamic is also seen in how she is clearly disapproving of hid cocaine usage, which she literally turns her nose at. This shows that she recognises her responsibilities as a parent figure and role mode. She also confidently and sarcastically tells Teardrop “not so far”, when he asks if she is addicted to it herself yet. Despitre all this, Teardrops aid through money, advice on how to financially support herself, his enquiry about Ree’s mother, all suggest that he does care about her and the family’s welfare.
Ideology:
Ree is further shown to be the one with responsibility, caring for the family by hunting, a traditionally male role. However, she also cares for the children, teaching them to fend for themselves, a maternal role. This role as mother and father at once is seen in her life lesson of “never ask for what ought to be offered” to her brother, and, in contrast, her teaching them to hunt animals for food. By acting as a maternal and paternal figure, she is presented as un-gendered /in a way that is not particularly one gender or another. Rather, she is an individual, not a stereotype. In this way, the film denies the male gaze. Ree is also shown to fill masculine roles by her cutting wood with a wood splitter in the next scene.
The young girl seems to be taking most roles, as she pulls the guns trigger, and intently watches the gutting, showing her concentration and eagerness to learn. She shows no signs of disgust at the gutting, and does not shy away from the corpse. In contrast, her brother seems upset by the sight, and is clearly bored while waiting for a squirrel to appear. In this way, the female character actually takes on more responsibility than the male one. She represents the next generation of women who will take up traditionally male roles.
Ree fills all teacher/parental roles in the film, presenting her as neither feminine or masculine, but independent and strong, selfless and confident.
We are introduced to Ree, her family, and her daily life in the rural Ozark’s. We see that she is struggling financially, having to rely on her neighbours for food and giving away her horse as she cannot afford hay. We also learn from a tense interaction with the local Sheriff that her father, Jessie, has been released from prison, but since he is not appearing for court, the house and lands that Ree lives in are at risk of repossession as they are up for her fathers bond. She commits to finding him before she loses everything.
Key elements:
Cinematography –
The rural environment is shown through a cool, silvery blue colour palette which evokes a cold temperature and still, dead atmosphere. The inside of the home is a contrasting warm, dimly lit, orange palette that evokes a feeling of warmth and homeliness, emphasised by the intimate moments that Ree shares with her family, such as when she looks after her mother and her brother shows them the stray dog he found.
The family is shown to be struggling with poverty and are trapped in it by the way that the kids are shown through a frame within a frame between railing bars near the start of the scene as they play with kittens.
Ree is shown to be isolated when she looks through a window to her siblings in class, and when she looks in on the military trainees, she watches through a physical, translucent barrier, showing that she is held back from joining. She is isolated from adults, people her age, and younger people. Also, the brightly lit hall where people train evokes her ambition and desire to join herself. She is also shown to be trapped by the wide shots eh is shown in, such as when she walks away from Sonya after giving her horse away, simulating her feeling of being trapped by her poverty.
Sound –
The non-diegetic composed score accompanying the establishing shot of the rural environment immediately establish the Missouri Ozark’s as the setting of the film. The song is somber and melancholic, accompanied only by the diegetic sounds of the children playing, lending the film a quiet, dull atmosphere.
The moment that a non-diegetic droning increases in the sound mix rises to add tension to the scene where Sonya questions Ree on where Jessop. It is made more tense by the relative silence that has building up to it.
Editing –
The slow pace and relative silence of the opening scene establishes the loneliness and bleak situation that Ree is in.
Mise-en-scen –
They environment of the Ozark’s is immediately presented as empty and hollow, with dead grass, dark trees, grey skies and sparse, wooden homes surrounded by litter.
The poverty that Ree and her family live in is established through the grim looking food, cluttered and cramped house, messy garden filled with disregarded kids toys, tyres and farming equipment, and the gone-off food the starved and cold looking dog has to eat. The children have no beds, instead sleeping on the chairs and sofa. In contrast, the school seems bright, clean and warm.
The clothing of all the characters in the film is gender-neutral, in that it does not present any characters as more feminine or masculine. This is true for Ree, whose clothing is baggy, with muted colours, and looks as dull as the Ozark’s she lives in.
Ree looks much younger than the older characters in the film, such as Sonya, which, in turn, presents them as more experienced and weathered. Also, by presenting the women as similar to the men in their clothing, or by having older female characters, the movie denies the male gaze.
The sheriff is presented as an outsider by his clean, shiny car and presentable uniform . It shows that he is not like the locals, and conveys Ree’s discomfort near him and subsequent distrust and coldness towards him.
Performance –
The children are shown as innocent and happy, unlike Ree, who clearly takes on the hardships of being a young carer, and so seems relatively hapless.
Ideology:
The films ideology is explicit in that it follows mostly women, the story being told through a female perspective (a female who revolts against conventional female roles in a patriarchal society), and features a strong, self-reliant woman as the protagonist. Much of the audience’s satisfaction also comes from seeing this character overcome the challenges she faces, many a result of the rural, patriarchal community she lives in. However, it is also implicit in that this theme is built up throughout the film as an underlying idea, the main focus of the film’s narrative being the hunt for Ree’s missing father, her growth as a strong female character a large, accompanying aspect of the story.
“A feminist film about an anti-feminist world”.
This quote is backed up every time that a female character goes against a clear gender stereotype or role in the rural society of the film.
Ree is immediately established as the protector of the family, serving as what would traditionally be ‘the man of the house’ in most rural, isolated country communities such as this one. From her first appearance, she looks tired as she hangs up clothes as the children play around her, literally looking up to her. Ree also stands above her mother, showing her responsibility as the carer of the home and the family, without any present or able minded adults. She is established as an independent self-reliant woman by her teaching the children and caring for her mother. We also see her taking the maternal role by teaching the kids lessons and giving them roles, the girl takes on the job of feeding the god and the kittens, the boy looks after a dog he found in the woods, Ree teaches the girl maths and spelling, the boy manners, and both of them how to cook. We also see her looking in on the kids in class, with a hint of pride on her face, presenting her even more as a mother figure.
Ree is presented in a way that denies the ‘male gaze’ theory, wearing baggy and dull clothing, shown in dim or overcast light, surrounded by an unclean home and being seen washing her face in a sink, a realistic but unattractive moment. She is not glamorised by makeup or eye-catching clothing. She is presented as a real person, who is not sexual or treated as a sex object to any extent, rather the opposite.
At school, Ree seems to be avoiding the child-care training room, where women are clearly being indoctrinated into the patriarchal role of being the carer of the house and children. However, there is a man in there being trained to hold a baby, which is a reversal of traditional gender roles in the rural community. This is also seen in the emphasis placed on the women training to join the military. She is not just forced to be a strong individual, but seems to want to be stronger, striving to join the military. This is also evidenced by her seemingly being embarrassed to ask for help from Sonya when she gives her horse to her and her teaching her brother to “never ask for what ought to be offered”.
Ree’s neighbour, Sonya, looks after the horses, a traditionally male dominated farming role. She is also later seen carving up game with her husband, rather than just him doing it. At the same time, though, her husband warningly approaches the sheriff as if protecting his local community, taking on the traditional, protective male role.
The sheriff is clearly hated by this small community, seen in how cold Ree is toward him. Ree takes on the mothers role again here, telling the sheriff “you better just tell me” after he fails to talk to her, symbolising Ree’s assumed responsibility as the mother, and the hardships that involves. She is resolute in her task to find Jessop, interrupting the sheriff and telling him, confidently, that she will find him.
When Sonya enters the home, she addressed Ree first, then the kids, then Ree’s mother, showing the authority and dynamic of who shares most of the responsibility in the home.She also stands up for herself when Sonya accuses her of knowing where Jessop is. The ending of the scene exemplifies Ree’s sacrifice of her comfort to look after her family, seen when she lets out her anxiety at Sonya’s accusations in a huff, then, before having time to relax, turns and begins teaching the kids to cook deer stew.
The film technically does not pass the Bechdell test, as while there are multiple names female characters, their main source of discussion, motivating factor and the thing that drives the plot forward is Jessop’s disappearance, a male character (although, when Sonya and Ree first speak, it is about a horse, so…you be the judge of this!). However, it denies the male gaze, displaying realistic female characters through the perspective of a woman who goes against traditional, patriarchal roles in society.
Ree’s appearance is realistic, the film one of social realism, presented as a person who is not sexual or sexually suggestive in any way.
Bonnie & Clyde is a product of the inspiration that Arthur Penn, Warren Beatty and Dede Allen took from the French New Wave style of filmmaking. This took a causal, freelance approach to filmmaking with no strings attached by conventional means of editing, cinematography, acting, dialogue and narrative. As a result, the film is edited in a way that brings our attention to the editing, as often the film will cut to the same image further on in time, and other times characters are further on in time after a cut, delineating, to an extent, from typical continuity editing. It also takes a new approach to camera work, often using handheld cameras and shaky camera work. The actors are unconvincing, and the dialogue is often written in a way that sounds unconvincing and undramatic.
Warren Beatty, the actor of Clyde and the films producer, had a large hand in the films final product. He chose the actors, the director, oversaw the script and wheeled the film into production in the first place. He took ideas from the French New Wave, and oversaw the film to ensure that it would contain imperfections. He also wanted to play Clyde as a morally grey character who killed, robbed, and suffered from impotency, going against the typical convention of a basically flawless, handsome, dashing male movie protagonist. He and Penn wanted the film to be as realistic as possible, shooting on location and using natural lighting, such as when the cloud goes overhead on the field as Clyde chases Bonnie. They wanted the film to be un-theatrical and wished to avoid creating any beauty in the film through cinematography, romance, or any way in which the film was made.
Dede Allen, the films editor, also took inspiration from the French New Wave. Her approach to editing was to avoid conventions, instead utilising apparent and often jarring methods. One editing technique popularised by the French New Wave was hard cuts, which are used in Bonnie & Clyde. Another is non-temporal editing, as often characters will be moving on one shot but much further on in time when the next shot appears, making the moment unnatural and the movement of the actor and editing of the scene jumpy and sometimes slightly jarring, alerting the audience to the films production. As did Penn and Beatty, she aimed to avoid any sort of conformity or comfortable typicality in the film that audiences were used to from other’s, using editing techniques that had an undertone of being unfinished/unpolished.
Arthur Penn took inspiration from the unconventional, unique style of filmmaking in the French New Wave. He incorporated this into Bonnie & Clyde in the overall product of the film feeling unfinished and different, clearly made with the aim of feeling different to other, more traditional films with strict narratives and forms of editing, cinematography, etc. He did this through making sure that the script felt off with its unnatural, for a film, dialogue that emulated real, un- orchestrated dialogue, similarly to the natural lighting and camera work affected by the hilly landscape it was filmed on, such as camera inside the car shaking as Bonnie and Clyde pulling up to see Malcom at the end of the film.
Beatty (centre) had a large part in the presentation of Clyde as a flawed protagonist, but also the overall production of the film with inspiration taken from the French New Wave style of filmmaking.
After the collapse of the Hollywood studio system and cinemas became free to exhibit films of their own choice, including foreign and independent films, directors were left with more freedom to experiment and produce films as they wanted, leading to a dramatic rise in auteur productions that began largely due to the heavily innovative and radically different way that Bonnie & Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967) was made. The film utilised temporal cuts that did not adhere to typical, seamless continuity editing, and presented new themes of sexuality and crime set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, blending dark comedy and brutality not sen often in film before. Arthur Penn had the freedom to take inspiration from the French New Wave due to the collapse of the Hollywood studio system and the subsequent ending of strict narrative conformity and unnoticeable editing to keep focus on the story.
Penn, Beatty and Allen all took heavy inspiration from the French New Wave, exhibited in America due to the increased freedom of cinemas to exhibit foreign films. The French New Wave was a new and innovative style of filmmaking from France that had placed emphasis on ‘outsider’ characters and how they perceived and interacted with the contemporary urban environments they lived in, often influenced by social deprivation and real social issues that existed at the time. The movement also favoured a casual, new approach to film making, with often handheld camera work, low budgets, hard cuts and non-continuity editing. They also experimented with portraying more realistic depictions of society, characters and themes that surrounded the story what had not been outwardly shown before under the Hays Code, such as violence, used in Bonnie & Clyde in a comedic setting, crime and sexuality. The film is shot on location using naturalistic lighting, politically motivated and a realistic character driven story.
Bonnie & Clyde was made in the backdrop of the 1960s, a period where typical American values were being reevaluated and the population were mor accepting of how the characters in the film were portrayed. Having morally grey characters was more likely to happen in the 1960s than the 1940s, and this also goes for the sexual imagery (included in the first shot, no less. Also e.g., when Bonnie is embarrassed by the by Clyde taking his shoe off in the street) nudity (which is involved in the first scene), violence shown in graphic detail through blood and squibs, the (almost) sex scenes, common nature of guns and robbery and kidnapping and murder in the plot, even the implication that Clyde is homosexual. It’s anti-establishment attitude( e.g Clyde shooting the bank’s sign), youthful and criminal protagonists resonated with younger audiences. An example is how Malcom punishes Moss for getting a tattoo, dismissing the protagonists. He is portrayed as a villain in the film, and is resonated with young audience members who wanted to dissent from their parents.
The brash attitudes and immoral choices of the characters were more acceptable in the 1960s, including Clyde’s arrogance and Bonnie’s smug attitude.
In this final scene, Bonnie and Clyde go shopping and enjoy a day out together before noticing a pair of cops and driving away. During said drive, they notice Malcom, C.W Moss’s dad, and stop to help him with what he claims is a flat tyre. After he leaps under his truck in fear, Bonnie and Clyde realise that this is a trap, and make for each other before being brutally shot down by a group of police with rifles hidden in the bushes beside the road. The cops investigate the two’s bodies, confirming that they are dead.
Key Elements:
Cinematography –
Unlike other scenes in this film, the final sequence is mostly done via stationary camera that smoothly glide to track the characters. The scene begins with Bonnie and Clyde centre frame to bring our attention to the, and the camera smoothly crabs left to follow their journey to the car. It tilts up to show Clyde and then tilts down to track his sitting into the car. He and Bonnie and kept in frame constantly to keep our attention on them here. She is even kept in frame from over his shoulder. Reaction shorts are also used as he drops his lens. Inside the car, he and Bonnie are shown close together to signal their emotional connection. When Clyde asks about getting ice cream, he points at the parlour, which is in frame but in the background as the focus is on them. A close up is used on Bonnie’s doll as she describes it, showing us what to pay attention to. Reaction shots are also used as Moss looks out the window at the events unfolding.
The camera gets tighter between the couple as the sequence goes on, showing how close they are to one another now. It is tightest on them as they eat the pear together, showing their emotional connection through physical proximity. Shot reverse shots are used as they drive up and speak to Malcom, such as him waving and them pulling over to talk to him. Despite this, the camera shakes inside the car as they pull up, and canted angles are used due to the camera being placed on a small slope to show the car pulling up. Reaction shots are used constantly towards the end of the scene, showing Malcom’s fear of being shot, and Bonnie and Clyde’s realisation that they are about to be killed. Through the finals shot of the couple lingering on their bodies, the film forces the audience to confront the tragedy of the situation and the brutality of the scene. The camera smoothly glides over to track the movements of the people walking up to the car, keeping our attention on them, the brutal scene that they have caused, and their reactions to it.
Sound –
The lack of non-diegetic composed music in this scene, including the typical blue gras music that accompanies the car scenes in this film, created tension and builds a sense of tragedy in the tone of the film.
Editing –
There are rapid shot reverse shots towards the end of the scene, building tension and showing the realisation of the characters of what is about to happen, signalling it to the audience. This rapid use of redaction shots is unlike normal continuity editing, edited instead almost as a montage. The use of slow motion forces the audience to confront the brutality of the killings for longer. They are not shot in the face though, as the film still wants to present it’s attractive, glamorous movie stars, who are made to appear as such throughout the film.
Mise-En-Scen –
Bonnie and Clyde wear bright clothing to bring our attention to them and present them as more innocent. The pear they eat serves as sexual imagery to represent how they are closer to each other now, and more trusting of each other, also implying that Clyde has gotten over his hesitance to move forward in his relationship with Bonnie. This makes their brutal end more tragic. The blood used to show gunshots make the final scene more brutal and shocking to the audience, forcing them to confront the violence and the consequences of the character’s actions.
Performance –
Despite their previous behaviours in the film, Bonnie and Clyde here are innocent, youthful and happy, Clyde acting clumsily and Bonnie giggling and fawning over him. This makes their deaths more sympathetic and tragic, eliciting an emotional response from the audience.
Context:
Representations and Aesthetics:
Despite their criminal career, brashness, smug attitudes and aggressiveness before this scene, Bonnie and Clyde are presented as more innocent characters here. Clyde makes the jokes, and Bonnie aughts gleefully at them. The cops are presented as the villains, the lead one wearing black, their faces grim and the group of them shown shattered glass, distancing the audience from them.
Auteur:
The amount of blood in this scene, though unconvincing, is brutal for the 1960s.
Clyde catches Bonnie, who has snuck away from the gang and ran into a dying wheat field. She says to him that she wants to see her mother again, and Clyde agrees despite the risk, and in the next scene Blanche, Buck, Bonnie and Clyde enjoy a family re-union at an abandoned industrial site. There is an air of tension to the scene which culminates when Bonnie’s elderly and disapproving mother confronts Clyde and questions his plans and the safety eh van provide for Bonnie. His charm does not work on her, and she finishes by saying “You best keep running, Clyde Barrow” and leaves the couple alone by the site.
Key Elements:
Cinematography –
At the beginning of this scene, the style of filmmaking swaps between conventional American commercial filmmaking and the French New Wave style which influenced Arthur Penn’s direction. The scene is filmed on long lenses in the French style, and the camera movements following Clyde and improvised, causing the movement to be rapid, sudden and disconcerting to the audience. However, as Clyde runs next to the car, the camera filming moves backwards on a rig to produce a steady image, mo vying to show Buck as Clyde leans in to talk to him. An extreme wide shot is used as the actors improvise, running across the field. As the lighting cannot be controlled, because the film was shot on location in the French style, the shadow in this wide shot is no longer there when the scene cuts to a closer shot lol Bonnie running. Even in this wide shot though, the camera cranes upwards to follow the movement of the actors up the screen, a more traditional style of Hollywood filmmaking. In the closer shot, a what leaf obstructs the foreground, a sign of shooting on location rather than on a controlled, choreographed set.
Bonnie’s mother is shown in separate shots to everyone, showing her isolation and disapproval. During this picnic scene, the camera shoots through a car windscreen to serve as a filter that makes the image more grainy and giving the scene a dream-like quality. This is also done through washed out colours and far-away telephoto lends shots used for close-ups, such as the one with Bonnie’s mother, separating her from an incoherent, blurred background and adding a strange, incomplete feel to the shot. It gives the scene an other-worldly like atmosphere, adding a surreal quality to this entire sequence and making it feel more profound. This atmosphere serves as a metaphor, as the meaning behind the character’s’ expressions and the heavenly and strange atmosphere to the scene signifies that Bonnie and Clyde will die. This confusing lens the scene is shot through also prevents the audience from seeing clearly the fact that this scene takes place in a hidden industrial wasteland. This is symbolic of the direness of the characters’ situation, showing that they have to hide to survive, and also signifies the distractions Ned happiness they get when they are seen spending time together and playing in the pit. The location is shown through an establishing wide shot at the start of the scene and one at the end of it, a more conventional American style of cinematography.
Bonnie’s mothers’ words of “You best keep running, Clyde Barrow” are made to look more prophetic by the use of a long lens which isolates her from the background and the close up isolating her from everyone else, although this final conversation is done in traditional Hollywood style through shot-reverse-shots, close ups and over-shoulder shots.
Sound –
Editing –
The dissolve cut to the picnic scene is an example of traditional American commercial cinema editing. However, the scene with the family swaps between slow and normal motion and missing frames shots disconcert the audience to create an abstract and dream-like quality in the French New Wave style. There is also a moment of discontinuity when Bonnie;s mother is looking at Clyde in one close up and then down in the next.
Mise-En-Scen –
The dying wheat field serves as a metaphor for the fact that Bonnie and Clyde are destined for death. This is also signified in the funeral-like clothing that the characters are having a family reunion.We see how Bonnie’s character has changed through her lack of bright makeup and her more serious demeanour here.
Performance –
Blanche and Buck seems to be regretful, signifying that they know that Bonnie and Clyde will die, similarly to Bonnie’s mother’s sad demeanour, as opposed to Bonnie’s unsure expression and Clyde’s (and the children’s) clear ignorance. We see that Clyde’s boyish charm does not work on her mother as it did Bonnie at the start of the film, allowing for the mother so speak some actual truth for the first time in the film. In the final shot of the scene, Bonnie and Clyde are isolated, Clyde seeming confused and Bonnie worried, oscillated in a wide shot by being kept far away from Buck and Blanche who are clearly upset, foreshadowing the clear end of Bonnie and Clyde. It also leaves the entire gang alone in frame, showing their isolation from everyone else.
Context:
Representation and Aesthetics:
Auteur:
We can see Bonnie’s clear concern at the prophetic nature of her mother’s words, whereas Clyde is clearly ignorant to the dire reality of his situation, earning the disapproval of Bonnie’s mother.
In this scene, Bonnie and Clyde pull of their first bank heist with the help of their new recruit, C.W Moss, as their getaway driver. The best goes to plan, except when they get outside they cannot find the getaway car since Moss has parked it away from the bank. Chaos ensues as the bank’s alarm goes off and the public begin to converge at the scene. Eventually the couple find the car, but Moss struggles to pull out, causing a wreck and he reverses and accelerates into two other cars. They begin driving away, but a bank worker latches onto their car in pursuit of them. Clyde responds by shooting the man in the face, causing a violent scene as the man tumbles from the side of the car to the ground and Bonnie, Clyde and Moss drive away as people chase and shoot at them and the firefighters arrive.
Key Elements:
Cinematography –
An extreme long shot establishes the scene from under a roof awning. This makes the film look as if we are observing something by accident, adding a sense of realism to it. When Bonnie and Clyde enter the bank and take out their guns, Thayer are framed within a frame through a glass window to draw our attention to them.
As the car escapes, the scene mirrors the initial getaway scene, here without the jovial, jaunty music played before, taking a more serious, dramatic tone after the act of violence committed by Clyde.
Sound –
The sequence begins with a J cut from Clyde in bed transitioned by a loud car beep to establish the new location, which is also done through an extreme long shot with the crossroads outside of the bank centre frame.
Editing –
The scenes of the robbery in the bank and Moss outside are parallel edited to raise tension and signal to the audience that something bad is going to happen in a more conventional way of Hollywood filmmaking.
Mise-En-Scen –
The buildings shown look old and abandoned, showing the backdrop of the Depression and signalling that the south is in an economic decline. As the film was shot on location, the filmmakers choose to film in the Southern states to portray an area suffering the impacts of the Great Depression.
Bonnie wears a beret, a small nod to the inspiration taken by the filmmakers from the French New Wave.
Performance –
The extras in this scene were civilians asked by the filmmakers to serve as extras to add to the sense of realism and truthfulness prevalent in the French New Wave style of filmmaking.
Context:
The scene within the bank is largely improvised, striving for a realistic depiction similar to a documentary or unscripted sequence of events not played by professional actors.
Representations and Aesthetics:
When the pursuer chasing Bonnie and Clyde’s getaway vehicle is shot in the face by Clyde, we see an close up of the impact it creates. A large spray of blood against an agonised face is extremely violent and shocking for a mainstream film in the 1960s. The violence is shown centre frame and close up, even cutting back to it in an unnecessary and brutal shit reverse shot between it and the man who did the act, forcing the audience to confront it and the brutal actions of the protagonists, who we like and are attached to, but we have to face the consequences of their actions. It does not ruin them, but cements them as flawed ‘anti-hero’s’, displaying in graphic detail for the time the consequences of their actions.
Auteur:
Warren Beatty (left) had a massive hand in the films final product as its producer, portraying Clyde as an imperfect protagonist, differing from typical Hollywood strong male leads at the time. He also helped create the films shoddy but realistic dialogue, often improvised, and influenced its feel as an imperfect, casual, fun and low-budget production, heavily inspired by the French New Wave.
Bonnie Parker lies naked and clearly frustrated by her boredom at home. She sees a man outside trying to steal her mother’s car, who she confronts. She quickly falls for the man and walks into town for him, asking questions about him and where he’s from. He shocks her by revealing that he has been released from state prison for armed robbery. She provokes him to rob a store to prove that he did so, which he promptly does, forcing the couple to giddily flee the town in a stolen car together. The man reveals that his name is Clyde Barrow.
Key Elements:
Cinematography –
The film intersperses the opening credits worth real photographs taken from the Great Depression era of the 1930s, grounding the film in the real life time period and economic climate it takes place in. Film camera shutter clicks are times with he cutting of photos and credits to further establish the olden time period. The names of the actors fade to a red font, foreshadowing violence. Pictures of them in character further grounding these characters as real people. A lack of non-diegetic sound here immerses the audience and gives the film a documentary film, also due to the real images shown here.
The film does not follow the conventional Classical Hollywood Style of introducing the location of the new scene is set in to the audience through an immediate establishing shot, instead opening on an extreme close up of Bonnie’s lips, immediately sexualising her. This shot is disorienting for the audience due to the lack of context to buildup to it. The camera pans to show her reflection in a mirror, done with a hand-held camera, new technology at the time that had been embraced by the French New Wave for its casual apparel and easy use. Making films for a low profit utilising a small budget with low cost equipment. The camerawork feels improvised with not pre-planning or choreography, instead filmed in the moment, similarly to the performances and dialogue. The entire sequence is shot through close-ups os Bonnie’s face, keeping the environment hidden to the audience and therefore going directly against the Classical Hollywood Style, instead concentrating on conveying her frustration and boredom over the location. This is seen in how the camera rises up to an extreme close up of her eyes looking off screen at nothing in particular. When this happens, the camera misses the focus point, and we can see it re-focus onto her face, which makes the cinematography feel improvised and causal, taking inspiration from the French New Wave style of filmmaking,
Clyde and her are shown in shot reverse shots through a netting over her bedroom window. This is not removed to improve the clarity of the shot for the audience, instead obscuring the view. This is because, in the style of the French New Wave, the filmmakers always shot on location instead of on set because it was cheaper and gave the films a sense of realism. This also results in no control over the lighting of the scene, seen in how Clyde is in shadow when peering into Bonnie’s mothers’ car. The film was shot on location in southern states since they were the poorer ones in the 1960s that had not yet fully recovered from the Great Depression, and so still looked economically damaged. Zoom lenses are used in the film to captures the action from a distance and reduce the need to stop and start the shooting constantly for new shots.
Despite the story being largely about crime, we are not shown the robbery here, as the film primarily focuses on the relationship between Bonnie and Clyde, a pair of people who rob banks. The film denies the audience the pleasure of seeing the action, which they expect to see, to instead keep their attention on the emotional connection between the two protagonists. As the two escape in a stolen car, inside the car we see a projected backdrop, but outside it the film was shot on a real location in rural Souther Texas.
Sound –
When Bonnie confront Clyde outside, the dialogue is poor quality and very hard to hear, both due to the strongly southern accents and the poor sound quality. This is because the film was short on location, and so the dialogue said while shooting is what we hear, and isn’t added or clarified/improved in post-production.
The majority of the sequence contains only diegetic sound as the films was shot on location, adding to the sense of realism and truthfulness prevalent in the film and how it is made. As the couple escape, a jaunty upbeat bluegrass banjo tune plays to give the scene an excited, jovial and care-free feeling, reinforcing the tone of the film, a love story with a backdrop of crime. It also shows how much fun the two have while/from robbing places.
Editing –
Mise-En-Scen –
Bonnie being shown behind the bars of her bed is symbolic of her feeling imprisoned in her home.
As the two walk though the street together, we see the paint on the walls peeling off, and a quiet and empty street. This shows the backdrop of poverty in the story, but what location shown is real due to the film being shot on location, typical of the French New Wave style of filmmaking.
Performance –
In her room, Bonnie’s movement are random and seemingly in-planned, adding a sense of realism and improvisation to the scene. Her accent is deeply southern instead of an artificial Mid-Atlantic accent to portray a more realistic representation of the regional accent and the characters in the film.
As Clyde walks across the road to rob the store, we see he has a prominent limp. This links to his story about him chopping of two of his own toes in prison to get off of work detail, portraying him as a mysterious and flawed character, and Warren Beatty method acted to achieve a sense of realism in the film.
Context:
F.D.R campaign posters are plastered on walls to immerse the audience in the 1930s time period, alongside the decaying town which establishes the impact of the Depression on society.
Representations and Aesthetics:
For 1967, this is a borderline offensive and at least a risky way of presenting a leading female role. It is provocative and suggestive, establishing Bonnie as a rebellious character in the 1930s and edging what can be permitted to be shown in a film by the Hayes Code. This can also be seen in how flirtatious she is with Clyde, and the phallic imagery used in the coke bottles and Clyde’s pistol, sexually suggestive imagery considered edgy in the 1960s. The film also presents Bonnie’s beauty in a naturalistic way, showing her without much intervention or artificial beauty created through the use of lighting to highlight or enhance her features.
Bonnie is a bored, uneducated waitress living in a small, quiet town. Clyde is an ex-convict bank robber. As is characteristic of the French New Wave, the film follows two real people living real lives, making the story (somewhat) more relatable for the people watching it.
Auteur:
Dede Allen allowed for the film’s sound design to be deliberately shoddy as she took much inspiration from the French New Wave style of filmmaking and editing. Robert Pentonville and David Newman made the dialogue feel real and I provided, which it largely was, to add to the sense of realism in the film. The director, Arthur Penn, and Warren Beatty, the producer, both made the film feel authentic and realistic in its style through a deliberately poor quality for a Hollywood film.
While the Hollywood studio system was in decline and studios were having to search for new and interesting ways of conveying stories and making films, the filmmakers in France were experimenting with new and radically different methods of filmmaking. A group of young Cahiers Du Cinema writers/editors had began making films to contrast the perception of film as a high-art that adhered to a pre-existing, strict narrative convention. This resulted in new, low-budget productions that fox used on being deliberately poorly-made and brining the audiences attention to the production of the film itself, serving as fun, entertaining but often involving deeper themes, such as Jean Luc Godard’s repetition of reference to high-art in his films.
New French directors such as François Truffaut and Agnès Varda were focusing creating new, radical films that went against established conventions such as narrative linearity. This led to the rise of auteur directors like Godard, whose films became recognisable. These directors rejected the post-war “Tradition of Quality” in French Cinema which fell back on the comfort of old traditions emphasised old works over new and innovative films. These filmmakers sought to go against the safe adaptations of classical literary works and instead utilised low-budget equipment and deliberately poor-writing to create fun and poor-quality films. Godard, for example, considered the convention of narrative linearity oppressive and deterministic. They were inspired by Classical Hollywood and Italian Neo-Realism, adding their own contemporary, avant-garde styles of direction.
The French New Wave was most popular between the late 1950s and early 1960s. Most of these directors were born in Paris and grew up their in the 1930s, therefore their films related to the youth growing up in that city, such as through the representation of fashion, parties and urban-life.
American director Arthur Penn commented that “young people understood this movie instantly. They sae Bonnie and Clyde as rebels like themselves. It was a movie that spoke to a generation in a way none of use had really expected.” Anastasia & Macnow, 2011.
These directors used low-budget equipment such as hand-held cameras and film stock that required less light. This resulted in films with discontinuous editing, poor sound design and un-convincing acting. Questions raised but not answered in the film would raise narrative ambiguity through the combination of subjectivity and realism. Long takes, the use of jump-cuts and a sense of minimalism in the films were a result of a lack of stock to shoot with. The 180 degree axis would be broke, characters would step out of their roles to address the audience directly, rapid scene changes and improvised dialogue.
The scene begins with a mid-shot of an airport worker, tracks his movement outside, then rests o n the car pulling up, tracks the movement of the people walking out, then pulls our further to a five shot to show the worker that Renault is speaking to. This is the perfect example of Classical Hollywood Style, preventing the need for cutting by using carefully planned actor choreography and smooth, gliding camera movements to keep the audience immersed, keeping their attention away from how the film was made and keeping it only on the story and the characters.
Instead of using shot reverse shots, a close up of Rick and Ilsa is used to prevent the need for cutting, keeping the audience immersed in the moment and emotionally invested in it, and also showing Rick and Ilsa’s emotional connection and intimacy in that moment. Very shallow focus is used here to show that nothing else matters in the moment.
A close up of Ilsa keep or focus on her emotional reaction to what Rick is saying. It does this again by pushing in on her face as her and Lazlo leave to bring our attention to her emotional state, making us understand the emotional importance of this moment in the film and making us sympathise with her. Rick is also lit more similarly to Ilsa in this scene, which shows that they have moved past their hatred for each other, and that Rick has become a better person.
Editing –
Shot reverse shots between the plane leaving and the Nazi arriving raise tension as the audience link is the two together and understand that Lazlo and Ilsa have nearly left, but now Rick is about to be arrested, as Renault has explained through exposition that he will, and Rick told him to as soon as the plane left. Faster shot reverse shots between Rick and the Nazi raise the tension between them, and an over the shoulder shot from behind the Nazi looking at Rick shows that Rick won the quickdraw. Shot reverse shots between Renault and Rick as Renault explains the death of the Nazi to his men raises tension, and shows an emotional connection between the two and a deliberate decision on Renaults part to help Rick.
Sound –
As Rick and Ilsa say their emotional goodbyes, As Time Goes By plays to add emotional subtext to the scene. The non diegetic composed score picks up to an intense and dramatic moment as we the the Nazi driving quickly to the airport. As the film ends, the composed score rises to a grand and powerful crescendo to signify the importance and victory of the moment.
Mise-En-Scen –
Performance –
Context:
Lazlo’s dialogue is patriotic, rousing and moving, a result of this film being an interventionist piece. Rick is presented as a noble American hero by offering the Nazi three chances to do as he says, and only shoots him when the Nazi also draws a gun. This is symbolic of America finally getting involved in the war after being reluctant to for so long. Renaults decision to drop his Vichy (French allied with Nazi Germany) water bottle into a bin and kick it to show his anger and him being finished with the Nazis. Ricks saying that now is a good time to start being a patriot, and Renaults agreement, are symbolic of the need for America to join the war.
Representation and Aesthetics:
Auteur:
An over the shoulder shot here shows what the protagonist is looking at.
In this sequence, Rick sits alone in his cafe at night, drinking in the dark. Sam begs him to leave, but Rick refuses to, waiting for Ilsa to return. Sam decides to stay, and upon being told to by Rick plays As Time Goes By. This evokes a flashback from Rick, which shows that he and Ilsa used to live in Paris together near the start of the war, and were deeply in love. However, as the Germans marched into Paris, they fled, which plans to leave together. However, Rick is abandoned at the train station, receiving a note from Sam written by Ilsa apologising, saying that she cannot leave with him. We cut back to the present, in the cafe, and see how grief stricken Rick is over the loss. Ilsa then enters and pleads Rick for help, but is met with butter indifference from him.
Key Elements:
Cinematography –
The sequence begins with a mid shot of Rick, him pouring a drink to immediately establish that he is drunk. This mid shot shows that he is the centre of this scene, and dolly’s out to reveal Sam walking through to discover Rick. Rick is shown in dim light, his face only shown by a dim key light. This reflects his dark and depressed mood, and shrouds his character in mystery as-well as making him appear more rugged and weathered to us. Later on, we see the extreme contrast between him and Ilsa, whop wears bright clothes, has smooth, light skin, and is shipowners in deep focus with much light shining on her. When Sam and Rick talk to each other, both are shown in a two shot. When Rick ins monopolising to himself, it is through a close up to signify his emotions and bring the audience physically, and therefore emotionally closer to him.
In the Paris flashback, a projection is used behind the actors as the film was actually shot on location. During this flashback, there are many more close ups of Ilsa than there are of Rick. This brings our attention to her, putting us in Rick’s position of looking back on the past, thinking of her, and brings our attention to her glamorous presentation as-well. The lighting on her is done to make her seem much more elegant and beautiful, delicate and fragile than Rick. When she is distraught at having to leave Paris, we see a close up of her, not Rick, to keep our focus on her emotions, her presentation, and the meaning of her words and her eyes, made eye-catching by the catchlights in them, establishing an emotional connection withy the audience.
During this sequence, certain things that were mentioned already in the film have significance, such as As Time Goes by, the Labelle Aurore cafe, and “Here’s looking at you, kid”.
When Ilsa enters the cafe, a literal blast of light comes in with her two instantly bring our attention to her, show her innocence compared to Rick, and make her appear more angel-like. She is also centre-frame, making her entrance even more dramatic. As she speaks to Rick, she is shown in light, symbolising her purity and his lack of it.
Editing –
We cut to a close up of Rick as Sam stars playing, because the film wants to focus our attention in on whoever is speaking or most important in a moment, which here is Rick. This highlights his significance to the story, and shows us his facial expressions to make his emotions clearer and thereby establish an emotional connection with the audience.
In a moment that deviates from the Classical Hollywood Style, the scene fades to reveal a flashback to Paris, breaking the linear narrative for a scene. We dolly closer to Rick here to show that he is thinking of it, looking back on the past. Throughout the happy moments of this flashback sequence, the camera cross-fades between shots to evolve the feeling of happiness, and show how much Ilsa and Rick enjoyed their time together. Real war footage is used in this flashback to immerse us in the war and set the film, in a real setting and time, and making the events shown contemporary. An actual sign is used to show that they are entering Paris, allowing the audience to make the connection between the German’s entering and Rick and Ilsa being there.
Sound –
The music soars into a crescendo as the flashback stars, paying the French National Anthem to evoke themes/feelings of patriotism and establish the new setting of the story for the audience. The music reflects how the film wants the audience to feel, so when Rick and Ilsa are happy together the music is upbeat and lively. When Rick sees the note left by Ilsa, the music soars up into a dramatic and sad crescendo. As he leaves the station with Sam, it drops to a horn-based, angry and tragic moment. This is finally done as Ilsa leaves Rick’s cafe in tears and Rick drives through himself, and a more tragic and pessimistic As Time Goes By plays.
Mise-En-Scen –
Sam wears much darker clothes compared to Rick, to show that Rick is a more important character here. In the Paris flashback, the film shows us that the characters are in Paris through the music, set design, and the stereotypical French items in frame, such as berets, striped shirts and strings of garlic.
As Rick stands at the train station, he is presented in a trance coat and hat, a classic film-noir outfits used as a reference to his other film noir roles and to make him seem more masculine. In contrast, Ilsa’s outfit as she speaks to Rick in his cafe, in the present, is carefully done and made to make her look delicate and beautiful.
Performance –
Context:
Ricks ability to unrealistically tell how far away the approaching tanks are sacrificed realism for the provision of context to the audience. This is also seen in how exposition heavy the script is to reveal important contextual information to the audience.
Representations and Aesthetics:
Auteur:
Rick is shown in darkness with the bottle clearly visible next to him, showing us his coping mechanism, and his emotional state through the lighting. The mid-shot brings our attention to his defeated and agonised expression.
In this scene, we see that Ilsa and Sam have a past, and are connected through the song As Time Goes By, and Sam, for some reason, wishes for Ilsa to avoid Rick. Rick and Ilsa are reunited, although in the film this is the first time that we see them together. Rick is also introduced to Lazlo in the process. He and Ilsa reminisce over memories we, the audience, do not yet know of in full detail, making their history mysterious and intriguing the audience. Lazlo and Ilsa leave as there is a curfew in Casablanca.
Key Elements:
Cinematography –
Ingrid Bergman believed that one side of her face looked better than the other, and this affects how she is presented in the film, mostly from one side of her face more than the other, to maintain her presentation of an elegant, glamorous film star. This is also seen in how she is often presented in mid shots or close ups. In these, unlike closeups of Rick and male characters in the film, she is in focus whereas the background of the shot isn’t, bringing the audiences focus in on her.
To bring her reaction to our attention, a drawn out close up of Ilsa is used to show her emotional reaction to the song, As Time Goes By. This makes us connect and sympathise with her, manipulating them to evoke an emotional reaction to the film, and it keeps our attention on her presentation.
When Rick enters the scene, he is framed within a frame by an arch overhead through a low-angle shot as he walks into the light, making a dramatic entrance to signify his importance and status as a large star in the Warner Bros. Stable of actors.
As Renault and Lazlo enter the shot of Rick and Ilsa looking at each other, the camera pans to track their movements and set up a four shot, keeping them all in frame. It shot reverse shots between close ups of Rick and Lazlo to signify the importance of their small interaction, showing that both men have reputations that precede them. The actors are choreographed so that everything in frame that matters is visible to the audience, such as when Renault look back to call a waiter, and Lazlo has moved out of the way for us to see who Renault is speaking to much farther back in frame. The camera slowly and smoothly pedestals down as the actors sit, bringing us into their conversation. Then it cuts to a 3 shot of Ilsa, Renault and Lazlo to sin gift what Renault is saying to Ilsa. An over the shoulder shot from behind Ilsa looking at Rick brings our attention to their interaction and signifies its importance, and Ilsa is when in a close up to show her glamour and beauty, shown from the side with an above key and fill light illuminating her soft face and makeup. The key light on Rick is dimmer, so that more of the left side of his face is in shadow, presenting him as more mysterious, masculine, weathered and experienced. To prevent cutting between the 3, Ilsa, Renault and Lazlo are shown together in a 3 shot to allow us to look at whoever is speaking in a single moment, and who to. The camera rises again as they do, and the waiter is shown just between Renault and Lazlo. It finally drops again as Rick sits after the others have left and dolly’s into a mid shot of him, bringing our attention to his expression and again signifying the importance of his mysterious past relationship with Ilsa. He all but looks at the camera to display his emotions to the audience.
Editing –
The conversations in this sequence are done in Classical Hollywood style, shot reverse shots done to show who is important in a certain moment, such as Sam when he pleads Ilsa to leave Rick alone. For most of this conversation, the camera faces Ilsa through an over the shoulder shot from behind Sam, to bring our attention to her glamorous presentation.
Sound –
When Rick notices Ilsa, a sudden and deep note in the non-diegetic composed score signifies her importance/connection to him, catching the audiences attention and intriguing them in the history of the characters.
Mise-En-Scen –
Alongside her bright costume and pristine makeup, Ilsa is decorated by elaborate jewellery, one on her outfit and her earrings too. These reflect light in small, dazzling items of the frame, catching Ilsa in the audiences eyes more and complementing the catch lights illuminating her eyes.
While Rick has a classy and pristine suit, his skin is more wrinkly and rugged than Ilsa’s, and he is typically shown is less light and in deep focus close ups to make him stand out less than her.
Performance –
Humphrey Bogart almost always plays the same person, himself, making him more solidified and recognisable, even iconic as a star in the studio stystem, which Warner Bros. Wished to coast in this film through his dialogue, presentation and actions.
Context:
The studio makes efforts to utilise the set of Rick’s cafe to its fullest. It is an expansive and highly designed and detailed set, so about two thirds of the film take place in it. Camera movements and actor choreography are carefully done to make the set clear and immersive for the audience.
The film is a romance film as well as an interventionist piece. Therefore, it tries to affect the audience to evoke emotions and pull on the heartstrings. At its centre, it is melodramatic, and the script and production are done to manipulate the audience and make them feel certain things. This can be seen in this sequence through the dialogue, which is romantic, poetic and melodramatic as Rick and Ilsa look back on their past, and through the non-diegetic composed score, which has a somber, dramatic tone that is meant to evoke sadness in the audience to make them connect and sympathise with the protagonists of the film.
Representations and Aesthetics:
Auteur:
The camera has tracked the actor movement by panning right with the, and where Lazlo is stood now he will move to reveal a waiter behind him, who Renault calls over. The actor choreography and camera movement combine to reveal everything that is important to the story and audience to see in a frame.
This scene introduces Victor Lazlo and Ilsa to the film, who enter Rick’s cafe to meet with an ally of Lazlo’s cause. While there, they meet with but are bothered by Captain Renault and the German Major, who interrogates Lazlo and arranges a meeting for the next day. Lazlo stands his ground, but Ilsa is clearly worried for his safety.
Key Elements:
Cinematography –
As Lazlo and Ilsa enter the cafe, the camera tracks their movement, crabbing to the left to keep our focus on them. It does this as hey move through the cafe, coming to rest on Sam to show his concerned reaction to seeing Ilsa, signalling to the audience that there is a connection there. It does this also by showing a closer shot of Ilsa, focusing our attention on her concerned reaction. In close ups of Ilsa, she is in focus whereas the background is only in soft focus, unlike with the other characters, to keep our focus on her and present her as more beautiful.
As with the other sequences, in Classical Hollywood style, the carefully planned camera movements bring the expansive and detailed created set to our attention, immersing us in the environment. It also prevents the need for extensive cutting and distracting the audience from the story and dialogue. The choreography of the actors goes along with the camera movements, keeping everything essential in frame, and moving between different types of shots without much cutting. We see this with how the camera moves up and down as Lazlo is spoken down to by the German Major, and the camera tilts up slightly to keep our focus on Lazlo as he stands up to the oppressive forces against him. When Ilsa and Renault are talking, the scene shot-reverse-shots between them, and when four people are talking in one shot, the face of the person who isn’t, Ilsa, is not shown.
Editing –
Sound –
Editing is kept to a minimum and is all in service of the story in Classical Hollywood Style, but follows typical shot-reverse-shot fashion to show dialogue in a way that makes it digestible, not distracting the audience but directing their attention to what is important in a conversation at a certain moment, such as when Lazlo speaks to the secret resistance member, and it cuts between them to show whoever is talking in the moment.
The diegetic sound of Sam’s piano playing rises in the mix as Lazlo and Ilsa near him, immersing the audience in their position and the environment of Rick’s cafe. When it is more faint in the background, it melts into the rest of the sound mix, keeping the dialogue audible but preventing the scene from becoming silent, keeping the audience immersed in the cafe.
Mise-En-Scen –
Immediately the contrast between Lazlo and Ilsa is set, as Lazlo wears a white suit, but Ilsa wears a white dress which is much lighter and more eye-catching, brining our attention to her. This presents her as elegant, beautiful but more fragile than Lazlo.
Performance –
Lazlo is stoic and almost emotionless compared to Ilsa, who we see tearing up often, with clearly concerned or upset expressions. This presents her as more fragile and innocent than Lazlo, but also intrigues the audience as to her past relationship with Sam and Rick, which she makes clear when she sees them, hears or asks about them. Her accent is also Mid-Atlantic, a fictional accent that was popular in Hollywood at the time to act as a universal accent between American and British.
Context:
Warner Bros. Had a stable of actors which they wanted to exhibit to the audience to make most use of, similarly to the sets they use in this film. In this, the audiences attention is brought to Ilsa by her light dress, attractive presentation and the focus of each close up being on her. She is presented as the famous, glamorous film star that she was in real life.
Representations and Aesthetics:
Ilsa is presented as elegant and graceful, with flattering make up, catchlights to make her eyes more captivating and bring our attention to them, establishing an emotional connection with the audience, a captivating outfit and lighting that brings our attention to her. It makes her seem beautiful, but also more fragile and delicate than the males in the film, who are presented are more gruff and less soft. This also symbolises Ilsa’s innocence in contrast with characters like Lazlo and Rick. It also plays into Warner’s intent to create an interventionist film, portraying Ilsa, symbolically, as the weak, vulnerable and delicate European countries at risk of more aggressive, stronger powers. She is also presented like this to make her look glamorous and beautiful for the cameras, attracting audiences to see the film and boasting Warner Bros.’ Stable of actors.
The Nazi officer is portrayed as self-important, smug, proud, formal and entitled, whereas the French Chief of Police, Renault, is more polite, gracious and informal.
Auteur:
Despite her not being centre frame here, our attention is on Ilsa, due to her light dress and carefully done and elegant make up.
This scene takes place 6 minutes into the film, and introduces us to the protagonists place of business. It establishes the seedy and lawless nature of the cafe, immersing the audience in the world the protagonist rules over, showing multiple different illegal activities and exchanges that set an image of what life is like for many in Casablanca. At the end of the sequence, we are introduced to the protagonist, Rick, although he says nothing, and his actions and appearance are the only indicators of his character here.
Key Elements:
Cinematography –
This sequence is a perfect example of the subtlety of the classical Hollywood style, beginning with a long shot establishing the location, then cutting to a close up of the sign to direct the audiences attention and contextualise the scene. The camera then tilts down and follows a group of customers into the cafe, where the doorman holds the floor open for the camera and a waiter greets us, immediately immersing the audience in the environment. The camera glides smoothly around the set in a rare method for filmmaking in this time period. It is possible here because the set has been built and the actors have been blocked precisely to allow for the film to be made and for the location to be seen perfectly by the audience.
A wide shot displays the vast and complicated location crabs along the room, tracking the movements of a distant waiter, bringing us deeper into this location, where eventually the waiter leaves the frame and the camera smoothly glides down into a close up of Sam. We then cut to a new location, and the camera, again, carbs to the left and pedestals down to bring our attention to a pair of men, keeping the editing to a minimum and keeping our focus on the story, every small scenario here used to establish what life is like for those trying to escape Casablanca. Hopelessness, desperateness, and turning to illegal activity. They also establish the environment of Rick’s cafe, and what sort of people it attracts. This can be seen again where it pans from one small chipper of conversation between a pair of men doing something illegal to a man being served at the bar. This efficiency of storytelling all serves to contextualise Rick’s life.
Once again, a long shot of the waiter opening the door cuts to a wide shot that tracks his movement through a new location, to a close up of some new characters which dolly’s back to an over the shoulder shot 4 to shoot the dialogue. Everyone in all parts of the frame are kept in focus for us to see who is talking, and the camera smoothly follows the waiter so that we can follow the whole conversation. The scene is all one shbut is reframed seamlessly by the gliding camera movement.
We are introduced to Rick’s character before we even see him. The close up of his lazy signature on a document signifies his importance, and his silence signals that he is a stoic man of few words. A carefully framed close up reveals all in one frame his tendency to drink and smoke, and his strategic thinking through the chess board, which he plays the black pieces on, signifying his tendency to fight as the “underdog”. When he is revealed, no one else is in frame to keep our attention on only him, his face is in shadow and him being in a dark, lonely corner of the bustling cafe, making him appear gruff and mysterious, a large part of his character being revealed before he even speaks. This is also shown in how people look to him for approval to enter, and he only casually nods to say give permission.
Editing –
There are as few cuts as possible as we enter the cafe, immersing the audience due to keeping all focus away from the filmmaking and on the story and location/set design.
Sound –
As the camera nears Sam, the diegetic sound of his singing and the music he is playing rises to become the dominant sound in the sound mix, keeping our attention on him and further immersing us in the audience. This is also true when it L-cuts to a further location and the sound of his singing drops in the mix, but only enough so that we can infer we are still near him, or at least in the same area.
Mise-En-Scen –
The mixed costume design, from Western tuxedos to fez hats, shows how multicultural the location is, further contextualising the story.
Ricks suit is pristine and white, bringing our attention to him. It shows that he has class and style, and also shows his authority and importance over the black costumes that most of the cafe employees wear.
Performance –
The large mix of accents perpetuates the situation that Casablanca is in, fillies with immigrants trying to get out but failing.
Context:
As much of a films success at the time was dependant on the size of its cast, much buildup is made to emphasise Rick’s reveal, which in itself is a somewhat dramatic moment because of the way he is kept off frame at first before being revealed in a shot all by himself, the lighting illuminating his face and him immediately displaying his authority as owner of the cafe.
Representations and Aesthetics:
The lighting on the women in the film is much softer and smoother than that on the man, which is harder and outs them in shadow, gibing them more gruff or weathered faces. The women, by contrast, are presented as much smoother and fairer, making them appear fragile and elegant, whereas the men seem tough and masculine.
Auteur:
Ricks face is lit to bring our attention to him, as well as the dark contrast between his bright, pristine suit and the dark, empty corner of the cafe he sits in. The darkness of the shot also presents him as gruff, secretive and reclusive, even mysterious. This contrast how the women are presented in the film, as beautiful, elegant and delicate.
This scene begins with a restaurant goer being pickpocketed by an unassuming foreigner, who ironically warns him of there being “vultures everywhere” in Casablanca, further showing the lawlessness of the location. The scene then introduces us to the main antagonist, a Nazi officer, who arrives via plane in Casablanca. He is greeted by the French Chief of Police, who informs him, and the audience, through exposition, that the murderer of the two German Couriers with important exit documents will be arrested at Rick’s cafe later that evening.
Key Elements:
Cinematography –
The opening shot of this sequence is a wide shot in deep focus to make the background, and the lavish, expansive set, more visible to the audience, further boasting and utilising the Warner Bros. Set design and immersing the audience in the environment. The actors are blocked perfectly to be in frame, no one in the way of the camera view of another, so that all of them can be seen talking, but also so that the events they are reacting to in the background contextualise their dialogue and can be witnessed by the audience as they hear the dialogue. We cut to more shots of the usual suspects being herded into the police station to further contextualise their conversation. We then cut back to a two shot of the pickpocket explaining the nature of Casablanca to the unsuspecting victim. As the pickpocket stand up to speak to the lady, the camera pedestals up and dolly’s back to become a three shot, once again making everyone in the conversation visible to the audience without making unnecessary or distracting cuts. This is also true when the victim stands, so that he is still in frame, and the waiter that walks on screen is stood in the exact spot where he is visible stood between the man and the woman.
The shot of the plane landing is framed by an archway, Warner Bros. Still making the most of their set as this exotic arch farmers a plane landing and an imposing, foreign lighthouse in the background, focusing our attention, alongside the precise blocking of the guards to bring our eyes to the landing plane and the lighthouse beyond it. As is typical of classical Hollywood style, this long shot cuts to a wide shot of the plane to make the change in location more seamless. This frame is also composed by the blocking of the extras to bring our attention to the planes door, where the villain is exiting, as the extras are lined up and facing said door. This then cuts to a close up of the main Nazi officer approaching a lesser officer, and then an over the shoulder shot reveals the official much closer to the camera to signify his importance, as-well as his height over the other officers. The exact same thing happens to show the French Chief of Police’s importance, an over the shoulder shot showing his importance to the plot, but he is much shorter than the Nazi officer, showing a power dynamic. We then cut to a wide shot that tracks the movement of the characters, crabbing, to avoid making cuts. A close up two shot shows the two men talking, then a cut to a three shot shows the third officers input, stating there until the end of the sequence.
Editing –
Regular shot reverse shots between the crowds of people looking hopefully up and the plane coming in to land show their desire to escape Casablanca, and the rarity of a plane in the air in the city. Fade cuts make the editing more seamless as fast the scene feel like one larger take, as seen when the plane lands and the transition follows its movement to cut to the framed shot of the airfield.
Sound –
The diegetic sound of the plane landing rises in the sound mix when the camera is nearer to it, immersing the audience, and lowers so that we can hear the peoples dialogue.
Mise-En-Scen –
The architecture is exotic and Eastern, immersing the audience in this new and foreign, interesting environment and further contextualising the story in every new shot, another example of efficiency of storytelling.
Performance –
The actors all play stereotypical caricatures of their characters ethnicity. The English man is pompous and patronising, the French man fats speaking and amusing, the German upright and smug, the Italian rapidly moving and speaking with exaggerated hand gestures.
Context:
The film makes deliberate efforts to expose its large and impressive sets, with exotic architecture, large amounts of extras, deep focus, long shots and precise actor blocking to draw the audiences attention to the most impressive, life-like parts of the environment, immersing and impressing them, making most value out of these large and expensive sets.
Jack Warner wanted this film to be a pro-interventionist piece of media, so likely made sure that the Nazis were presented as emotionless, greedy and bland villains. The director, Michael Curtiz, also likely affected their presentation, as he was Hungarian himself and usually presented beaten down characters against larger, more imposing powers, here, Nazi Germany.
Representation and Aesthetics:
The men at the restaurant are stereotypes of their nationalist it’s, the Englishman being a gullible, naive and unassuming victim, the French man being a sly, nimble and smart trickster.
The Nazi officers in this scene are caricatures of the typical American perception of them at the time. Their uniforms are neat and straight, and they move stiffly, almost robotically, displaying an obsession with efficiency and authority. On the other hand, the French Chief of Police seems overly optimistic and care free. A comedic moment is also made out of the stereotypically needy Italian officer desperately trying to gain the attention of the Nazi officer, who almost completely ignores him, causing the Italian man to become confrontational with other officers, speaking fast and making exaggerated hand gestures.
Auteur:
The city in the background of this shot is actually a matte painting, as the film was shot in a Hollywood studio with recreated sets. This long shot was done to further immerse the audience in the exotic location and contextualise the story and the scene this moment in taking place in.
Due to the size and influence of Hollywood as a centre for the American film industry in the 1930s, many artists were taking inspiration and ideas from one another as to how a film should be made. Experiments were made in camera movements, cinematography, mise-en-scen, etc. The result was the basis for all narrative cinema made today, many films of interest being ones that deviate from this structure, which is known as the Classical Hollywood Style.
The Classical Hollywood Style:
The classical Hollywood style refers to the widely used structure of filmmaking that rose in 1930s Hollywood. This structure paid all focus on production to the stars and the narrative of a film, so works to keep the audiences attention on these. Directors made their films to be so engaging and immersive for the audiences that saw it that they would not even notice the structural aspects of the film, such as editing, fake sets, actors, etc.
An example of how this was done is through editing. A very common way of shooting a scene would be to have a long shot of two characters, establishing their positions and distance to each each other. Then, a wide shot showing the two characters closer to the camera, bringing the audience further into the dialogue, which the directors wanted the audience to pay attention to. Then a close up would shot one character alone talking to show their face, and then an over the shoulder shot looking from behind them at the other person, and then the scene would shot-reverse-shot between over the shoulder shots to seamlessly bring the audience into the moment and the dialogue without distracting them with visuals, abrupt edits, etc. Everything centred around the story.
The stars were also a focal point for the filmmakers. For example, the cinematographers were in charge of making the actresses look glamorous and beautiful, and the villains held in shadow and dark areas. This is an example of how the director would direct the audiences attention, and inform them how to feel. This would also be done through emotional music. Melodramatic acting, exotic and expansive sets made in the studios, 3 act structures, linear narratives and conventional characters are also staples of the classical Hollywood style.
Long shots were used to immerse the audience and reveal lots of information, such as the layout of an environment, without making many cuts to potentially ruin immersion in the story. POV shots also grew in usage in this time period, effective for showing a character as they were and immersing the audience in the characters emotions and thought process in that moment. It tells them exactly how that character feels int hat moment we see it from their perspectives. Parallel editing done through cross cutting became popular to involve the audience in the plot further and raise the tension, thereby gaining their undivided attention.
Quentin Tarantino’s signature style can be seen to have began in his lost film My Best Friends Birthday, which featured his comedic editing and use of volatile language and snappy dialogue. Tarantino’s career began with Harvey Keitel’s dedicated support to the Reservoir Dogs script, whose career had been diminishing. His name helped the film to be made, as other stars began to consider the project. Tarantino’s style seemed unconventional to more experienced members of the industry.
He was heavily criticised for leaving in a graphic torture scene in the film. It was pegged as a revelation at Cannes, and won at the Toronto Film Festival the prize for best film. It made $3 million in the USA, only shown in 26 theatres in the first week, and 10 in the UK, making £100,000 in the first weekend. It was considered the best directing be but since Citizen Kane.
Tarantino thinks in oeuvres (body of work), considering his films connected. He is eager to avoid creating lesser works that affect the overall quality of his oeuvre, believing that his filmography would be healthier if all his films were well-made.
His films are distinct in their use of fast and witty dialogue over seemingly pointless subjects, chaptered plots and story’s following 1970s crime thriller cliches that he puts his own spin on via unique characters, dialogue, soundtrack and nuanced use of extreme violence for comedic effect. Tarantino’s filmography is consistently highly-praised and many, if not most of his films are considered masterpieces. There are many aspects of Tarantino’s films that make them recognisable as being made by him, including extreme, often ridiculous violence, clever and nuanced use of dialogue, non-linear/interesting approaches to narrative, obscure 1970/80s compiled soundtracks, re-occurring actors and riveting plots told through unique structure and use of perspective/audience positioning. He often also includes crude language used casually in his dialogue and many pop-culture references, of which are very specific to him and his tase in pop-culture, e.g films, music, etc., which make his films individually more unique to him as a stand-alone director.
He includes an abundance of subtext to his dialogue, which makes his more fun to watch. He also creates and holds suspense over the course of long scenes. All of his films include scenes like this, some include many of them. He will do this often through dialogue with subtle and hidden meaning, even if on surface level it is over pleasantries and/or seemingly unrelated topics. He will give the audience implicit information and often create constantly building tension by bringing the scene closer to a climax or realisation, and continues the tension even after that realisation. The characters take their time and chat over normal, even realistic matters. They do not speak quickly or purposefully for long periods of time, instead Tarantino establishes their motivations and goals to create binary oppositions and set the possibility for a climax, thereby establishing tension and building it through subtle dialogue slowly but evidently building to that climax. These scenes also rarely involve music, instead long, drawn out silence to draw the audience inti the scene, alongside the dialogue with subtext.
His films have become highly recognised, respected, discussed and aspired to in the film industry. He is considered an independent auteur director, all of his films instantly identifiable to him and his body of work, different in each story but connected through signature features of his style of directing and his striving for consistent success in his oeuvre.
Tarantino utilises dialogue to a high extent in his films, and it is considered a staple aspect of his films. He makes the dialogue enjoyable and engaging for the audience through reference to pop culture, and long conversations often revolve entirely around trivial or non-important topics, which makes it relatable and enjoyable for the audience to listen to. Ordinary conversations between friends are easy and entertaining to pay attention to, especially when between characters such as Jewels and Vincent, hit et that you wouldn’t usually expect to be talking do jovially about a “royale with cheese”.The dialogue provides a flowing pace to the film, as seen in how the drive leading up to the murder in the apartment is as long as the scene in the apartment, but the audience does not realise this while watching either scene since the dialogue in the car flows so easily. It also makes the character archetypes interesting, fleshing out blatantly cliche characters through relatable and unique dialogue over mundane focal points (such as the French equivalent of American fast food names) that is characteristic of Tarantino.
Narrative Viewpoint:
“The character with whom the audience is manipulated to emphasise or sympathise at any oven point in the film.” Tarantino also utilises this in an interesting and nuanced way, as he shifts the perspective between characters every new chapter. At first we are interested in the diner robber’s story, then we empathise with Vincent due to his precarious situation, then we are enthralled by Butch’s risky quest for the gold watch (in which Vincent and Wallace become the antagonists) then we understand Jewel’s sudden moral awakening, and from that perspective Vincent seems like a vain idiot to us and the diner robbers are the antagonists of the scene. This prevents the audience from becoming too attached with any one character, but simultaneously keeps us engaged and attached to all of them.
Character Motivations:
This is the driving force behind the character’s choices and actions. Motivations are fundamental to the audiences understanding of and engagement with the meaning of films. Tarantino’s character motivations are facilitated through his dialogue and so is the films narrative drive. This can be seen in how Vincent’s seemingly pointless defensiveness about the inappropriateness of foot massages eludes to his later apprehensiveness of taking Mia out and sets up his personality, therefore why he reacts to her overdose in the way that he does. It is also done, more explicitly, in Christopher Walken’s explanation of the origins of Butch’s fathers’ gold watch, which sets up why he would later go to such great lengths to retrieve it.
Cause and Effect:
The cause is an event or action and its consequences , which is the effect. All films are constructed around this simple concept, and in Pulp Fiction this can be seen in Vincent’s desperateness to save her with Mia due to the story of the man killed by her husband because he gave her a foot massage. Vividly created characters make cause and effect more esoteric, and creates character nuance and depth.
Chronological Flow:
“The arrangement of things following one after another in time.” Pulp Fiction only flows chronologically in throughout the individual sequences in the film, which contrasts how the film as a whole is not arranged in chronological sequence.
Pacing:
“The rhythm at which the plot unfolds.” Tarantino deliberately paces his films in a nuanced way that goes against film tradition, subverting audience expectations and engaging them through that subversion. Seemingly insignificant scenes take up a lot of time, whereas scenes crucial to the story can start and end very quickly, as seen in the drive to the from the apartment where Martin is shot by Vincent very suddenly and offscreen, after which the scene ends abruptly, just after we see a long, drawn out conversation between Vincent and Jewels about divine intervention. It is also evident in the diner robbers’ long conversation about robbing coffee shops opposed to gas stations right before a sudden start and cut away from the actual robbery in the diner itself, which we only again return to at the end of the film.
Cops begins with an intertitle card with a quote by Houdini, which is expressive as it symbolises to the audience the themes of romance and prison. A reverse iris shot takes us into a two shot of Keaton and his girlfriend, keeping the audiences attention on Keaton, who is behind bars. The camera then cuts between a man calling a cab and the taxi driver, parallel edited to show the audience that they are connected and therefore manipulating the audience as they are made to understand the connection between the man and what he was waving at. There is then a long shot though of Keaton sneaking up behind the man to pick up his wallet, letting the audience look where they want, which is a realist filmmaking technique. The same goes for when Keaton tries helping the man into his taxi, but then the film cuts to a mid shot with Keaton centre frame to bring our attention to him looking through the lost wallet, which is expressive as it tells the audience where to look, here, an important plot element. It is also expressive when we cut to a shot of the man in the taxi doing exaggerated shocked expressions and movements to tell the audience that he has realised he’s lost his wallet. The same for when he realises there is no money in it after he has gotten it back.
When the taxi stops and the man gets out, the shot is framed so that after it drives off, Keaton is gone, and the gag is that he has left the man behind without his money, and the man does not know where Keaton has gone too. A fade to black and then fade cut to a new shot of the cab pulling over signifies a passage of time, which is expressionist as it tells the audience information directly, without letting them realise themselves. As Keaton is paying the driver, we cut to a close up of all his money to bring the audiences attention to it and then a mid shot of a man with a newspaper to show that he has noticed all of Keatons cash, which is expressionist as it ensures the audience understands the set up for the upcoming joke. The same happens when the man looks to the right to see the family preparing to leave their home, which the film cuts to, and an intertitle card explains what they are doing directly to the audience, which, again, is expressive.
There is then a vignette shot of the man pretending to cry on the curb to being our attention to his exaggerated and unrealistic reactions, which are expressive and used to give information to the audience that will make them understand the joke. The next intertitle cards explain the joke and we cut to a close up, making the audience focus on the interaction between Keaton and the man. The same thing happens here when the man takes the jacket from the mannequin outside after Keaton steals the horse. There is then a realist wide shot as Keaton begins to load up the furniture but the man comes out and begins helping him, letting the audience focus on what they want to. However, Keaton is still kept centre frame to make him the centre of attention and bring our focus on his confused expression, telling the audience that he does not understand what is happening, an expressive way of communicating the joke.
A fade to black and cross fade tells us that time has passes since the family helped Keaton pack, which is an expressive technique. There is a wide shot when the wife brings out a pair of vases and and a suitcase to Keaton for him to pack, which does not force the viewer to look at a particular thing, but it does cuts closer to Keaton as he crushes the vase in the case, making sure that they see the final gag here. A close up of the address is given is expressive, since it tells us what he is supposed to be doing. The dog biting Keaton’s hand begins in a wide shot, but then cuts to a close up as he is bitten, bringing our attention to the joke for the sake of comedy. There is a wide shot, though, when Keaton uses the punching glove as an indicator, and foe when he accidentally punches the cop with it. The jokes made about police in this film represents the social distrust for police at the time, and the film is shot in an actual real city, which shows what reality was like at the time, but it is not objective reality shown here, which would be realism, since Keaton’s cart is an impossible structure, which is similar to German expressionism, except here it is done for a joke.
There is an iris shot of the gland specialist sign to bring our attention onto it for the sake of the joke being made. There is then a passage of time shown through a cross fade to black, which is also expressive. An intertitle card explains the context of the police parade, but a wide shot lets us look where we want. The same happens when Keaton rolls into the parade. There is also an intertitle card though, explaining that Keaton’s girlfriend if the mayor’s daughter. This police parade scene is a mix of realism and expressionism, as it represents the police force of L.A in the 1920’s, but there is also Keaton carrying an impossible load of furniture on a wagon in the middle of it all. Parallel editing between the cart and the mayor shows his frustration at it, and a close up of Keaton shows his cluelessness in all of this chaos. There is more parallel editing between the terrorist on the roof and Keaton on the wagon to set up the joke of it landing next to him.
We are not shown Keaton jumping off the cart, which is expressionist as it sets up the joke of Keaton hiding behind the umbrella in the panicking crowd. The wide shot here though lets us look around the frame ourselves before noticing Keaton , which is a realist technique. The cops are always kept out of frame before they run at Keaton, which is expressive as it deliberately hides the joke from the audience to make the surprise more comedic. The same thing happens as Keaton walks down the alley with the cops following him before one jumps out in front of him. An iris shot of Keaton sat in the car with a tie as a fake moustache he is expressive as it forces the audience to notice it. The see-saw joke is realist as it is a symmetric wide shot that lets the audience focus on either part of the frame they want, but is an expressive scenario that cuts to a close up of Keaton being ready to jump off to help us understand the joke. A vignette shot brings our attention to Keatons’s disapproving girlfriend, and a wide shot with Keaton centre frame to keep our focus on him, which is an expressionist technique of conveying a joke. The final shot of the gravestone is expressionist, as it makes us focus on the joke of his bizarre death.
The beginning shot in The High Sign is an intertitle card establishing Keaton as “our hero” and providing contextual information, which is expressive. The Newspaper gag is expressionist but the setting is a realist depiction of a seaside town of the time period. Also shot in a long take to make the joke clearer. Keaton is kept centre frame during the cop banana gun joke to keep our attention on him. The man flipping bottles on the beach is centre frame, while Keaton is on the right side of the shot, a realist technique through long shot but only done for comedy so that the audience can see reactions of both men. Long take of Keaton shooting bottles used to let the audience focus on what they want but cuts to close up of man mocking him with exaggerated reactions and makes us focus on him, but this situation is expressionist also as Keaton makes impossible misses/shots
The film uses a realist technique as the man is shot in his back, which is not centre frame either. The man behind the counter is kept out of frame for a comedic jump at Keaton to scare him, which is expressive since it is hiding information from the audience as it is from the protagonist for comedic effect. The shooting range scene is a long shot to show Keatons lack of aim for comedy, an expressive joke shot in a realist technique. The Blinking Buzzards are a comedic/comic representation of gangs in the 1920’s America. An Inter title card gives information on the gang, telling the audience how bad they are instead of letting them see for themselves or come to own conclusions, so this is expressive. The shot of Keaton worrying cuts to dog with meat to tell us directly what he is focusing on, and force our attention onto it. An iris shot on the gang leaders message makes us look at it to understand the message.
An iris shot on calendar also makes us understand more contextual information when it was already visible in the background of the long shot of the basement. Another intertitle card gives contextual information on August Nickelnurser, explaining his character before the audience even sees him, and he is first shown in a vignette shot to make us focus on him and understand that this man in frame is him. A close up on the letter from the gang to August has the sides of the frame blacked out to make us reads the text and understand the circumstances August is in. Another iris shot on August’s daughter is done to show her reaction and pondering, showing her to be an important plot element. A long shot of the gang’s basement lets us focus on anything in frame which is a realist technique, but the cartoon depiction of real gangs through exaggerated performances also makes it expressive. The iris shot of the gang leader shows that he’s impressed by Keaton’s shooting skills and makes sure that the audience notices it so that the plot can progress. An iris shot keeps our focus on the cash in the register to make us see it, therefore setting up the robbery joke. Parallel editing between the dog and Keaton shows the relation between them, but does not a show where Keaton is shooting, just how he is faking it. Expressive as the audience’s attention has to be on whatever is important in that moment, and is not allowed to wander on anything in frame assuming its all visible and in focus. A close up on the cat shows that it is afraid of the dog, which is expressive as it makes the audience understand the correlation and that events are about to escalate because of it. The film then cuts between Keaton and the dog to show that things will escalate via parallel editing, making certain that the audience understands why the bell wont stop ringing and Keaton has to improvise.
An iris shot of the woman brings attention to how she is persuading Keaton. The iris shot of Nickelnurser’s business card does the same. A close up of Keaton stood with gang member behind holding a skull shows us what scares Keaton for the joke. A close up of Keatons shocked face looking at the letter, him looking at camera to show shock, and an intertitle card telling him to kill Nickelnurser tells us directly the bizarre scenario. Intertitle card literally tells us what Keaton has to do and the bizarre nature of it. It’s an expressionist gag as Keaton paints coat hanger on wall and it magically works. Iris shot of banana gun makes us pay attention to it and make the connection to the earlier gag, representing social distrust again of police at the time. There is a fourth wall break as Keaton looks at camera and does the high sign for comedic effect, which is expressionist. A long shot is used when the cop catches up to Keaton, and we can see them fighting and Keaton trying to use the high sign but also the man approaching in the background with a baton. This is a realist technique as the audience is allowed to look at what they want to in frame. Another Inter title card tells us that there are booby traps in home for Nickelnurser’s safety even though we can see that, so the filmmakers are making sure the audience understands the set up for the climax, an expressionist technique.
It’s another expressionist gag as Keaton looks into his tea cup and sees a horse kicking, which is symbolic and conveys meaning to the audience. Not objective reality. There is a realist long shot showing August pretending to be dead on floor and his daughter mourning him while the gang member can be seen in the background congratulating Keaton before leaving. But then the film cuts to a close up on August and his daughter to show him revealing that he is still alive, and she shocked as she looks at the camera, breaking the fourth wall and directly communicating her emotions to the audience, all expressionist techniques. Parallel editing of gang outside and Keaton inside shows that they know he has faked August’s death. The chase sequence begins with close ups to direct our attention to where the action is happening, such as the window shot of Keaton falling back down onto the gang member poking his head out, but eventually cuts to a long shot to let us look where we want. The house here is similar to the one in One Week, constructed in an expressionist way for comedic effect, but shot in a realist way to let us see the whole joke. However The High Sign does cut to close up shots occasionally to break up the long shot to make us focus on important moments, e.g when Keaton finds August and his daughter again, guiding behind the curtains. The gang leader is shown in a long shot as he aims his gun at August’s daughter, centre frame despite the fact that Keaton is in frame, to the right. This is a realist technique as our attention can wander to Keaton pulling the trap door lever, the gang leader holding the gun up, or August’s daughter’s distressed reaction. However, just before this it cuts to a close up of the gang leader and the woman, getting the audience to focus on this dramatic development. The final shot iris zooms in on Keatons hand to show high sign gag, focusing the audiences attention on this one last joke.
The scene setting in the first intertitle card is expressionist, influencing the audience. The next shot is of the sun rising, which is an expressionist technique as it is sped up to show the passage of time, communicating information to the audience without letting them realise it themselves. Then next intertitle card gives context to the layout of the house. Buster is kept centre frame at first to keep the audiences focus on him, which is an expressionist technique. The next shot is a long shot in focus depth which is realism as it allows the audience to look where they want and cut with their own eyes, taking information from the frame without it being told directly to them.
There is then an iris shot of the mirror, forcing our attention onto the man’s reflection and woman’s picture, which is expressive. The film cuts between Keaton and his roommate to show Keatons jealously aswell as his exaggerated reaction, which is a form of expressionism, using unrealistic characters to convey information to the audience rather than attempting to capture objective reality. The camera cuts to a closer shot of the two men to show their gestures and expressions, which is expressionist as it directs our focus onto objects of significance. We cut between one side and the other side of the houses front door, which is done in parallel editing to show that the mans actions on one side affect Keaton on the other, which is an expressionist technique of conveying information although the film is representing a real way of removing tooth. The long shot of Keaton’s tooth being removed is realist. An expressionist close up of Keaton shows that he is healed, directing our attention to this important plot development.
Keaton is kept centre frame when its just him in shot to keep our attention on him, which is expressionist. An iris shot of gas meter brings attention to it. The table with strings gag is an expressive scenario but shot in a long shot on static camera so a realist technique reflecting the widespread poverty of the time in America. There is a similarity to one week in the crafty and unrealistic furniture that is expressionist but reflects the poverty of this time period so its realist context represented in an expressionist way with realist techniques. No particular person focused on here, the film only shows the aspects of the house, however its not objective reality represented here as the scene is for the purpose of a gag. Parallel editing is used during the chase sequence to cut between Keaton and his roommate to tell the audience that both events are happening at the same time. An iris shot is used to bring the audiences attention to the medicine labels, which is expressionism.
There is a long shot of Keaton running around a building to escape the dog on the roof, which is realist as it allows for the audience to look at what they want to in frame. The buildings here represent rural farmland of America at the time, which is realism. The romance between the woman and two men also shows the traditional gender roles of the time. Another iris shot of the dog in Keaton’s one room house brings our focus to it. The Scarecrow shows a realist context of farming in America during the 1920’s, as seen by the maize fields and agriculture technology, scarecrows and huts. A long shot of Keaton dressed as a scarecrow hiding from the men in maize field is a realist technique. The costumes, veichles and technology are realist depictions of the time period as seen in the horses still being used on roads. An iris shot on screw being put on lady’s finger to is done to make a joke but shows poverty in realism through expressive technique. Intertitle card at the end shows that the couple are now married, directly giving information to the audience, which is expressive filmmaking. Cinematography, editing, mise en scen and performance are expressionist and the scenarios are too but represent realist context through some realist techniques for the purpose of a gag, similarly to one week.
Expressive scenario of a marriage being performed on a motorbike ended through an expressive filmmaking technique in the form of an iris shot, directing the audiences attention onto everything in frame and not blacked out.
In the opening shot of One Week, an iris shot reverses and expands to reveal the whole screen, which is expressive as it adds a layer to the film that does not capture objective reality. The first shot of the calendar is an example of expressionism as it directly gives the audience information to contextualise the film, such as what day of the week it is on a calendar. The first intertitle card is expressionist as the text is there to manipulate the audience into accepting the message and to convey the point that the film is making, hinting at the bad events to come in “such a sour echo”.The sound that is added to the film in post production is expressive as it tells the audience when something is exiting or sad, and so on, manipulating them into understanding the meaning rather than capturing objective reality and letting them come to their own conclusions. The next shot is an iris shot with a bell centre frame, the rest of the shot cut out by the black sides of the iris, directing the audiences attention onto the bell, or whatever is important in that moment of the film.
There is then a cross fade from the bell to the newly married couple leaving the church, which is also expressive as it shows that these two events are connected. The shot of them leaving the wedding is realist though as it is a long shot that allows for the viewer to direct their attention to anything in frame, although the central framing of the couple who are descending the church steps to be exactly centre frame shows that they are the object of importance here. So here, cinematography creates a mixture of realism and expressionism through composition. People throw rice at the couple aggressively, which is a realist depiction of the tradition, but the aggressiveness of their throwing of the rice and the shoes is there to be funny and therefore expressive, as it does not capture objective reality.
As the couple are about to walk out of frame Keaton stops to pick up a pair of shoes, which is a gag but also reflects the poverty of the time period. The costumes that people are wearing are realistic reflections of what was fashionable at the time of filming this. And aren’t exaggerated for effect like what would be done in German Expressionism. All intertitle cards are expressive as they provide context that the film itself doesn’t, so manipulate the audience into understanding more. We then cut to a close up shot in depth of field of Handy Hank, which is expressive as it directs our attention to him, and his performance is an exaggerated depiction of a jealous man. The next shot is a 3 shot with no emphasis on any particular character so we can focus on who we want, which is a realist technique. The film is filmed on a real street-representative of America at that time. There is then a cutaway to a closeup of a wedding gift card, but it is shot in vignette to focus our attention on what is important, which is expressive, directing the audiences focus, therefore manipulating them.
There is an unrealistic and therefore expressive stunt as Keaton balances between two cars. One Week often uses exaggerated situations and performances to emphasise athleticism and bravery, which is an expressionist technique used here for the purpose of physical comedy. But this is still shot in L.A, which makes it a realist representation of America at the time of filming in the 1920s. There are no close ups or cutaways or focus directions in action sequences apart from central framing, which makes these comedic action sequences expressionist scenarios that represent the context of the films setting and time period through realist filmmaking techniques. This can also be seen in the cop being knocked out gag, which is an expressionist representation of the real distrust of police at the time in America, done for the sake of a joke here. This is expressive, but is also shot by a static camera in a long shot, which makes it a realist technique. Realist depiction of flat pack portable build your own house gift gag, realist depiction of social problem of lack of affordable housing at the time. Iris shot of delivery man and inter title card and close up on him isolating him-expressive and manipulative. Box is left right way for us to read it as it is opened, which is expressive to give context. Iris close up shot of directions sign to show that it is important plot element. Vignette shot of first direction is expressive as it forces the audience to focus on a certain thing, usually an important plot element in the film.
The shot then fades to black and brings us back to the calendar, directly giving the audience contextual information, which is expressive, showing the passage of time. Keaton’s stunt performed on the plank is expressive since it does not progress the plot at all or present bye time reality, it’s simply there for the purpose of a joke. The gender roles of the couple, the woman cooking and man working on the house, is a realistic depiction of traditional gender roles at the time. However, parallel editing is used here to show that these two events are happening no at the same time, which is expressive as it gives information directly to the audience without letting come to their own conclusions. The cinematography is also dictated by the jokes in One Week, as seen when awe cut to a long shot to get a full view of Keaton falling from the plank, which makes it expressive. There is then parallel editing between Handy Hank and the couple, and Hank’s expressions and mannerisms are extreme exaggerated to show his glee at the trick he’s pulled off, which is expressive as it strays form a realistic depiction of reality.
The house itself here is also constructed for Keaton to do stunts off, as seen when the wall flips and leaves Keatons wife hanging in mid-air, which is in no way similar to reality. This mise en scene is similar to that of German Expressionism, which used exaggerated and symbolic mise en scene to convey meaning and themes. Keaton’s wife also breaks the fourth wall when she swoons over him, looking at and therefore acknowledging the camera and audience, which is expressionist as it does not portray objective reality, and directly communicates with the audience. However, there is then an expressive scenario in the strongman giving Keaton the piano that crushes him filmed in a realism technique through long shot in depth of focus which is a realism technique as it allows for the audience to focus on what they want to.
One Week often incorporates expressionist scenarios for the sake of comedy, such as Keaton dangling from a chandelier, but films them through more realist techniques, such as long takes from static cameras, which allows for the audience to see the whole image themselves and therefore take in the entire gag. However, it also uses expressionist techniques, such as an Iris shot on the wife shouting up at Keaton to bring the audiences attention to important plot points, but at the same time is realist in its depiction of 1920’s America and traditional gender roles at the time, poverty and traditions/societal norms. Each of the little comic sequences that comprise the overall film are shot in static cameras, long shot, depth of focus etc to let the action play out, which is realist filmmaking. But parallel editing is an expressive technique as its a filmmaking technique used to convey information directly to the audience, thereby preventing them from coming to their own conclusions. In the bath scene, for example, the wife directly acknowledges the camera and therefore the audience, breaking the fourth wall, an expressive technique used here for comedic effect. As Keaton runs through the extremely high up door and lands on the ground, a long shot is incorporated so that the audience can take in the entire stunt, but is a realist technique regardless.
There is an iris shot of Keaton as he realises rain is coming through the roof, making the audience notice his dismayed and comedic reaction. This is the filmmaker making decisions for the audience rather than letting them cut with their own eyes. The whole situation of the house spinning is also expressive, done for comedic effect, shot through depth of focus and long shots which are realist techniques of filmmaking. The editing in this sequence is also expressive as the length of shots decreases and the pace of editing increases to increase the intensity and pace of the scene, therefore manipulating the audiences reaction. The wife at the piano is shown through an iris shot to signify her importance and focus the audiences attention. The intertitle card of the merry-go-round joke is literally a joke written on screen, directly communicated to the audience for comedy rather than conveyed through physical action or sequence, which is expressive. To show the effects of the storm, the house is physically altered to look more damaged and deformed, which is expressive as the depiction of reality is manipulated for comedic effect, not showing objective reality in the process. As the couple try to get their house off the railway tracks, there is parallel editing to show the train approaching, which is an expressive technique. Joke relies on our perspective and position from where we’re seeing things take place, position of camera allows joke to work, expressive as it is manipulative, shows train coming one way and makes it look like it will hit the house. The audience cant see it coming from the other way. At the end, you see the real location of the time, which is realism in the film.
The original Khuleshov Effect, created in the 1920’s by filmmaker Lev Khuleshov, here’s showing actor Ivan mosjoukine reacting to 3 different scenarios, giving his expression context and therefore meaning, despite it staying the same after each shot and relatively blank. A still shot from The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari(Robert Wiene, 1920) in which these twisted and surreal buildings reflect the theme of madness and paranoia, giving the film a visually dark and gothic aesthetic.
This mind map displays the significance of digital technology in film. It is clear that there are plenty of arguments that digital technology has made the planning, production and distributaries of films more efficient and manageable for filmmakers, replacing film as a more effective and accessible mode of film production.
Bill Nichols’ six modes of documentaries apply to all documentary films. All documentary films belong to a mode, such as reflexive, and so the theory still apply’s to all documentaries, since so documentary is n to poetic, or observatory, etc.
However, the problem with the six modes is that, while they do apply to all documentary films, documentary films do not always belong to a certain mode. They can stray from them, being in multiple modes at different points. This can be seen in The War Game (Peter Watkins, 1965) which operates in performative and participatory at times. This makes it hard to always categorise documentary films into certain, single modes, since multiple may apply to it.
This is because documentary filmmakers need to make their films entertaining to make profit, as well as making them informative and/or artistic. To do this they need to make their film interesting, and this can involve making it it different modes, so it does not strictly follow a simple, single documentary format. This leads to the categorisation of documentary films into specific modes difficult at times.
The film is about a mail delivery service that runs via railway from around the UK. It is a poetic documentary that is used to advertise the efficiency of the railway messenger service. It is in poetic mode due to the poem read out at the end that symbolises the usefulness of the train, and throughout the rest of the film the inner-workings of the railway and postal service is shown to display why it is an effective business. The poem is done to describe the efficiency of the service through a light-hearted and flowing prose.
The traditional form, using a voice-over/presenter to directly address viewers and discuss a particular subject matter. Also known as ‘the voice of god’. How we most often think of a documentary. Emphasises verbal commentary and argumentative logic, usually through a narrator. It follows a logical argument and it offers a right or ‘proper answer. David Attenborough nature documentaries is what Nichols would call expository, as facts are presented to us, the audience.
Observational documentaries:
Aims to show every-day life, un-obstructed by the filmmaker. Also known as ‘window on the world’. Cinema Verity emerged in the late 1950s-early 1960’s. This attempted to capture objective reality. So the filmmaker is a neutral observer of real life. They remain hidden behind the camera and is ignored, neither changing or influencing the events being captured. Since nothing is staged for the camera, it rushes to keep up with the action, often resulting in rough, shaky footage. Sometimes known as ‘fly on the wall’ documentary. This would be something like ‘police interceptors’.
Participatory documentaries:
Unlike observational, participatory mode has direct engagement between the filmmaker and the subjects, so the filmmaker becomes parts of the events being recorded. Their impacts on the events being recorded is acknowledged, and that could even be the point of it. Where the person making the documentary is pat of the documentary. Reggie Yates is a participatory filmmaker, where their personality is a part of the film.
Performative documentaries:
Emphasises the subject nature of the documentarian as-well as acknowledging the subjective reading of the audience. In a performative documentary, the documentary filmmaker is kind of the point. Such as Louis Theroux. The result is because he is interviewing them, provoking reactions, making the interview go a certain way. Emphasises the emotional impact on the audience.
Poetic documentaries:
Poetic mode is where moves away from objective reality to tray and grasp at “an inner truth”. It favours mood, tone and texture over accurate representations. It is literally poetic or metaphorical in its representation of something.
Reflexive documentary:
Reflexive mode is where Acknowledges the constructed nature of documentary and sort of flaunts it, in a way. A reflexive documentary offers a truth rather then the truth. Sometimes used for when the absolute truth of a situation can’t be known, e.g the last hours of Hitler’s life. The location could be exactly correct, but the dialogue could only be an approximation.
The scene begin’s with an arching wide-shot to show where the scene is taking place, what characters are involved, and establish the environment. It also show’s that Ofelia is alone in this moment. We then cut to a close-up of what’s in her book, signifying its importance, and the camera follows the images hat match up with the narration, creating a visual link between the story of fiction and the reality playing outer in front us. When Ofelia beings drawing on the wall, a close-up shows the shape that she is outlining, eluding to its significance later on in the scene, and also the effect that the chalk then has on the wall.
The camera cuts to the other side of the door to give the audience an un-obstructed view of the new environment. It also shows the scale of the hallway compared to Ofelia in a wide-shot. It also makes room for the contrast between the real and fantasy world, emphasising the nightmarish nature of the fantasy world. The wide-shot also shows how long the hallway is, which will be important as Ofelia fells from the pale-man, and also the alien architecture of the room.A close-up shows the hourglass and its importance, signifying that time may run out.
There is a wide-shot from over Ofelia’s shoulder to reveal the wide scale of the pale-mans room. The camera also stays near Ofelia to immerse us in her position, and make the audience feel like they are part of the scene. The camera crabs from left to right to follow Ofelia, keeping her centre frame and therefore the centre of the scene’s attention, but the camera is also placed on the other side of the table, allowing for us to seen all of the food placed on the table and her reaction to it.
This shot stops abruptly and rises to a slightly high-angle shot facing down at Ofelia. The stop makes the reveal of the pale man more surprising and shocking, and the camera pedestal makes him seem more imposing and also display the scale of the creature compared to Ofelia. It also rests for a moment on the pale-man to bring its horrific features to the audiences attention, allowing for them to become fearful of the monster, as they understand what it looks like.
This wide-shot brings the audience’s attention to the grotesque form of the pale man.
After picking up the Petri dish, a close-up signifies that it is important, and an over-the-shoulder shot brings the lack of eye sockets on the pale man to our attention, making us question why there are eyes on the plate and where they fit into his character. A close-up of Ofelia shows that she is looking up, and so when we see the arching shot of the tapestries we, the audience, understand where they are in the room, and the camera movement shows all of the tapestries, showing the pale-mans history without audibly explaining it.
The low angle-shot of the shoes rises to make it seem like a very tall and intimidating pile, and the camera switches focus to show Ofelia’s reaction to the shoe’s. Letting the audience know that she is realising the danger of the situation. A wide-shot shows all the key-holes, and therefore establishes the risk of this moment. A close-up of the key signifies its importance, and a close-up of it being put into the lock raises suspense as we wonder whether it will work or not.
The camera is inside the hole as Ofelia reaches for the dagger, which makes us fear for what is inside the hole and how much danger she is in by putting her arm in there, and the silhouette in the bottom right corner makes us wonder what that is, increasing the tension of the moment. A close-up of the blade shows its importance.
The pale man is kept out of focus in this shot to show that Ofelia is oblivious to him. It also keeps him in frame though to show how close he is to her, and also how she has not noticed him, and is instead focused on the food.
As Ofelia leaves, another shot lingers on the pale-man, since now we are wondering whether he will move or not. As she walks away, a close-up shows that she has come to a realisation, and the camera pans to the right to show what her attention has been caught by. A close-up of the grape brings to attention how enticing it is, and how delicious it looks. As Ofelia eats it the camera pedestals and pushes forwards, swapping focus to the pale-man to bring our attention to him and emphasise that he is about to do something, building suspense. The close-up of his hands shows the disgusting look of his fingers, and also pedestals up to show him coming to life and breathing for the first time. The next close-up shows his hands and him putting the eyes into them, answering the question posed by why the eyes were on a plate if he had no eye sockets.
The camera stays on Ofelia and keeps the pale-man out of focus to show that she is oblivious to him, and also raise tension as he approaches her. When Ofelia finally see’s him, the camera switches focus and remains eye-level with Ofelia to show how much taller and imposing he is compared to her, and install fear of the pale man in the audience. The closeup of the pale-man shows the gore when he devours the fairies, showing what he is capable of. As Ofelia turns and runs, the pale-man is kept in frame to show him wiping his mouth, and that he is ready to chase Ofelia.
The camera rapidly pans to the left to show that Ofelia is running back home, keeping her centre frame and therefore the centre of attention, and the fast movement of the camera creates tension and a frantic moment. The camera cuts back to the pale man to show that he is now in pursuit of Ofelia. The shaky camera used as she is running creates tension and reflects her panic. The shot of the other side of the wall slowly pushes out/dolly’s backwards, implying that there is no hope left. The pale-man is also shown entering the hallway and holding up his arm to let the audience know that he can see her, and is going to approach her.
As the pale-man walks down the hallway the camera follows his feet by quickly crabbing to the left, showing that he is heading towards Ofelia and also showing the speed with which he is moving, raising the tension of the scene. A close-up shows the chalk dropping, showing where it landed and how Ofelia can’t retrieve it, the chair legs wobbling, showing how close it is to toppling Oliver and therefore raising the risk and tension of the moment, and Ofelia’s horrified reaction to the pale man. The camera also quickly cuts back and forth between her and the pale man to emphasise how quickly he is catching up to her. When Ofelia climbs out of the doorway, there is a close-up of her hands on the floor to show how desperate and close to safety, and the camera quickly cuts between her feet and the pale mans closeness to them, raising tension and fear, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. The doorway lets in light from the other room, emphasising the contrast between the two worlds and making the atmosphere and themes portrayed by the colour pallets more prevalent. There is also a close-up of the door to bring our attention to it shutting permanently.
There is clear similarity between the pale man and Vidal, such as their dining rooms, and the glassware on their tables.
Sound:
As the images come onto the page some fidgeting scribbling and scratching sounds can be heard, establishing a connection between the drawing and the magic of the moment, due to an invisible artist. The twinkle sound heard also adds to the fairy and fantasy themes/environment of the film. The non-diegetic narration shows Ofelia’s closeness to the story, and also shows the context for the images in the book. The non-diegetic composed score is subtle, with piano notes that adds a peaceful yet mysterious and somber atmosphere to the scene.
The chalk produces a sharp scraping sound on the wall, showing how rough and in-welcoming the architecture of the mill is, helping us understand Ofelia’s desire to escape. It also signifies the importance of the chalk in that moment, as important objects are the loudest in the diegetic sound score at their moment of significance. The later fizzing contrasts this, emphasising that the foaming and fizzing chalk is unnatural and adding to the fantasy element of the scene.
The music builds into a grand finish as Ofelia finally opens the door, signifying a change in environment and an important moment in the scene, keeping the audiences attention on the new world and building suspense as the door is slowly opened. The music here also signifies a grand entrance by Ofelia, showing her royal status in the fantasy world. The door also sounds extremely heavy as is it opened, showing Ofelia’s determination and obsession in the fantasy world. It also sounds like a boulder being pushed aside, adding a secretive and ancient feel to the new world.
As the camera shows the hallway, the music again builds into a trumpet filled climax, making the new environment feel un-welcoming and sinister. The distant diegetic sound of the pale man’s nasally and weak breathing makes the audience feel uncomfortable and concerned as Ofelia goes deeper into this fantasy world. This also establishes the pale-man’s power and dominion over the place, and eludes to a dark undertone to the new place.
The non-diegetic score regularly hits high notes that make the fantasy world feel more imposing and powerful. The diegetic sound of the chair wobbling also eludes to the later importance of it. A deep, fast sound of wind plays to make the environment feel cold and hostile, almost serving as a warning to Ofelia. Ofelia’s footsteps are quiet and isolated in the thick silence of the moment as she walks down the hallway, raising suspense as the audience anticipates a sudden rise in the sound mix or something to be revealed on screen. Otherwise the silence and unnerving ambient sounds like fire crackling and wind moving through the hall puts the audience on edge.
As Ofelia moves down the table and gets closer to the pale man the pitch and tempo of the breathing sounds increase, implying that they are coming from the pale man, making him more of an uncomfortable and intimidating presence, invoking fear of him in the audience. The composed score also reaches a sudden high as the pale man is revealed, making it more of a shock to the audience, creating fear of him in them, and also showing how invested Ofelia was in the food to the extent that she did not notice the pale man sat there.
This high-angle shot shows Ofelia’s terrifies expression at the pale man’s display of violence, and also how much taller he is than her.
As Ofelia picks up the Petri dish with the eyes on, a wet squelching sound can’t be heard. This establishes the texture of the eyes, creating disgust in them and adding to the detail of the grotesque nature of the pale man. While Ofelia looks at the tapestries on the ceiling, the distant and faint sound of babies crying creates an audible link to the images on screen, signifying the violence and brutality of the pale man. As Ofelia brings out the key, a sharp ringing sound emerges in the diegetic sound mix, showing that it is an item of significance at this moment, and is about to play an important part in the scene.
The skittish and chirping diegetic sounds of the fairy’s movement signals to Ofelia and therefore the audience what they are trying to communicate, and their light and quick chirps convey emotions of happiness and a sense of victory, which quickly changes once the pale man wakes up, making the violence of the moment when he devours them all the more visceral and shocking to the audience.
The blade that Ofelia retrieves produces a sharp yet faint ringing sound, emphasising its importance to the plot, making it also more memorable once it becomes an important item in the film, much later on. As soon as Ofelia turns back to the pale man the non-diegetic composed score evolves into a deep and sinister toned moment, which creates feelings of tension and discomfort in the audience, as they, and Ofelia, are now expecting him to move, raising the tension of the scene.The non-diegetic sound of a harp also signifies and conveys Ofelia’s captivating by the fruit, showing why she has stopped and what has caught her attention, adding a heavenly and holy importance to the food on the table. The score also gradually picks up as Ofelia gets closer to eating the fruit, and this conveys to the audience that a direct and immediate consequence of this is about to occur, which we understand to be the pale man since the camera comes to focus on him.
The tapestries bring attention to the grim history of the pale man, and how he specifically poses a threat to Ofelia.
As the pale man finally wakes up the non-diegetic score abruptly cuts off, making the moment more surprising and forcing the audience to keep complete attention on the pale man. The diegetic sounds of his movements are sudden, like bones cracking as they move for the first time in ages. His breathing too comes in long and deep and rough gasps, showing that this creature is ancient, and also making it seem more appealing and repulsive to the audience. This is also done by the sounds of his movements as he begins to walk, which are crooked and wet, which also increase in the sound mix as he gets closer to the camera, making the audience physically want to get further away from him.
We understand that the quick and frantic chirps from the fairy’s are intended to prevent Ofelia from eating the fruit, adding to the tension of the scene as we understand that they know about the pale man and the threat he poses. As the pale man moves his fingers, the string instruments in the composed score suddenly pick up, adding to the crooked and unnatural movements of the pale man with sudden and violent musical notes.
The non-diegetic composed and diegetic scores are layered, exampled by the manic chirping of the fairy’s and the building of the pitch of the intense and sinister music. This layering of sound makes the scene more intense and engaging for the audience.
Ofelia’s breathing deepens and accelerates, emphasising the fear that the pale man creates in her, and therefore the audience is left on edge too. The sounds of her footsteps as she sprints down the hall are rapid and heavy, showing her desperation to escape. When the pale man enters screen again and lifts up his arm a loud and screeching sound plays and temporarily dominates the diegetic sound mix, making the pale man a much more imposing and terrifying presence. We hear the diegetic sounds of his footsteps as he approaches Ofelia, increasing the tension off the scene. The chalk makes a faint but noticeable diegetic snapping sound, bringing the audiences attention to this and therefore establishing it as important. The diegetic sounds of the pale mans screeching sounds similar to a child in pain, naturally creating feelings of discomfort in the audience, making the creature more revolting and terrifying, and also adding tension, reminding the audience constantly that he is getting closer to Ofelia. The scraping sound of chalk on concrete is once again inserted to emphasise the importance of it as Ofelia draws one the ceiling. As Ofelia crawls into the real world, the close-up of her hands on the floorboard is accompanied by the diegetic sound of squeaking, which emphasises her desperateness to escape, and her closeness to safety and yet, danger. The same thing happens as the pale man thrusts his arms at Ofelia, showing his desperation in killing her. As the door shuts we also hear the diegetic sound of burning to show that it is shutting permanently.
The biblical amount of exotic food makes it enticing and tempting to both Ofelia and the audience, helping us understand why she chose to eat it, despite the earlier earning not to.
Editing:
The scene is kept at a slow pace by leaving shots long and in-interrupted, letting the audience, and Ofelia, take in the environment around them, and giving the scene appropriate time to raise suspense. As the camera dolly’s back down the hallway after Ofelia opens the door, the shot fades to a further away position, showing a passage of time and creating room without an unnecessary cut for us to view the hallway and new colour pallet. It also works better than a regular cut since Ofelia is still in the same place as in the previous shot, so a cut would be jarring as we, the audience, typically expect a change in shot after a cut, so a fade gives us more time to process this change in camera position.
We understand the scene with Ofelia opening the door and beginning to explore the pale man’s world to be continuity edited, as each shot takes place after the last. The scene changes to parallel editing though as the camera cuts back to the hourglass to remind the audience that time is running out. This is because we, the audience, understand that these two moments are taking place at the same time, and this serves the purpose of keeping in the audiences mind that time is running out for Ofelia, even when the hourglass is not on screen, raising the suspense of the scene and keeping the audience invested in the film as they know that things could go wrong for Ofelia at ant moment.
Post-filming, a red and hellish colouring has been added to the scene to make the environment seem. More intimidating and sinister. Every time an important objest is shown, it is done so via glance-object shots, signifying their importance as the camera keeps them as the only thing on screen. After releasing the fairies, the camera cuts back to Ofelia after holding focus on them for a moment, and she has moved, signifying a passage of time to avoid pointless scenes of the character walking around when the layout of this new world has already been established to us.
The scene cuts between Ofelia and her hand inside the hole to show that she does not know where her arm is reaching, what may be in the hole, and also her pained and struggling expression. As Ofelia leaves the room, her mental process is shown by moving the camera between her face and the fruit on the table, and the scene does not cut here so that we can see her turn her head and the camera move with it via panning to the left to show what she is looking at, and therefore what she is thinking about it.
As the pale man approaches Ofelia, the camera only cuts twice to slow the pace of the scene down and capture the audiences attention with the horror of the moment, and also raising suspense by making the moment feel longer by lack of edits. The scene begins to cut more rapidly between Ofelia and the pale man to show their proximity to each other, create tension in the scene and reflect the chaos and panic of the moment, immersing the audience in the process. There is more parallel editing when the camera cuts between the pale man and Ofelia to show that he is chasing her, making the scene more intense. A reaction shot shows Ofelia’s desperate reaction to the doorway shutting, emphasising how much worse the situation is becoming. The camera cuts rapidly between Ofelia on one side of the door and the pale man on the other, significantly increasing the tension of the moment. The scene finally stops cutting and rests on a wide-shot of Ofelia above the trapdoor after a close-up brings our attention to the door shutting, and this slows the pace of the scene and allows for the tension to dissipate.
This in-cut close up forces the audience to witness the horror and gore of the pale man.
Mise-en-scen:
Ofelia’s outfit is similar to that of Anne Frank, which links to the time period of world war 2 and also emphasises the themes of suffering and hiding and imprisonment by Ofelia in the wake of ruthless of fascism. This also links to the pile of shoes shown later on, creating fascist symbolism in the pale man. The fairy tale drawings are similar to fairy tales of medieval Europe, contributing to Ofelia’s desire to escape the present to live in another world. The colour of the room she is in is blue and silvery, adding to the sharp contrast between it and the fantasy world. It also makes the room feel cold and still, and the old objects randomly scattered around the room establish how hidden and secluded it is, and why Ofelia chose to go here to complete the task set by the faun. The colour of the room also reflects the colour of the Captains uniform, symbolising his control over the real world.
The size of the doorway is quite small, making it seem more claustrophobic , and also references Alice in wonderland, in which the young protagonist takes a journey into a beautiful fantasy world through a portal, except here the horror is amplified by the supposedly idealistic world of Ofelia’s imagination being a nightmare in disguise.
The walls of the fantasy world seem to be coated in blood, which gives it a hellish and nightmare like quality. The hallway is filled with pillars that seem to resemble those one would expect to find in ancient cathedrals, which may be done to reference instances of child abuse or demonic religious imagery. The hourglass is a clear link to the theme of time in the movie, more specifically time running out. There also seems to be fingers clutching the hourglass, symbolising the pale man’s control over time in this world, or a tree’s branches, perhaps in reference to the tree in the film earlier.
The large fireplace behind the pale man creates hellish imagery, and references the Captains fireplace, inventing a link between the two characters and their control of wealth, and destruction of innocence, and tendency for violence. Ofelia’s costume her also makes her stand out, and signifies her innocence in a world built on top of death and suffering. The bountiful food on the table references fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel, in which evil witches lure in innocent children via food. The food on the table also references Vidal, and also looks fake, as if imagined, filled with jellies and fruit. This is done to reference the colour red again, and therefore blood, and also to create an image of what a child of Ofelia’s age may imagine a feat to look like.
The pale man is sat at the head of the table with his arms layer out in front of him, showing his dominance over the room, and also referencing the Captains same place at his table, and his control over his world. The pale man’s body is revolting and deformed, humanoid yet alien, with sagging skin, red eyes, sharp fingers, and extremely pale skin, exposing the veins beneath. This creates feelings of repulsion in the audience, creating a disgusting and hideous creature that matches its actions of cruelty and violence, perhaps showing what Vidal looks like beneath his own skin. The pale mans sagging skin also shows that he has not eaten in a long time, and his previous fat has just come to hand off his body. The lack of eye sockets also removes all capacity for emotion. The blackened fingers also show corruption and greed. The eyes on the table also seem stuck to the petri dish due to a sort of disgusting slime attaching them both, adding to the disgust that the pale man’s physical from conveys.
The tapestries are shown to convey the pale man’s violent history without unneeded dialogue. The architecture also links to medieval catholic cathedral architecture, and they also show that the pale man may have a disturbing pride in his cruel history. The pile of shoes is an obvious link to the Holocaust and themes of child suffering and Fascism, also showing how deadly and ruthless the pale man is, and how many other people have tried, and failed, to defeat him.
The key that Ofelia holds is gold and crooked, showing its importance but also fantastical nature. The dagger, also, is gold and bright silver, with elegant engravings and a curved hilt that looks to the faun’s horns, which makes it seem like a beautiful and valuable weapon, fit for royalty. The grape that Ofelia notices as she leaves is large, plum-sized even! It also has water on it, making it seem enticing and delicious.
After devouring the fairies, the pale man has blood all over his mouth and dripping down his chest, making him seem even more ruthless and un-caring for the suffering he causes to others. His now visible legs are skinny, crooked and frail, showing his previous inactivity, and how his form is almost human, just not completely, almost as if it is trying to replicate a human. When Ofelia finally shuts the door, we see a bright light spilling out from underneath it, showing that the door is shutting.
The tracking shot shows all of the food on the table, and Ofelia’s interest in it, by keeping both in focus and frame.
Performance:
As the drawings come onto the page, Ofelia seems completely immersed and fascinated in the drawings, showing her persistent child-like interest in magic and fairy tales. As the chalk begins to dissolve into the wall she seems surprised, showing that even she cannot predict how the magic will effect her world, yet she does not seem scared or apprehensive, signifying that she is not scared of the fantasy world, just eager to explore it. She also takes a good amount of time to study the hallway, showing that she is eager but not reckless in her exploration of the fantasy world. She takes her time as she walks about, which we, the audiences, knows to be foolish, as time is running out. This shows that she is mindful of danger but can be distracted by her obsession with the stunning and alien world in front of her, and become oblivious to her time limit in it.
She does not take her eyes off the food on the table as she walks down it, displaying her interest in it, and foreshadowing her later folly in being tempted by it. This also gives a reason for her to be shocked by the sudden appearance of the pale man. As with everything else not from the real world, Ofelia is absorbed by her curiosity in this foreign creature, yet still seems disgusted by its physical appearance. Her breathing gets more rapid and heavy as she looks around and notices the numerous signs of the pale-man’s danger, showing that she has caught on to the danger she may be in herself.
When she pulls out the key, Ofelia seems temporarily completely engulfed by her fascination in the item as she stares at it with a surprised expression for a few seconds. As she tries to retrieve the dagger from the hole, Ofelia briefly stands on her tip-toes to remind the audience that she is still small and vulnerable, and amplifies the risk and therefore suspense of the moment as we know that she cannot see what is in the hole. Her struggling expression shows that she is in possible danger, and is also not an invisible protagonist.
The diegetic ringing sound brings our attention to the dagger and its importance, and its intricate design makes it seem like an important and precious item.
As Ofelia walks up to the pale man she seems nervous, letting the audience realise that she expects something to happen now, raising the suspense. When she tries to eat the grape she frustratedly swats the fairy’s away, and puts on an expression of pure joy and euphoria as she eats the grape, which show the audience the extent of her ignorance in this moment.
The movements of the pale man are sudden and crooked, his legs wobbling as he walks, showing how frail they are. His breathing is rough and laboured, showing his age, and his hands sake, showing his hunger and recent wake up from, presumably, a very long nap. Ofelia’s reaction to the pale man matches that of the audiences, disgusted and disturbed. Her breathing quickly becomes fast and heavy as she runs away, showing her panic, and her face and voice is terrified as she see’s the door closing, showing how desperate she is to escape. The pale man is clearly blind and reliant on his hands, as he recklessly stumbles about and holds his hands out before him to see where he is going.
After the chalk breaks, Ofelia looks back to see the pale man approaching her, and at his her face becomes pained and terrified, showing how much more serious and urgent the situation has become, making us, the audience, sympathise with Ofelia and also making the scene all the more intense and engaging. The pale man is also shown to be sadistic by the malicious grin on his bloody moth, showing his morbid pleasure in making others suffer.
As Ofelia finally escapes, we can see her face as she crawls desperately out of the hole, showing her eagerness to escape. As her legs are pulled out of the fantasy world we see a frustrated expression on the pale-man’s face and his arms frantically swinging to catch Ofelia, showing his desperate greed and hunger. When Ofelia shuts the door her breathing slowly slows to show that she has finally escaped danger, but suddenly picks up as the banging and screaming temporarily increases, establishing the fear that the pale man has created in her. But her panic evidently dissipates as the silence overcomes the screaming from the pale man.
At the beginning of the fig tree sequence, the camera pans to the right to follow the movement of the soldiers rushing into the woods. This shows that they are the dominant force in this moment and keeps the audiences attention on them. The movement of the soldiers and Ofelia’s are also from the left side of the screen to the right, implying a journey on both sides of the story. We then cut to Ofelia and the shot has her in frame to show that she is the centre of her side of this scene, and also that she is running away from the mill. It also stays at her eye-level, putting us in her position and creating relatability and empathy in the audience for Ofelia.We cut back to the Captain and see the camera rapidly pushing past trees to keep up with him and his horse. This creates a fast pace and feeling of movement, and how fast he is moving, and brings the audience into the scene. A wide shot quickly crabs to the right to show that he is ahead of the rest of the soldiers, showing his position at the heads of authority, and his obsession to find the rebels. It also shows how many men he has under his command, and how loyally they follow him into danger, displaying his power and control.
After cutting back to Ofelia, a low-angle shot shows how small she is compared to the rest of the woods, and therefore the daring of her quest, and therefore the danger that she is in. the shot after this one is a high-angle until Ofelia approaches and nears the camera. It then becomes a mid-shot to show that Ofelia is looking out into the woods in adventure. The movement of the camera also keeps the pace going and immerses the audience, making them feel less like an observer to the events in the film but that they are actually in the film, involved in what’s going on.
The camera then arches around her to reveal the tree she is looking for. It also begins to tilt upwards to reveal the full scale of the tree and its scale in comparison to Ofelia, implying how much danger she is in and also framing it like a dominant building, making it feel more intimidating and imposing, like its in control of the environment around it. This also show’s that Ofelia is not at all afraid of the tree, and in the face of mysterious and possibly dangerous forces she is only overcome with curiosity and child-like joy, not fear or apprehension.
The wide-shot shows just how large the tree is compared to Ofelia.
A glance object show’s what she is holding, stones, and this temporary focus on them signifies their importance to the plot. There is also a glance-object of her shoes. This could be a foreshadow to the shoes he gains later on in the film, but here it is primarily for the purpose of signifying how rotten and in-clean this environment around and inside the tree is. A wire shot then brings the camera up to bring the branch into frame, keeping focus on Ofelia and it to show what her expression is like, showing that she has noticed, and what has captured her interest, signifying its importance in this scene.
The camera pulls backwards and pedestals upwards via crane shot to reveal the dress. This shot establishes that Ofelia is now heading straight into the danger, and the dress in kept centre frame to show that it is important that it is placed there, and foreshadows that it will play a part in the film later on, which it does. As Ofelia crawls through the tunnel we cut back to Vidal via hidden cut, but she and him are still moving from left to right, showing a nearing end to their journeys. The lighting in the tunnel is also dark and gloomy, creating an unsafe and uncertain atmosphere, but the lighting is bright enough for us to see Ofelia’s face, keeping her expression clear and visible to the audience. After cutting back to Vidal’s side of the scene, we see a close-up of his boots hitting the floor to establish that he has confident footing, and the force with which he hits the ground signals his intensity and aggressiveness. The camera also follows him and keeps Vidal centre frame to maintain him as the focus of this scene.
There is a glance-object of the fire to create a connection between what Vidal is thinking and why he has come to the conclusion that the rebels are still nearby. The camera then pedestals up and arch’s around the Captains head to show his thought process and also keeps the other soldier in frame, but not at the centre, to show his loyalty to the Captain and show to them audience that he is not saying anything important in this moment. The camera pushes in slowly to show that Vidal has noticed something. A glance-object show’s what he has noticed and the fact that this is important to the Captain, holding the viewer’s attention as an important plot device is revealed.
This low-angle shot frames Ofelia’s as a heroic protagonist.
The antibiotic bottle is kept centre-frame in the close-up shot as the Captain lifts it up to make it obvious to the audience what it is, and why it is important. The Captain himself is also kept centre-frame to keep the audience’s attention on him and his movements. As Vidal shouts into the woods, the camera is positioned in a low-shot from behind him to show where he reckons the rebels are and where he is shouting at, and then a high-angle wide-shot shot from in front of him shows the size of the forest and emphasises that the rebels could be anywhere, building suspense, and also making the audience question whether this shot is from the perspective from the rebels or not. An extreme close up of Vidal then Showa how intense and obsessed Vidal is to the cause of destroying the rebels.
When the rebels are finally revealed, they are all kept in a wide-shot which shows how many there are and how they are all glaring at the soldiers after they retreat. After we cut back to Ofelia, who is now crawling through the tunnel, she, like Vidal was, is kept centre-frame to keep our attention on her and her reaction to the environment around her. A long-shot of the hallway creates suspense, and the camera slowly pushing in creates the feeling os claustrophobia and makes the atmosphere more tense, making us wonder in fear where the danger is coming from and what it will look like.
the toad is revealed by the camera moving from Ofelia to the shot in a single take, building suspense and slowly bringing the toad into frame, showing what it looks like, where it is, and how Ofelia reacts to it. There is then an over-the-shoulder shot from behind the toad, which personify it, adding to the fantasy element of the scene, and also showing how much bigger it is than Ofelia. After the toad licks Ofelia’s face, we see a close-up of her hand that also serves as a match on action to signify that she has dropped the stones, and that this is about to have an important consequence to the scene.
A match-on-action shows her picking them up, and then a wide-shot is done to show how far the toad is from Ofelia, and therefore the power of the burp. The way that the edges of the frame are also covered by mud adds to the feeling of being trapped, immersing the viewer in Ofelia’s situation. The camera then cut’s to a close-up of Ofelia’s hand to show what she has picked up and how this is important. After the toad has died, the camera follows Ofelia to build suspense as she approaches the key, and keep the audience immersed in the moment as a participant in the story, not just a mutual bystander, since we see the key at the same time she does. As she crawls towards the key, we see what it is, and by keeping Ofelia in frame we see that it is her objective to obtain. The key is then kept centre frame, like the antibiotic bottle earlier, to show its importance to the plot and the character. There is then a close-up of Ofelia after she escapes the tree to show how tired and exhausted she is. It also tracks her movements and moves the right enough to reveal that she has lost the dress, and establish the trouble she faces now. The camera also moves back to eye-level to create sympathy for her as she realises the trouble that she is in.
The over-the-shoulder shows the scale of the toad as opposed to Ofelia.
Sound:
As Vidal and his troops leave the mill, the non-diegetic score immediately picks up into an intense and dramatic orchestral tone which is emphasised by trumpets and other horn instruments signalling a grand arrival but with a dark undertone, indicating the power of the men but also their dark and immoral motives. The diegetic sounds also increase suddenly as the scene is quickly filled with the sounds of multiple horse hooves, neighing and the shouts of men. This immerses the audience and also emphasises the intensity of the moment., and the speed and purpose with which the men are moving.
the trumpets decrease in tone and pitch as we cut to Ofelia, but does not put the scene in complete silence as the heroic and exiting tune keeps playing, keeping the audience’s attention and focus on the scene, and not losing the fat and aggressive pace. However we can still hear the muffles and distant sounds of men and horses as we are with Ofelia which immerses us in the setting and makes it feel more realistic. It also establishes that Ofelia and Vidal are leaving the mill at the same time, making the rest of the sequence parallel editing. The contrast between the aggressive and dramatic music that plays when Vidal is on screen and the bright and peaceful and heroic music that plays for Ofelia contrasts their characters.
As Ofelia walks through the forest, we hear the sounds of mud and rustling beneath her feet. This immerses the audience in the setting of the scenes, so even something as small as ambient diegetic sounds can contribute to how much the audience is attached to a scene and environment in a film, including the stones in her hand, which signifies their importance. After reaching the tree, a dramatic horn sound picks up in the mix to foreshadow that something is wrong, and that danger is possibly approaching. This keeps the audience invested and on the edge of their seats and building suspense, and also adds a dark and serious atmosphere to the scene.
The diegetic sounds are drowned out by that of the Roy this beating of horse hooves, showing their force and drive.
As the camera pushes in on the dress, the diegetic sound of wind picks up in the sound mix to signify that something bad is going to happen to the dress, a foreshadow and an explanation for when the dress is found on the ground later on. As we cut to Ofelia inside the tree, the diegetic sounds are muffled and distant, as if from underwater, which creates a tense and uncomfortable environment and atmosphere in the tree, and puts us in Ofelia’s position. A low violin sound picks up in the non-diegetic composed score to signify a tragic aspect of the scene, creating suspense and fear for Ofelia’s safety. A sound of wind rushing also creates a cold and un-safe atmosphere as Ofelia enters the tree and signifies a change into the fantasy world again.
After cutting back to Vidal, the sound of the horses slowly disappears as they leave frame to reduce the sound in the mix, keep the pace slow and calm, and make space for the audience to pay attention to Vidal and what he is saying. The loud and powerful sound of Vidal’s boots hitting the floor temporarily drowns out all others in the sound mix, showing how much authority and dominance the Captain holds over the scene when he is in it.
As he investigates the campsite, we can hear the diegetic sounds of birds tweeting in the forest. These calming and peaceful sounds keep the pace of the scene slow and patient but also prevents the scene from being too quiet as Vidal looks around. It lets us hear his words, immerses us in the scene, and builds suspense without leaving the scene in complete silence. It also contrasts the constipated and muffled sounds of the inside of the tree, helping the viewer adapt to the new setting.
As the Captain shouts into the woods, his voice echoes throughout the trees to shown that the rebels most likely heard him, how truly massive the woods are, and how commanding and intimidating the Captain is. It also implies that even the creatures of the forest cannot escape the influence of the Captain. As we cut to a close-up of Vidal, horn instruments pick up suddenly and sharply in the score again. This subtly symbolises his mounting frustration and disdain for the rebels, and also creates the feeling of fear from something as simple as the look he makes in this moment. The music also builds up to a dramatic reveal of the rebels, and build into a climax as the scene cuts back to Ofelia. The way that the music suddenly cuts out here implies that the scene will be following here from now on.
Vidal is intently staring, even though he cannot see the rebels, attempting to intimidate them and control his rage and fury.
A low and guttural sound emerges in the diegetic sound mix as hits shot of the tunnel continues which builds tension and implies that something large and powerful, possibly dangerous is nearing, building tension and suspense, and therefore keeping the audience’s attention. Once the toad enters frame, it produces deep and rough, wet and moist sounds. These make the audience uncomfortable and evokes disgust in them for the toad. As the camera gets closer to it, the sounds increase in pitch and volume, making the audience more repulsed by the creature and again making them feel more like an actual participant in the movie as opposed to a bystander only witnessing the events.
When the toad burps, the diegetic sounds in the mix massively pick up and the roaring noise overcomes all others. This establishes the toad as a powerful and imposing creature that seems to have dominion over this territory. This moment disturbs the audience and raises the stakes as we now understand that Ofelia is in danger.
After Ofelia picks up the beetle it uncurls itself, and as it does he hear the diegetic sound of scuttling. This makes the insect seem more alive and biotic than a CGI monster, and also establishes to the audience that it is an object of significance in that moment. The score picks up into a hopeful and calm toned moment that signals to the audience that Ofelia has noticed something, as shown in the previous shot, and the music shows that this has led her to a realisation.
The men instantly quieten at this hand gesture, showing Vidal’s authority sand control over them.
When the tongue shoots out from the toads moth, we hear a loud roaring and squelching sound that makes this fantasy creature seem more real and organic, adding a realistic and serious tone to the fairy-tale monster, as if done again in the film later on. As the toad dies, we once again hear roaring but also a cracking sound to match the image of the toad’s jaw unhinging as it dies, adding to the gore of the moment. As its corpse deflates we hear a sound like rushing air, and as Ofelia retrieves the key from the contents of it’s stomach we hear sticky squelching. These diegetic sounds act as an audible sort of mise-en-scen, making the scene feel more real, immersing us by putting us in Ofelia’s position, and making the scene feel more real by adding to the texture of the objects on screen. Non-diegetic sounds also signify items as important though, as seen, or rather heard, when Ofelia picks up the key and a sharp ringing sound emerges in the mix, focusing the viewer’s attention on it.
We again hear wet and sticky sounds as Ofelia wipes her forehead to emphasise just how in-clean she is, creating sympathy in the audience for her, and making them think about just how much she has been through. We are introduced to the new setting outside of the cramped and claustrophobic environment of the tree to the the open and spacious forest by the sound of Ofelia’s footsteps crunching on the leaves beneath them. The distant thunder hints towards the coming thunderstorm, building suspense and an impending feeling of danger and fear for Ofelia.
Editing:
The first hidden cut in the scene is made when the camera moves behind a tree and when it emerges on the other side we are with Ofelia. This serves as a seamless transition that keeps the pace of the scene going and is hard to notice, linking the left to right movement of the characters between shots, and making the transition less jarring and distracting than an ordinary cut.
The scenes are established as parallel since we know that Ofelia and Vidal leave the mill at the same time, and the mid-day lighting implies that these events are happening at the same time. The locations of the different parts of the forest being similar also makes the movement of the scene feel more seamless and more like an uninterrupted sequence and experience of the events on screen. The hidden cuts are also used to keep in the audiences mind that the scenes are taking place parallel to each other. Another hidden cut is made from behind another tree to keep the fast-paced scene of horse-riding not lead to a sudden cut to the more calm and measured scene of Ofelia walking in the woods alone. It also signifies that both characters are approaching their destinations/goals in this moment.
Another hidden cut changes the position of the camera and signifies a passage of time between the cut. Every time a hidden cut is made the characters are kept centre-frame to keep them as the centre of the audience’s attention and they are also moving in the same direction, creating a similarity between both scenes and therefore a seamless transition that keeps the pace going smoothly and not suddenly cutting between shots. Once Ofelia reaches the tree there are no more hidden cuts. This is done to slow the pace of the scene and build suspense without cutting back to Vidal. This is continuity editing, since the lack of hidden cuts allows for the scene to play out before us in-interrupted, letting the audience follow the scene with clarity thanks to the continuity and lack of transitions.
This tree is not used for a hidden-cut, making those that are unexpected, and immersing the audience in the scene since they cannot guess when it will cut, and the trees obstructing the view makes it feel like we, the audience, are actually there, in the forest.
After Ofelia enters the tree, a hidden cut is made from the tunnel to a tree, and from there we are following Vidal again, making the change again smooth and not at all surprising, since it has been done before in the scene and the audience has a slit second more than they would with a normal cut to interpret the new environment of the scene. It also keeps hold on the audience’s attention throughout the scene, keeping them involved in the story and immersed in the. narrative.
The camera only does another hidden cut from behind a tree to show a passage of time, as the horses are further away afterwards, and change the position of the camera to where the rebels are standing, revealing where they were watching from all along. The scene does not do a hidden transition back to Ofelia to imply that the scene will be following her from now on.
As Ofelia talks to the toad, there are shot-reverse-shots that personify it, and therefore make it feel like a much more real and organic creature, making the audience question whether or not it is all in Ofelia’s imagination. It also makes for room to show off how large and indifferent the toad is to Ofelia, making the audience concerned but also fascinated in the huge monster on screen.
The wide-shot shows the rebels and we=here they were watching from. The movement of the horses from right to left also signifies that they are now going back to where they came from, retreating.
Mise-en-scen:
Ofelia’s outfit is quaint and simple, a clear reference to typical fairy-tale protagonists who were from humble beginnings and would wander off into the woods on some grand quest, as she does in this scene. It also looks similar to Alice from Alice in Wonderlands dress, creating a link between the two characters, and their story’s. The book she is reading is large and antique, signifying the grand scale and ancient legend of her stories, and the one that she herself is creating.
The tree, once it enters frame, is large, old and rotten. This adds to the still a new tense atmosphere of the scene, and making is teem much more imposing and intimidating than the other trees in the forest, and matching the description of the fairy-tale, giving the first grain of truth to the seemingly childish story. The entrance is shrouded in darkness, making it seem feel more mysterious and dangerous, and creating fear in the viewer for Ofelia’s safety. The tree itself is also shaped like a uterus, adding tonic themes to the film by serving as hidden imagery/symbolism to create deeper and subtler messages in the film. The ribbon that flys off the dress foreshadows the affect that the wind will have on the dress later on.
As Ofelia enters the tree there can be seen dusty particles in the air, giving the scene a surreal and fairy-tale like atmosphere, and thereby immersing the audience in the setting of the tree, and making it easier to understand what Ofelia is going through, literally! The inside of the tree itself in completely coated in mud and dirt, infested with large and unsettling insects, cramped by withering branches. This setting is uncomfortable for the audience to see, and the other aspects of the scene, especially cinematography and sound, make us feel out of place and nervous as Ofelia explores it, showing her bravery and bringing to life these ancient grim fairy tales. The mud collecting on Ofelia’s previously neat outfit shows how little she cares about it, and her persistence to drive on, whilst most, if not all, people in the audience would of turned back by now.
This wide-shot is used to show how many rebels there are, and their fire-power.
As Vidal investigates the fireplace, there is still steam coming off of it, acting as a visual clue that the rebels only recently left. The antibiotic bottle is small and clear, implying that it is valuable and also allowing for the audience to see it clearly. The Uniforms of the soldiers are very straight and clean and also a deep shade of blue, a sharp contrast to the green, in-organised and dirty woods around them, implying that they do not belong there. The gear and weapons they brought with them does indicate their power though, and willingness to commit violence. Their uniforms also contrast and conflict with those of the rebels, which is darker, less done-up and fashionable, like a personification of the woods themselves, and also showing that they are literally more suited and adapt, even in control of the environment of the forest. The weapons are also heavily armed, showing that they, like the Captain, and even though we haven’t seen it yet, are also willing to commit acts of violence for their cause.
Back in the tree, Ofelia now has dried mud on her face, signifying a passage of time. The toad is covered in bumps and rubbery looking skin, with thick and slimy saliva drooling from its mouth. It has long eyelashes and goat eyes, a huge moth and wet and sticky tongue. All of these factors in its physical appearance contribute to it evoking feelings of disgust and repulsion in the viewer, who as a result has a physical reaction to what they before just suspected was a harmless fairy tale, emphasising the real life scale and danger of these stories.
The toad is warty and ugly, creating repulsion and disgust in the viewer.
After the toad licks Ofelia’s hand, it is completely coated by slime and muck, making the audience sympathise for Ofelia, but also admire her bravery and lack of fear at this mighty beast, signifying her dedication to become the princess. As the toad deflates, its previously rubbery and wet skin now looks slightly like plastic, or a deflating balloon, instantly reducing the power of the animal and the fear it evoked whilst kit was alive, once again immersing the audience in the reality where the toad is not a reality, and therefore not a threat. In other words, the toad is not as monstrous when it is alive and breathing.
It’s(previously) insides are orange and made of slime, creating more repulsion in the audience as the camera nears it, and ensuring that the disgusting nature of the creature, if not the fear it evoked, is still alive after the toad dies. After Ofelia finally leaves the tree, her hair is completely plastered down by slime, her face covered in mud, and clothes soaked. This creates sympathy for her and the detail of the filth helps for us to imagine how much she has been through and how she feels in that moment.
Performance:
We can tell that Ofelia is running away from the mill from her sudden break into a run after turning back to indicate that she heard the soldiers setting off and momentarily thought that they were after her. She seems curious and full of wonder as she explored the woods, showing her excitement at being a part of the fairy-tales she has read about for so long. She seems cautious as she enters the tree, showing that she knows their could be danger about, but she makes no hesitation as she approaches the tree, indicating her bravery and fascination. As she crawls through the tree, her uncomfortable expression and laboured breathing shows that she is apprehensive and possibly re-considering her depiction tom go this far, but most of her reaction seems to be out of disgust as she studies the tunnel she is in.
The mud on Ofelia id dirtied here to show that’s she has been down in the tunnel for some amount of time.
The Captain also acts with intense purpose and authority as he approaches the fire, refusing to break his gaze from it, indicating to the audience what is important in this moment. As the Captain holds his hand up, his soldiers instantly silence themselves. This quickly establishes his power and authority over three, their loyalty and the un-caring and in-human nature of the Captain. Vidal seems sure in himself as he assesses the campsite, and even more confident that the rebels are nearby, signifying his skill and experience as a military leader. As approaches the tree line, he once again refuses to break his gaze, making him come across as a sort of un-caring machine, completely obsessed with carrying out its purpose, and shows Vidal’s inner anger and hatred for the rebels. Vidal’s voice as he shouts out into the woods is extremely booming and powerful, assuming control of the entire area around him.
The submissive silence of his men here also shows his authority over them, and his willingness to take charge. His dark and brooding expression hints at the the evil and disturbing things that must go on in Vidal’s mind, and also references the look he made as he killed the two farmers, showing how he always looks that calm yet intent. It also shows how inwardly infuriated he is over being too late to stop the rebels, and that they are probably just out of his reach and sight, but still has enough command to control his emotions, except for when he brutalises innocent people in cuts of um-measured rage, but even that he does with a cool and collected look on his face. There is another sign of his authority as the men instantly follow his suit from a gesture as simple and him holding up his hand. He also does not wait for them to follow him, because he know that they will follow his commands exactly as he says to. Or rather, signals to.
The jaw can be heard in-hinging in the diegetic sound mix to make the moment more impactful.
As Ofelia questions the toad, she seems genuinely confused at why it chooses to live down there, showing that she does not question the reality of what she is seeing, but rather the more mundane and simple questions about it. E.G not why is there a giant frog, but rather why he likes to live in the tree. It also shows her childish imagination/wonder and her fearlessness. She does seem concerned when she loses the stones though, keeping in the viewers’ mind that she is still a child, just one mostly concerned with completing a magical quest.
She looks fascinated and even hypnotised as she approaches the key, showing her dedication/devotion to getting it. After leaving the tree, Ofelia wipes her forehead and sighed, breathing heavily and leaning against the tree, emphasising her exhaustion and allowing for the audience to put themselves in her shoes. She also seems more vulnerable once outside of the tree, showing that she is much more comfortable, strangely in the wet and muddy underworld of the fantasy world, rather than the real one where Vidal has the power, signifying that he, a single man, evokes more fear in her than the giant toad and claustrophobic tunnel filled with insects was.
The razor that the Captain holds is sharp and imposing, a clear symbol of his tendency for violence and aggressive solutions, whether for dealing with rebels or shaving. The ring is on his left hand, which may be means to symbolise Vidal’s false love for his wife. The gramophone he plays music on is showed to display his wealth, and contrasts him to the peasants shown in the rest of the film. This establishes the power he holds over the area and the rations. Throughout the shaving sequence, Vidal has no uniform on, which signals two the audience that he is alone and in a truly private moment, but even here he carry’s himself with dignity and pride, as he is that obsessed with image and integrity as a military leader.
The cigarette also shows Vidal’s control of luxury resources like tobacco, and the smoke illuminated by the light coming into the basement hangs around his head gives him an intimidating presence, almost like smoke steam from the nose of a stag. The cigarette is also shorter after a hidden cut, which shows a passage of time. The many scattered and stacked papers at Vidal’s desk show his efficiency and attentiveness to his work, and the various shaving equipment also hints at his obsession with maintaining a clean and pristine appearance.
This shot is made more biblical by the light and symbolism of the razor, and the low-angle shot that makes a monster out force out of Vidal.
The cogs and mechanisms that are seen in the background of the basement are symbolic of Vidal’s efficiency and machine-like personality. He has no emotion, only an end goal and mission to destroy the rebels. This shows that he is a truly cruel and viscous villain to the otherwise fairy-tale aspects of the story, like a human form of the various monsters seen in the rest of the movie.
The boot that Vidal polishes is very shiny and clean, and this signify that it was probably expensive and also signify, again, the Captains attentiveness to how he looks, and his pride in being a Captain. This is also seen in how tidy and neat his uniform is, especially in contrast with the more humble and simple design of Mercedes’ and the kitchen staff outfits. The dining table is long, which shows that it was likely expensive (it also eludes to the later one “place man” sequence, showing how much of a monster Vidal is) and the mug is large and the fireplace completely stocked with wood, and also big and imposing. This all contributes to subtly signalling to the audience the military’s, or more specifically the Captains control over the ration’s and resources and money in this area of Spain, and his power that comes with being a military official in a fascist country. This can also be seen with the amounts of buckets and food in the kitchen.
Vidal clearly takes pride in this ritual of masculinity and dominance most people call shaving.
Cinematography:
There is a close-up of the gramophone to bring attention to it and the Captains hand, which the camera then follows upwards until it lands on Vidal’s face. There is a mid-shot here to make room for the razor, Vidal’s face, and the light coming into the basement behind him. This is also a low-angle shot, looking up at Vidal to make him seem more intimidating and imposing to the audience. The shot here almost looks like a portrait, the light giving a biblical sense to the image, and the razor a symbol of Vidal’s violence and power. This shows the Captains inflated perception of himself and his status as a Captain.
The camera then moves from a mid-shot to a long-shot as Vidal walks towards the mirror. This allows for us to see the entire basement and his position in the centre of it. This symbolises his authority and status in the centre of the mill as the Captain, and also his small part in a much bigger fascist machine. The camera then arches around the mirror to push into a close-up of the Captains face as he shaves, forcing the audience to get closer to him and see the precision with which he shaves, how he has no hesitation in using a dangerous razor, and how impassive he looks as he does it, a reference to the face he made as he killed the farmers earlier, calm and casual.
The over the shoulder shot shows how much taller Vidal is than Mercedes, and puts us in her position, letting the audience know how intimidating he is.
A glance object shot shows us all of the equipment that the Captain us using to shave, showing, again, his particular carefulness with creating an appearance. Once the Captain is in the dining room, the lighting is hazier and warmer, a sharp contrast to the cold and metallic environment of Vidal’s room. This also eludes to the contrast between Vidal and Mercedes as characters. The camera pedestals up as Vidal stands, which shows how much taller he is than Mercedes.
This is re-enforced when we cut to an over-the-shoulder shot of Vidal leaning down to intimidate Mercedes, which shows how imposing and threatening he is physically. This shot is also very tight, which creates a feeling of claustrophobia and fear in the audience, of Vidal. The camera then cuts to a wide-shot to show the entrance to the kitchen and how Vidal menacingly stared at Mercedes as she leaves. Only we, the audience, see this, so only we know that he may have suspicions of, or dark intentions for her.
Sound:
The non-diegetic sound of the gramophone picks up in the mix as Vidal turns it on. The audio is loud and slightly scratchy, which immerses the audience in the time period. The music is also very grand and patriotic in nature, which shows Vidal’s sense of patriotism and self-pride/image. The razor produces diegetic sounds that are sharp and sudden. This establishes how sharp the razor is and therefore how much danger Vidal is putting himself in by using it. It also puts the audience on edge slightly, since it is an unpleasant and rough sound that makes the audience feel uncomfortable, which they are supposed to with Vidal on screen, since the is so menacing.
The music also comes to a climax as Vidal begins shaving , which shows how he views this simple activity as a sort of symbol of his power, authority and masculinity. The grand and powerful tone of the music symbolises his obsession with how he presents himself and how he goes about completing his mission. The complexity and liveliness of the music also serves as a stark contrast to Vidal’s otherwise passive and calm expression.
Vidal is careful yet fast as he handles the sharp razor, showing his daring and confidence.
No music is played when Vidal is in the dining room. This creates tension and keeps focus on what he and Mercedes are saying. It also makes what seems like a vaguely awkward conversation come across as a lot more intense and threatening, as the awkward silence combines with the Captains terrifying demeanour to evolve into a disturbing silence that hangs in the air as thick as fog. This all emphasises the fear that Vidal creates in the audience, and the effect on the people around him, including Mercedes, who’s perspective we see here. As Mercedes enters the kitchen, there are many diegetic sounds of metal and glass inserted to emphasise how busy the staff are, and also the amount of rations they have, and immerses the audience in the environment, of only for a few moments.
Performance:
As Vidal goes about the basic task of shaving his face, he seems to be taking great care and joy even in it. This is seen in how he carry’s himself around the room confidently, asserting his power over the environment. His movements are fluid and constant, showing how much pride he takes in maintaining his appearance. The seriousness and attentiveness with which Vidal shaves his face eludes to how he goes about his work as a Captain, efficient and concentrated. The face he makes as he looks in the mirror is also very similar to the one he made as he killed the farmer’s son earlier, showing that he truly had no regret or remorse/hesitation as he murdered that man.
He also makes the activity of shaving almost like a ritual, in the way that he plays music and apples the cream with a brush, carefully studies the blade before using it, smokes and study’s his face in the mirror, and uses a hot towel to get ready. This all contributes to our perception of the Captain, and how he seems so obsessed with himself, his country, career and appearance. This is also seen in the dining room as he intently stares at his boot as he cleans it.
Mercedes answers back to the Captain, which eludes to her role as a rebel, and also her silent disdain and hatred for the Captain. He responds by asserting himself by standing up and placing a hand on her shoulder. This solidify Vidal as a threatening and dominant figure who is fine with keeping people in line by using fear as a tactic. Mercedes’ concerned expression shows this. The way that the kitchen staff also seem happy and even joke when not in the presence of the Captain creates a less tense and uncomfortable atmosphere, emphasising the effect that Vidal has on people by creating that same effect on the audience.
Mercedes is clearly quieter after Vidal’s threatening words.
Editing:
The scene is done in a lone-take until the camera crabs behind a pillar in the basement. As it passes through the darkness, a hidden cut is made, since when it emerges time has passed and the cameras is in a new location. This makes the shaving sequence almost seem like one long cut, which makes the various cuts seamless and un-noticeable. This keeps all focus on the Captain, and also makes the pacing of the scene match the fluid and precise movements of the Captain match each other. The pacing also matches up to the intense and fast music, and keeps the audience up to speed with the course of events in this scene, as we understand them to be continuous, which makes this continuity editing.
There is also another hidden cut when the camera moves behind the Captains head. This could be done to ssymbolise the fact that we, the audience, do not know what goes on inside Vidal’s head, what his inner-thoughts are, which makes him all the more terrifying. It also then brings us into a wide-shot of the basement, but then the scene cuts to the kitchen. The cuts that show a passage of time make this temporal editing, done to progress the story and keep the basic scene of Vidal shaving brief and filled with symbolism, not content, and progress the story more. A cut is possibly used here to end the fluid and constant movement/pacing of the scene before and brings the audience into the new environment. There are few cuts from here, as the shaving sequence is over and now Vidal is not alone, and the focus of the scene has switched from him to Mercedes, which is done by leaving Vidal off-screen as she leaves into the kitchen.
After filming the movie, I picked out the final clips that I thought were best to use, since we had to re-shoot many shots to experiment with better angles, lines, and to avoid including bloopers. I then inserted them all into LumaFusion. Here, I put them all together in a project and made sure to cut out all the times I could be heard saying “cut”, and also to make sure that all the shots matched up seamlessly, and then spent some time making sure that the audio was decent. This took longer than expected, since I had to edit each individual clip to reduce the sound of each clip, making the overall film quieter but also making sure there were no surprisingly or unnecessarily loud clips left in the final film.
I think that some shots in the film sync up very well, the audio is of a good quality, and I experimented with some interesting shots. The actors did very well, and there were no un-foreseen problems whilst filming. I worked around the small space we had and developed a finished final product.
We did encounter a few issues. At one point an actor looks at the camera, one person’s phone begins ringing the second they enter shot, and the ending may feel slightly drawn-out for too long, and I got some of the clips mixed up due to when I mixed up the order of them on set since I didn’t read the screenplay more closely then. But I am ultimately happy with my finished kitchen sink drink production/project.
What do I need to remember next time? Use the manual focus feature in FilmMcPro to use the focus to make the film look how I want. There should usually be a reason for a camera movement, e.g to reveal something. The camera should be at eye-level. Be playful with the shots and movements. Various techniques show effort and ability as a film-maker in your coursework.
The 180 degree rule is a basic filmmaking technique used to show the audience where two characters are in a scene. This is done when two characters are facing each other in one shot, and the camera is placed to show they are looking at each other. So, when the camera is on character A, and then cuts to character B, character B will remain on frame right of character A. Basically, the camera always stays behind an imaginary axis between two characters, or a character and an object.
Matching on action, or cutting on action, is a filmmaking technique that shows one shot, then cuts to another that matches the first shots action. This is done to show the correlation between what a character is doing, and the immediate effect that their action has. A basic example is someone reaching out for a door in one shot, then their hand turning the door knob in the next shot.
Shot, reverse-shot is a technique in filmmaking that’s used to make it look as if two characters are looking at one another. It is done by showing one character looking at the one off-screen, and then a reverse shot of the other character, now on-screen, looking back at the first character shown, who is now off-screen.
Finley Cairns A-Level Film Studies Blog 
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