Early cinema throughout the 1910s and 1920s explored the contrasting methods that directors took in order to convey two distinctive filmmaking approaches, one portraying the realist and the other the expressive.
Expressionism is most identifiable in movements such as German expressionism and Soviet montage. Germany was at the forefront of expressive filmmaking due to the large infrastructure for film that remained after the war despite the economic problems crippling other sectors. German military supreme command took control and consolidated all major films studies in 1917 under one entity known as UFA which focused on nationalist films, forcing independent cinemas to produce unique films to get audiences’ attention such as ‘The Cabinet of Dr Caligari’ which has expressive wise-en-scene designed to give an artificial appearance with over-scaled furniture and dark-eyed makeup that reflected the inner psychology of characters. Soviet montage also came from a desire to utilise film as a political influence after the 1917 revolution, centralising the Russian film industry under one entity, Narkompos. Restricitions on imports meant a lack of raw film and filmmakers therefore began studying films, dissecting them and focusing on how the shots were edited to together with films such as ‘Battleship Potemkin’ representing this radical editorial thinking. Perhaps the most recognisable was the Kuleshov effect which focused on viewer response when presented with juxtaposing images.
Some opposed this new expressive nature of filmmaking such as the film critic Andre Bazin who, while not against editing as it forms a basis for a films structure, disagrees with the optical illusions it creates, adding meaning through juxtaposition rather than the content of an image which removes the freedom on the part of the spectator to select meaning for themselves. Bazin prefers the use of longer takes with less cuts in order to create a more realistic appearance, desiring the audience o make their own judgements about how long they should look at something and what they should be looking at. These beliefs are present in the cinema verite movement in France in the 1960s which focused its attention on the realistic day to day lives of people and capturing life in its realistic form.
Buster Keaton films utilise both expressive and realistic elements to create meaning throughout, using expressive aspects of filmmaking such as mine-en-scene and editing to convey meaning to the audience while references to the context of the time portray the realism of the films.
In the film ‘One Week’, both expressive and realist elements can be seen. The film portrays a week in the life of a recently married man as he attempts to build a house and settle down with his wife. Keaton attempts to carry a brick chimney up a ladder made from the front of his porch, extending to the top of the roof of his crooked house. The use of mundane items shown in an abstract manner reflects the expressive mise-en-scene present in German expressionism as carrying a chimney up a ladder is feasibly impossible as they are heavy objects, subverting the expectations of the audience which adds comedic effect to the scene. Keaton’s wife can later be seen washing in a bathtub as she begins to reach for a bar of soap, half standing and stopping mid-way as she acknowledges the camera looking at here. The fourth wall is then broken as a hand, presumably of the cameraman covers the lens as she reaches for the soap again and sits back down without flashing the audience. Initially the audience is given the impression that she is going to stand up but her acknowledgement of the camera breaks the illusion that the film is a realist representation of married life whilst creating humour for the audience. The film doesn’t neglect the use of realistic elements however, with references made to ideas such as superstition that draw on the beliefs of real life. The reaction from the women in the film at the umbrella being opened indoors and Keaton’s disposal of a horseshoe are representative of the long held belief in superstitions still presents in the 1920’s and the bad or good luck that comes from doing such things as a horseshoe is supposed to bring good luck when hung over a persons door. Keaton’s plays on these beliefs that would have been held by many in the audience and used them to give credence to the disastrous luck the couple are having.
Keaton’s film ‘The Scarecrow’ uses realistic editing throughout the film through the use of continuity editing which depicts the narrative in a linear way and allows the narrative to play out in real time, similar to the views of Bazin and without elements of Soviet montage. This narrative is also realistic with the idea of two men going after the same woman being a common theme throughout both 20th century film and literature as it connects with an audience as it’s highly likely they have experienced something similar for themselves in a male dominated society. The films mise-en-scene on the other hand contains more expressive elements. Keaton’s uses common household objects in atypical ways, placing them in unusual locations such as a salt shaker hanging above the table on a string and space for the table to attach to the wall. Presenting an abstract home designed to show he hasn’t compromised usability in a compact space. Both expressive and realist elements are sometimes used in cohesion in certain scenes. When a man attempts to chase Keaton, the car toppled backwards after he sits at the back due to him being over weight but despite being partially realistic, the emphasis of the man’s weight is used for comedic effect and is therefore an expressionist depiction of reality. Also, the horse that Keaton intends to escape on is given the appearance of a real horse as a fake one stands beside it, do when he is left on a stationary horse as a woman on the real one gallops away he is left in bewilderment. Both examples are used for comedic effect and emphasises a character’s personality and stupidity rather than being a realistic depiction of life.
Keaton’s ‘High Sign’ is also based on realistic premises but portrays them in an expressive manner so as the show different character traits without the use of sound. The film presents an ordinary person caught up in extraordinary events in an American society where gangs and violence are commonplace, typical of the time period and is represented by a gun range being a false front for the Blinking Buzzards gang while the possession of guns was legal in America, allowing for crimes such as robbery to occur frequently.
Mise-en-scene is often used expressively just like in German expressionism with Keaton taking out an absurdly large newspaper which continues to expand. This mise-en-scene is deliberately unrealistic to show how out of place he is this new town that he has been thrust into. While aiming at a row of bottle for target practice, he accidentally shoots ma standing beside them who leaps high into the air and proceeds to run rapidly away, clutching his behind to exaggerate the pain inflicted upon him for comedic effect and makes clear he is incapable of working for a gang. Also, the unique design of the house he attempts to protect shows an expressive method of manipulating mise-en-scene to express the ridiculousness of the events transpiring as he is far out of his depth. Both expressive and realistic cinematography are present as wide shots are used in the house as Keaton is chased while a long depth of field gives greater focus on everything happening simultaneously. The use of iris shots manipulates where the audiences focus should be such as on the death note given to the old man.
Finally, ‘Cops’, a film about a man aspiring to be a big businessman so that a woman can love him resulting in him becoming a criminal and chased by the police. The film has realist elements as it could be viewed as a social commentary on American society as the woman only desires him if he is rich and successful, showing marriage as a corrupt notion. This idea of money is prominent throughout the film and realistically depicts social tension present at the time. Expressive features are present in the film as seen through the opening shot when Keaton is shown through metal bars which gives the audience the impression that he is in prison, linking to the title of the film but instead he is standing behind the gates of the house of the woman he loves. The effect of this is that it manipulates the viewers perception through mise-en-scene in an expressive way similar to the manipulation present in German expressionism.
Keaton uses both expressive and realistic filmmaking techniques in order to have a varying affect on the viewer. Expressive elements provide audiences far greater meaning through comedic effect or as a narrative device while realistic elements allow for an audience to relate with what they are watching on screen.
The directors of both Pan’s Labyrinth and Wild Tales employ aspects of mise-en-scene and cinematography to convey meaning throughout their films and have a wide range of effects on the audience.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth focuses on the Spanish Civil War. An election in 1936 brought to power a leftist Popular Front government causing Fascist and extreme-right forces to respond with an army mutiny and coup attempt that turned into a civil war. The film is set in 1944 after the fascist victory as the remaining rebels are routed out and killed.
Ofelia goes out on an adventure, searching for her first task located inside of a mysterious tree. Simultaneously, Captain Vidal rides out with his men to search for the last remaining Republican survivors. At the start of the sequence, the camera pans from right to left for both of these journeys, indicating to the audience that they are both venturing out on a journey at the same time. The smart, gold and blue uniforms worn by the soldiers and the powerful looking horses they ride symbolise their strength and the harsh, quick camera movement shows that they ride with purpose, whereas the rebels have adopted dark brown clothing as they are forced to live in the forest in seclusion. This wealthy appearance of the soldiers also contrasts Ofelia’s green dress that’s appearance is reminiscent of the Alice in Wonderland books which also explores the fantasy world and shows her strong connection to the fantastical while its green colour is representative of the style of clothing of the rebels, demonstrating her efforts to go against the Captain’s oppression and the influence of her mother to follow her own path, with much more gentle arc movements used in variation to the soldiers, suggesting to the audience that she is lost in the elements of the fantasy world as it has a floaty and dreamy effect.
Once Ofelia arrives at the tree, a wide shot focuses on her movements, moving into a close-up shot and arcing around her to reveal a large tree that has captured her gaze, tilting up to show the large size of the tree is comparison to her and showing its significance to the audience, allowing for them to empathise with her challenge as its presented as being extremely difficult. In the interior of the tree, damp and dark tunnels twist continuously with the camera positioned at Ofelia’s height to indicate to the audience that she is the main focus for the story’s progression. Black CGI bugs surround and crawl over her which helps to evoke feelings of disgust from the audience and show her courage as she is entering a place that no one else would want to venture in to. Upon transitioning to the Captain’s world, the appearance differs as he is located in a large open space which looks more inviting and less threatening than the tree, making the audience want to spend less time focusing on Ofelia because of the conditions she is having to endure. Also, the warm colour palette of the fantasy world in comparison to the cold blue colour palette associated with the Captain’s world as can be seen when Ofelia journeys towards the tree remains warm, although has now transgressed to become slightly darker as she is underground and the tree is a mysterious and yet fantastical place. This also shows a collision between the Captain’s world and the fantasy world which further adds to the influence that he has over her.
When the soldiers reach their destination in the forest, the Captain steps down from his horse to search for signs that might indicate signs of rebel activity in the area. A medium shot focuses the audiences attention on his commanding body language, transitioning to a close-up shot that fully focuses on his actions and dialogue, separating him from his soldiers and showing his superiority over them. The use of a long lens shot when looking at the Captain has the effect of appearing to focus on him from a distance, placing the audience on the side of the rebels, viewing the action from their perspective as the Captain taunts them to come out and fight rather than hide. The warm colour palette associated with the fantasy world is present when focusing on the Captain as he is in the forest, a place of fantasy and home to the rebels which shows he is out of place there but the camera positions him as being in control and therefore allows for the audience to fear him. An opposite pan from right to left shows the soldiers are returning from their journey as they saddle up and return to the mill, similar to the movement of turning over a page in a book.
When returning to Ofelia in the following scene, she continues her search through the depths of the tree looking for any sign of her task, with the camera movement alternating, appearing to differentiate from the typical pattern of moving from right to left and then left to right. This movement depicts the nature of the environment she is in as disorientating for her and is therefore unsettling for the audience who are made to feel lost with her as she clambers through the dark and winding tree, stumbling through slime and covered in mud. Ofelia’s encounter with a giant toad seems representative of the baby living inside her mother with this uterine imagery showing the effect that the baby is having on her and foreshadows her mothers death as the toad is causing the tree to decay through sickness.
Finally, after completing her task by retrieving the key, Ofelia emerges from the tree, covered in mud and noticeably feeling distressed rather than accomplished, indicated by a change in the colour palette, switching from the typical warm and bright palette when she headed out on her journey to a cold dark blue. These grim colours associated with the Captain’s world shows his returning influence and while she is left dishevelled by the ordeal and aware of the trouble she has caused, the audience are aware of her transformation from a little girl on a fantastical adventure to fearing the serious consequences of her actions at the hands of the vile Captain.
Another film that appropriately uses mise-en-scene and cinematography to convey meaning is the portmanteau film Wild Tales, directed by Damián Szifron, showing six different stories, all connected by extreme themes of violence and revenge.
Focusing on the wedding sequence, the scene begins with the camera pulling out to a wide shot which shows the vast amount of guests present at the wedding all focusing an a montage of old childhood photos that present the idea of innocence which contrasts the events later in the sequence and help the audience infer information about the couple. The setting is bright with a rich appearance as champagne glasses, golden chandeliers and tuxedos contribute to a disturbing feeling when Romina later threatens to take everything away from Ariel. When the bride and groom first appear, they emerge from behind a curtain, implying to the audience that their relationship is a facade and they are putting on a show as a steadicam pushes in on them, centrally framing them before arcing around them to focus on them greeting their parents, showing the audience that they are the main stars of the show and placing us as a spectator to the intimacy of the opening scene. Ariel’s appearance as unshaved gives the impression that he shows a lack of care towards his wife, foreshadowing his unfaithful nature and contradicts the caring attitude that we were originally led to believe that he had, replaced with suspicion at his unloyal nature.
After the jubilant dancing finishes, the change in location produces a shift from dark lighting to warm yellow lighting as the guests all happily eat in a far less crowded setting with much slower and less frequent stable shots. Romina talks with her guests, pointing out how she is related to each table and a long lens is used to make the audience feel as if they are a a part of this crowd before the camera pans to the left, centrally framing the bride in a close-up shot, isolating her within the frame as a shallow depth of field allows for the focus to be on her reaction as she watches her husband flirting with a woman across the room. A zoom on her face shows the importance of the woman and is followed by a reaction shot of the brides face which shows the importance of the revelation to the progression of the narrative. The camera tracks the bride as she moves towards a table with a mirror shot placing the woman in the centre of her focus as a wrack focus shows that the number she has dialled on her phone to test whether her husband has been cheating on her is answered by the woman, moving focus from the phone to the woman. This mirror shot could also foreshadow her apparent dual nature later on in the film after the husband confirms her suspicions.
After confronting her husband and feeling overwhelmed at his revelation that he has cheated on her, Romina escapes this distressing situation by leaving the room and frantically runs down a long, narrow hallway away from the guests towards the rooftop. As she runs, the camera is positioned on the ground looking up which contributes to the trapped and claustrophobic feeling present in the narrow hallway as she feels betrayed and alone. On the rooftop, pathetic fallacy is used to demonstrate her ferocity as she lashes out at him as a bolt of lightning simultaneously strikes behind her, positioning her in a mid-shot showing that she commands the frame and allows the audience to understand the seriousness of her threats while the camera is consistently handheld and the scene constantly breaks the 180 degree rule further indicating her change to a controlling attitude. When she returns, the white wedding dress, a symbol of purity and innocence, becomes tainted with blood when she discovers the truth of her husbands deceit and throws the woman he had been cheating on her with into a mirror, symbolising that her innocence has become fragmented and has stained her as a person which can’t wash out and return to its original white colour just as she can’t unlearn what she has discovered.
Both Szifron and Del Toro use aspects of mise-en-scne and cinematography to convey meaning throughout their films to have a wide range of effects on the audience. Del Toro uses cinematography to show perspective, using camera height to position the audience with specific characters while using mise-en-scne to differentiate each set of groups from the other, setting Ofelia apart from the Captain and with the rebels. Szifron also uses cinematography to position the audience with characters, allowing the audience to empathise with Romina through techniques that convey the feelings of the characters. Mise-en-scene also creates empathy for characters through the use of symbolic imagery that depicts a characters changing emotions as their life falls apart.
Pan’s Labyrinth: Fig tree sequence (Cinematography)
Intro: The directors of both Pan’s Labyrinth and Wild Tales employ aspects of cinematography to convey meaning throughout their films to have a wide range of effects on the audience.
Fig tree sequence:
When following the horses and Ofelia, the camera pans from right to left indicating that they are venturing on a journey with much more gentle and slower arc movements with Ofelia as if she is lost in a fantasy world as it gives a floaty and dreamy effect compared to the harsh and quick movement of the horses with a warm and bright colour palette that suggests the effects of the Captain have disappeared for the time being as they are in the forest which is the rebels’ territory. The use of long lenses when looking at the soldiers places the audience on the side of the rebels as we can see the action from their perspective
Shots are closer into Ofelia as she is exploring on her own. As Ofelia arrives at thetree, a wide shot moves into a close-up shot, arcing around her to reveal the tree, tilting up to show the large size of the tree in order to show how small Ofelia is in comparison which also shows its significance.The camera then dolly’s back and tilts up to show her enter the tree that uses the frame within a frame technique which focuses the audiences attention on her movements down into the tunnel, then panning to the left to show a close-up of the dress waving in the wind, suggesting its going to fall off, creating fear and dread at what could happen if her dress is ruined due to it being a gift from her mother and something she must wear to impress the cold hearted Captain. The camera is always positioned at Ofelia’s height throughout this sequence in order to show that she is the main point of focus for the audience to see the story progress. The colour palette is till warm as she is surrounded by elements of the fantasy world but is now slightly darker because she is underground but she is also aware of both the dangers she will face in the tree and what she might expect when she returns to the mill and the fear of the Captains reaction to her dirty state forces the fantasy world and the Captain’s world to collide.
The Captain steps down from his horse to search for any objects that might indicate signs of rebel activity, shown through a medium shot that focuses on his commanding body language which transitions to a close-up shot so that we see just the Captain and his reaction to his discovery before a medium shot shows the reaction of the soldiers around him awaiting their orders. Following this, the camera then arcs around him so we are left to focus on what he is thinking and feeling as he comes to the conclusion that they are being watched by the rebels from a distance. Another use of a long lens shot once again gives the impression that the audience are watching the Captain from the rebels perspective as he taunts them before returning back to the mill, indicated by the camera movement panning from right to left as the soldiers exit the frame that contrasts the movement from previous when they were headed out on their journey.
Despite this, the movement in the next scene appears to differentiate from this pattern as Ofelia moves from left to right and then from right to left whilst still searching for the object of her desires that sent her on this journey. It presents the fact that the environment that she is presently located within is disorientating and unsettling for her as she attempts to move through the tree.Finally, when Ofelia completes her task and emerges from the tree the setting is dark and there has been a complete transformation in colour palette from the warm and bright setting as she headed out on her journey to the fantastical warm colours inside the tree that was tainted by the captains world and the effect he has on Ofelia until it reaches almost complete darkness as she is now in deep trouble, foreshadowing what the effects of her adventure might have on her due to the captains influence.
Wedding sequence:
Steadicam is used throughout these shots and pushes in as the song increases in tempo to focus on the bride and groom, centrally framed and emerging from behind a curtain before arcing around them greeting their parents and in-laws to give the impression that the person watching the film is a spectator as the shots are very intimate with a sense of family unity followed by a series of handheld close-up shots focusing on the interactions between the partners and their in-laws making it more personal and meaningful. The steadicam arcs around the couple from a low angle to give the impression that the camera is dancing along with them in a crowred area.Tracking shots match the pace of the dancing whilst the movement matches the energy of the music to give the scene a lively appearance.
A change in location is accompanied by a change to warm yellow lighting, suggesting happiness. The camera pulls back from a shot of an energetic sousaphone, directing focus on the instrument and therefore a focus on the joy of the party as everyone immediately becomes engrossed in the music.
After the party, there is less dramatic movement shown by less frquent, slower and more stable shots.the camera pans to the left to centrally frame the bride, isolating her in the fram with a shallow depth of field to focus on her reaction as she begins to suspect her husband might be cheating on her.The zoom draws attention to the woman sitting down in the centre of the frame but not clearly as the bride is unaware that she existed until now using a POV shot, followed by a reaction shot of the brides face to show the importance of the revelation to the development of the story and that her attenton is fully focused on the mystery woman. The camera tracks the bride as she crosses the room to the mirror, sandwiching the woman in the centre of her focus. the mirror shot foreshadows her apparent dual nature later on and a wrack focus from the brides phone the the womans phone implies that the bride has uncovered her husbands dirty secret
the camera arcs around them as they dance to present the ffect that the audience is a guest that dances with them but cuts to different arcing shots, making it disorientating as the bride is puuting her husband under pressure so that he might reveal the truth.The focus is entirely on the couple as a shallow depth of field makes the background barely visible so that the audience can focus on what they are saying.A series of close-up shots between the newlyweds as they dance whilst the bride questions him changes to a wide shot when he confirms her suspicions and the camera stops dancing immediately when the couple stop dancing, becoming less smooth and more jarring to represent the brides shock and confused state of mind.
The lighting is darker on the bride when she doesnt know the truth but becomes lighter when its been revealed to her as she walks through the corridor, tracked by low angle shots from both in front and behind her to show she feels surrounded and overwhelmed with a declining sense of reality.
A BEV shot of the bride looking over the edge of the roof suggests she feels nauseated and is about to jump.The lighting in the background of the shots appears romantic, foreshadowing the romantic interaction between the bride and the chef and a romantic shot subverts the expectations of the audience as the seductive intention of the bride contrasts her despair.The long lenses with a wide aperture makes the scene seem more dreamy and the scene is shot on a spherical lens rather than an anamorphic lens and extended to widescreen which makes it appear more realistic.
A reaction shot of shock from both the chef and Ariel as Romina lets out a violent outburst directed at her husband that neither were expecting.The 180 degree rule is broken during the confrontation to present the idea that the shoe is now on the other foot. The camerawork alternates to handheld as she feels free as she’s released her anger that she had stored inside her, indicating a change in attitude towards her chaotic relationship.
Context: The viewer gets the impression that Argentine society is dangerous and violent, with a repulsive setting and nature. The film appears to show a corrupt society with a dissatisfied people. Corruption in Argentina remains a serious problem suffering from widespread corruption in the public and private sector. However, it has improved since the films release in 2015, moving from the 107th least corrupt country out of 175 to the 85th.
Conclusion:
Essay
The directors of both Pan’s Labyrinth and Wild Tales employ aspects of cinematography to convey meaning throughout their films and have a wide range of effects on the audience.
The basis of Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth revolves around the civil war in Spain. An election in 1936 brought to power a leftist Popular Front government where Fascist and extreme-right forces responded with an army mutiny and coup attempt that turned into a civil war. The film is set in 1944 after the fascist victory as the remaining rebels are routed out and killed.
Ofelia goes out on an adventure, searching for her first task located inside a mysterious tree. At the same time, Captain Vidal also rides out with his men to search for the last remaining Republican survivors. At the start of the sequence, there are two different journeys occurring simultaneously with one following the soldiers as they ride out and the other following Ofelia search for her first task. The camera pans from right to left for both of these scenes, indicating to the audience that they are venturing out on a journey. When focusing on Ofelia however, the camera uses much more gentle and slower arc movements compared to the harsh, quick movement of the charging horses that suggests to the audience that she is lost in the elements of the fantasy world as it has a floaty and dreamy effect compared to the soldiers. Also, there is a warm and bright colour palette when following Ofelia, suggesting that the influence of the Captain has disappeared at this point in time due to a lack of his dark blue colour palette typically associated with his world as they are both in the forest setting which is the rebels’ territory.
Once Ofelia arrives at the tree, a wide shot focusing on her movements moves into a close-up shot, arcing around to reveal a large tree that has captured her gaze, tilting up to show the large size of the tree in comparison to her, showing its significance to the audience and allows them to sympathise with her as it presents her task as being on a scale that is extremely difficult. The camera then dolly’s back and tilts up to show her enter the tree, utilising the frame within a frame technique which focuses the audiences attention on her movements down into the tunnel before slowly panning to the left to show a close-up of her dress which she has taken off to prevent it from getting dirty, waving in the wind to suggest that it is inevitable going to fall off, creating a sense of fear and dread for Ofelia as it was a gift from her mother and something she must wear in order to impress the cold hearted Captain who has already been displeased with her, so should it be ruined, the audience fears what the consequences might be for Ofelia. Inside the dark and damp tunnels, the camera is always positioned at Ofelia’s height to indicate to the audience that she is the main focus point for the story’s progression. The colour palette remains warm due to the fact that she is still surrounded by elements of the fantasy world but has now transgressed to become slightly darker as she is now underground but also because the tree is a mysterious and unknown place for her, lacking any knowledge as to the dangers she might face inside it and what the reactions of her mother and the captain might be when she returns to the mill, fearing their reaction to her dirty state and the consequences it will bring. Furthermore, it shows a collision between the Captain’s world and the fantasy world which further adds to the influence that he has over her.
Returning the focus to the Captain, he and his soldiers are shown to have reacher their destination as they look for the rebels, causing the Captain to step down from his horse to search for for any objects that might indicate signs of any rebel activity in the area. A medium shot focuses on his commanding body language, transitioning to a close-up shot in order to fully focus on his actions and dialogue as he is superior to his soldiers. The camera then proceeds to arc around him, leaving the audience to focus on what he is thinking and feeling as he realises they are being watched by the rebels from a distance. The use of a long lens shot when looking at the Capatin has the effect of appearing to focus on him from a distance, placing the audience on the side of the rebels and viewing the action from their perspective as the Captain taunts them to come out and fight rather than hide in the trees. This effort however comes to nothing and they saddle up and return to the mill, indicated by a pan from right to left that contrasts the left to tight movement that originally showed them heading out on their journey, just like the movement of turning over a page in a book.
Despite this, when in the next scene we return to Ofelia, searching further through the depths of the tree to look for any sign of her task, the camera movement appears to differentiate from this typical pattern of moving from right to left to indicate she is returning home and elects to combine a movement from left to right and then right to left. This contrasting movement presents the fact that the environment that she is presently located within is disorientating for her and therefore unsettling for the audience who are made to feel lost with her as she clambers through the winding tree.
Finally, after killing the giant toad and retrieving the key, Ofelia emerges from the tree whereas instead of being triumphant, her situation has become distressing, indicated by a complete transformation in colour palette, switching from a warm and bright setting as she headed out on her journey that became slightly tainted by the dark and grim colours associated with the Captain’s world and his influenceuntil finally, almost complete darkness is reached as she appears dishevelled by the ordeal and becomes increasingly aware of the trouble she has caused, transferring her from being a little girl on an adventure to fearing the serious consequences og her actions at the hands of the Captain.
Another Global film that appropriately uses cinematography to convey meaning is the portmanteau film Wild Tales, with six different stories, all connected by themes of violence and revenge, directed by Damián Szifron.
At the start of the wedding sequence, Szifron uses steadicam throughout the opening shots that depict guests reacting to a series of pictures being projected as a slideshow, combining this with the use of a series of handheld close-up shots in order to focus on the interactions between the couple and their in-laws which has the effect of making the performance appear more personal and meaningful to the audience. The couple is also centrally framed as they emerge from behind a curtain to focus the audiences attention on them as they greet family members, giving the impression that the person watching the film is a spectator of the wedding as the shots are made to feel very intimate with a sense of family and unity. This is further insinuated by the low angle shot of the camera arcing around arcing around the couple that gives the impression that the camera is dancing along with them as one of the guests at the wedding, matching the pace of the lively and upbeat movement and the high energy of the music to give the scene a lively appearance and show the audience that this is a jubilant occasion where everyone is unified in having a tremendous time. The emergence from behind a curtain could suggest to the audience that what they are watching is a facade however, and the affectionate attitude of the couple is a performance, foreshadowing the later events in the sequence.
As the action changes location, the joyous dancing still remains but is accompanied by a change to a warm, yellow colour palette that suggests to the audience that this is a happy time for the couple and the guests. The camera moves quickly, pulling back from a close-up shot of an energetic sousaphone, directing focus on the instrument and therefore a clear focus on the joy surrounding the room at the party as everyone dances to the music, immediately becoming engrossed.
However, as the dancing suddenly stops and there is a change in setting to guests eating and the couple moving from one table to the next to take a photo with their families, there are less dramatic movements, shown through the use of less frequent, slower and more stable shots that focus on the dialogue of the characters rather than the chaos of the party. The bride is engaged in conversation with two relatives that query who all the vast amount of people attending their wedding are and their connection to the couple. Romina proceeds to point out several groups of tables somewhere in the distance occupied by friends of clubs that they attend before spotting the table where her husbands coworkers are seated and Ariel is talking teasingly to a woman that Romina doesn’t recognise. The camera pans to the left, centrally framing the bride in the shot and therefore isolating her in the frame with a shallow depth of field utilised in order for the audience to focus on the brides reaction as she begins to suspect her husband might be cheating on her with this mystery woman. The camera zooms in on the woman sitting at the table to draw attention to her, centrally framed although not clearly due to the brides lack of awareness that this woman existed up until this point in time which puts the audience at the brides perspective, further shown by the use of a POV shot in order to make the following reaction shot of her seem more personal and makes the audience increasingly empathetic towards her character. It also shows how the revelation is significant to the development of the story and that Romina is entirely focused on the mystery woman seen before her. As the bride crosses the room to the mirror located by her table, the camera tracks the brides movement, sandwiching the woman in the centre of focus as she looks in to the mirror with her reflection staring back at her. The mirror shot both has the effect of clearly demonstrating the reaction of both characters as Romina calls an unknown number belonging to the woman in order to find out who she might be and appears to be foreshadowing her apparent dual nature as the sequence progresses after learning that her husband has in fact cheated on her. The use of a wrack focus to differentiate between the reaction of the brides phone as she dials the number and the woman picks up her phone implies to the audience that the bride has uncovered her husbands dirt secret as the truth is slowly becoming clearer for her.
Romina, now clearly in distress after learning about this apparent secret, is joined in shot by her husband as they begin to slowly dance, arcing around them to once again give the effect that the audience is a guest dancing alongside them but instead elects to cut to a variety of different arcing shots that make the scene disorientating for the audience as the bride is putting her husband under a lot of pressure as she begins to question him so that he might reveal the truth to her. At this pint, the focus is entirely on the couple, with a shallow depth of field making the background barely visible so that the audience focus completely on the dialogue as it will distinguish a turning point in the sequence for all the characters. These effects are combined with a series of close-up shots between the newlyweds as they dance, continually alternating between the two partners until Ariel finally confirms her suspicions at which point it cuts to a wide shot which stops the camera from giving the effect that its dancing with them as they are no longer dancing as the bride begins to break away from Ariel and becomes far less smooth and increasingly jarring, representing the current state of mind of Romina as she reals back in shock and confusion from her husband due to his unfaithful actions.
After storming out of the hall, there is a change in colour palette as the lighting becomes lighter when the truth has been revealed to her as she stumbles through the cramped corridor, unlike the darker setting she was previously in when only her suspicions were aroused. When stumbling through this corridor, the bride is tracked by low angle shots of her from both in front and behind, signifying to the audience that she feels overwhelmed and claustrophobic with a declining sense of reality after learning the truth as it gives the appearance that the corridor is even smaller than it actually is.
A BEV shot of the bride leaning over the edge of the unnerving effect of making the audience get the impression that she is about to jump due to the recent devastating events. The lighting in the background of the following shots showing the conversation between Romina and a kindly chef comforting her appears romantic, foreshadowing the romantic interaction between the bride and the chef later on, subverting the expectations of the audience is this is uncharacteristic of Romina and suggest to the audience that she is in a vulnerable place at the moment as the seductive intention of the bride contrasts the despair that is feeling as a result of the fear that her guests might negatively look down at her for being cheated on with a guest at her wedding. There is also a prevalent use of long lenses combined with a wide aperture that contribute to the effect of the setting appearing dreamy, linking to her current vulnerable state and is shot on a spherical lens rather than an anamorphic lens and extended to widescreen, allowing the current events to appear more realistic and therefore heightening the suspense and emotions felt by the audience as she begins to kiss him and lets out an enraged rant about what she intends to do in order to attain revenge for Ariel’s deceitful acts. Reaction shots of shock from both the chef and Ariel during this violent outburst from Romina highlight the fact that this is an unforeseen change in attitude from Romina, causing Ariel to vomit because of it. To present the idea that the shoe is now on the other foot, with Ariel and Romina now reversing roles due to her taking control, eventually causing him to breakdown just like she did previously, the 180 degree rule is broken during the heated confrontation between the couple as she is now in a stronger and commanding position over him.
Both Szifron and del Toro use aspects of cinematography to convey meaning throughout their films so that they have a wide range of effects on the audience. Del Toro utilises it to contrast the different conflicting worlds in Pan’s Labyrinth, from the perspective of the fantastical and adventurous Ofelia to the cold and calculated manner of the Captain. Szifron on the other hand t allows the audience to empathise with characters such as Romina through his clever use of different techniques that appropriately convey the attitudes and feeling of the characters on screen.
Essay re-draft
The directors of both Pan’s Labyrinth and Wild Tales employ aspects of cinematography to convey meaning throughout their films in order to have a wide range of effects on the audience.
The basis of Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth revolves around the civil war in Spain. An election in 1936 brought to power a leftist Popular Front government, that was followed by Fascist and extreme-right forces response, causing an army mutiny and coup attempt that turned into a civil war. The film is set in 1944 after the fascist victory as the remaining rebels are routed out and killed.
Ofelia heads out on an adventure, searching for her first task located inside a mysterious tree as she follows instructions from a magical book. At the same time, Captain Vidal rides out with his men to search for the last remaining Republican survivors located in a forest near the mill they reside in. At the start of the sequence, there are two different journeys occurring simultaneously, one following the soldiers as they ride out and the other following Ofelia locate her first task. The camera pans from right to left for both of these scenes, indicating to the audience that they are venturing out on a journey, however; When focusing on Ofelia, the camera uses much more gentle and slower arc movements compared to the harsh, quick movements of the charging horses, suggesting to the audience that she is lost in the elements of the fantasy world as it has a floaty and dreamy effect compared to the violent world of the soldiers. Also, there is a warm and bright colour palette when following Ofelia, suggesting that the influence of the Captain has disappeared at this point due to a lack of the dark blue colour palette typically associated with his world as they are both in the forest setting which is the rebels’ territory.
Once Ofelia arrives at the tree, a wide shot focusing on her movements moves into a close-up shot, arcing around her to reveal a large tree that has captured her gaze, tilting up to show the large size of the tree in comparison to Ofelia, presenting the significance of it to the audience and allows them to sympathise with her as it implies that her task will be extremely difficult. The camera then dollies back and tilts up to show her enter the tree, utilising the frame within a frame technique, focusing the audiences attention on her movements down into the tunnel before slowly panning to the left to show a close-up of her dress which she has taken off to prevent it from getting dirty, waving in the wind to suggest that it is inevitably going to fall off, creating a sense of fear and dread for Ofelia as it was a gift from her mother and something she must wear so that she might impress the cold-hearted Captain, already displeased with her, so should it be ruined, the audience fears what the consequences might be for Ofelia. Inside the dark and damp tunnels, the camera is always positioned at Ofelia’s height to indicate to the audience that she is the main focal point for the story’s progression. The colour palette remains warm since she is still surrounded by elements of the fantasy world but has now transgressed to become slightly darker as she is underground and the tree is a mysterious place, lacking any knowledge as to the dangers she might face inside it and what the reactions of her mother and the Captain might be when she returns to the mill, fearing their reaction to her dirty state and the consequences it will bring. Furthermore, it shows a collision between the Captain’s world and the fantasy world which further adds to the influence that he has over her.
Returning the focus to the Captain, his soldiers are shown to have reached their destination as they look for the rebels, leading them through the forest, causing the Captain to step down from his horse to search for any objects that might indicate signs of any rebel activity in the area. A medium shot focuses on his commanding body language, transitioning to a close-up shot to fully focus on his actions and dialogue as he is superior to his soldiers. The camera then proceeds to arc around him, leaving the audience to focus on what he is thinking and feeling as he realises they are being watched by the rebels from a distance. The use of a long lens shot when looking at the Captain has the effect of appearing to focus on him from a distance, placing the audience on the side of the rebels, viewing the action from their perspective as the Captain taunts them to come out and fight him rather than hide in the trees. This effort, however, comes to nothing and they saddle up and return to the mill, indicated by a pan from right to left that contrasts the left to right movement that originally showed them heading out on their journey, just like the movement of turning over a page in a book.
Despite this, when in the next scene we return to Ofelia, she is searching through the depths of the tree to look for any sign of her task, with the camera movement appearing to differentiate from this typical pattern of moving from right to left, electing instead to combine a movement from left to right and then right to left. This contrasting movement presents the fact that the environment that she is presently located within is disorientating for her and therefore unsettling for the audience who are made to feel lost with her as she clambers through the dark and winding tree.
Finally, after killing the giant toad and retrieving the key, Ofelia emerges from the tree, feeling distressed rather than accomplished, indicated by a complete transformation in colour palette, switching from a warm and bright setting as she headed out on her journey that became slightly tainted by the dark and grim colours associated with the Captain’s world and his influence until finally, almost complete darkness after appearing from the depths of the tree, dishevelled by the ordeal and increasingly aware of the trouble she has caused, transferring her from being a little girl on an adventure to fearing the serious consequences of her actions at the hands of the Captain.
Another Global film that appropriately uses cinematography to convey meaning is the portmanteau film Wild Tales, with six different stories, all connected by themes of violence and revenge, directed by Damián Szifron.
At the start of the wedding sequence, Szifron uses Steadicam throughout the opening shots that depict guests reacting to a series of pictures being projected as a slideshow, combining this with the use of a series of handheld close-up shots to focus on the interactions between the couple and their in-laws which has the effect of making the performance appear more personal and meaningful to the audience. The couple is also centrally framed as they emerge from behind a curtain to focus the audience’s attention on them as they greet family members, giving the impression that the person watching the film is a spectator of the wedding as the shots are made to feel very intimate with a sense of family and unity. This is further insinuated by the low angle shot of the camera arcing around the couple that gives the impression that the camera is dancing along with them as one of the guests at the wedding, matching the pace of the lively and upbeat movement and the high energy of the music to give the scene a lively appearance and show the audience that this is a jubilant occasion where everyone is unified in having a tremendous time. On the other hand, the emergence of the couple from behind a curtain could suggest to the audience that what they are watching is a façade and the affectionate attitude of the couple is a performance, foreshadowing the later events in the sequence.
As the action changes location, the joyous dancing remains but is accompanied by a change to a warm, yellow colour palette that suggests to the audience that this is a happy time for the couple and the guests. The camera moves quickly, pulling back from a close-up shot of an energetic sousaphone, directing focus on the instrument and therefore a clear focus on the joy surrounding the room at the party as everyone dances to the music, immediately becoming engrossed.
However, as the dancing suddenly stops and there is a change in setting to guests eating and the couple moving from one table to the next to take a photo with their families, there are less dramatic movements, shown through the use of less frequent, slower and more stable shots that focus on the dialogue of the characters rather than the chaos of the party. The bride is engaged in conversation with two relatives that query who all the vast amount of people attending their wedding are and their connection to the couple. Romina proceeds to point out several groups of tables somewhere in the distance occupied by friends of clubs that they attend before spotting the table where her husband’s coworkers are seated and Ariel is talking teasingly to a woman that Romina doesn’t recognise. The camera pans to the left, centrally framing the bride in the shot and therefore isolating her in the frame with a shallow depth of field utilised so that the audience focus on the bride’s reaction as she begins to suspect her husband might be cheating on her with this mystery woman. The camera zooms in on the woman sitting at the table to draw attention to her, centrally framed although not clearly due to the brides lack of awareness that this woman existed up until this point in time which puts the audience at the bride’s perspective, further shown by the use of a POV shot to make the following reaction shot of her seem more personal and makes the audience increasingly empathetic towards her character. It also shows how the revelation is significant to the development of the story and that Romina is entirely focused on the mystery woman seen before her. As the bride crosses the room to the mirror located by her table, the camera tracks the bride’s movement, sandwiching the woman in the centre of focus as she looks into the mirror with her reflection staring back at her. The mirror shot both have the effect of clearly demonstrating the reaction of both characters as Romina calls an unknown number belonging to the woman to find out who she might be and appears to be foreshadowing her apparent dual nature as the sequence progresses after learning that her husband has cheated on her. The use of a wrack focus to differentiate between the reaction of the bride’s phone as she dials the number and the woman picks up her phone implies to the audience that the bride has uncovered her husband’s dirty secret as the truth is slowly becoming clearer for her.
Romina, now clearly in distress after learning about this apparent secret, is joined in shot by her husband as they begin to slowly dance, arcing around them to once again give the effect that the audience is a guest dancing alongside them but instead elects to cut to a variety of different arcing shots that make the scene disorientating for the audience as the bride is putting her husband under a lot of pressure as she begins to question him so that he might reveal the truth to her. At this pint, the focus is entirely on the couple, with a shallow depth of field making the background barely visible so that the audience focus completely on the dialogue as it will distinguish a turning point in the sequence for all the characters. These effects are combined with a series of close-up shots between the newlyweds as they dance, continually alternating between the two partners until Ariel finally confirms her suspicions at which point it cuts to a wide shot which stops the camera from giving the effect that it’s dancing with them as they are no longer dancing as the bride begins to break away from Ariel and becomes far less smooth and increasingly jarring, representing the current state of mind of Romina as she reels back in shock and confusion from her husband due to his unfaithful actions.
After storming out of the hall, there is a change in the colour palette as the lighting becomes lighter when the truth has been revealed to her as she stumbles through the cramped corridor, unlike the darker setting she was previously in when only her suspicions were aroused. When stumbling through this corridor, the bride is tracked by low angle shots of her from both in front and behind, signifying to the audience that she feels overwhelmed and claustrophobic with a declining sense of reality after learning the truth as it gives the appearance that the corridor is even smaller than it is in reality.
A BEV shot of the bride leaning over the edge of the unnerving effect of making the audience get the impression that she is about to jump due to the recent devastating events. The lighting in the background of the following shots showing the conversation between Romina and a kindly chef comforting her appears romantic, foreshadowing the romantic interaction between the bride and the chef, subverting the expectations of the audience is this is uncharacteristic of Romina and suggest to the audience that she is in a vulnerable place at the moment as the seductive intention of the bride contrasts the despair that is feeling as a result of the fear that her guests might negatively look down at her for being cheated on with a guest at her wedding. There is also a prevalent use of long lenses combined with a wide aperture that contribute to the effect of the setting appearing dreamy, linking to her current vulnerable state and is shot on a spherical lens rather than an anamorphic lens and extended to widescreen, allowing the current events to appear more realistic and therefore heightening the suspense and emotions felt by the audience as she begins to kiss him and lets out an enraged rant about what she intends to do to attain revenge for Ariel’s deceitful acts. Reaction shots of shock from both the chef and Ariel during this violent outburst from Romina highlight the fact that this is an unforeseen change in attitude from Romina, causing Ariel to vomit because of it. To present the idea that the shoe is now on the other foot, with Ariel and Romina now reversing roles due to her taking control, eventually causing him to breakdown just like she did previously, the 180-degree rule is broken during the heated confrontation between the couple as she is now in a stronger and commanding position over him.
Both Szifron and del Toro use aspects of cinematography to convey meaning throughout their films so that they have a wide range of effects on the audience. Del Toro utilises it to contrast the different conflicting worlds in Pan’s Labyrinth, from the perspective of the fantastical and adventurous Ofelia to the cold and calculated manner of the Captain. Szifron on the other hand t allows the audience to empathise with characters such as Romina through his clever use of different techniques that appropriately convey the attitudes and feeling of the characters on screen.
The directors of both Pan’s Labyrinth and Wild Tales employ aspects of mise-en-scene to convey meaning throughout their films and have a wide range of effects on the audience.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth focuses on the civil war in Spain. An election in 1936 brought to power a leftist Popular Front government causing Fascist and extreme-right forces to respond with a coup attempt that turned into a civil war. The film is set in 1944 after the fascist victory as the remaining rebels are routed out and killed.
During the Pale Man sequence, Ofelia opens a doorway to a hidden lair of an ancient monster so that she can retrieve a golden dagger with a key she found from her earlier task. At the start of the sequence, Ofelia is located within her room with del Toro using a dark colour palette to demonstrate how she is confined in the Captain’s world with one window the main source of light, partially barred by wooden planks and leaves which only provides a small glimpse of light shining into the room, showing that she is a prisoner, creating fear for the audience as we feel confined and as hopeless as she feels in his grasp. When she opens the book given to her by the Faun, the pages change from being a blank to reveal a picture of the Pale Man she is soon to encounter, depicted in a similar style to the drawings of Alice in Wonderland with pastorally colours that make the picture appear less threatening than its real life counterpart, thereby deceiving the audience as to the dangerous nature of the creature which makes its appearance all the more terrifying. Del Toro foreshadows this appearance of the Pale Man in order to have an effect on the audience, creating suspense for the creatures emergence. After drawing a small door shaped outline with chalk given to her by the Faun, Ofelia pushes open the new door in the wall to gaze into the piercingly bright lair of the Pale Man. Del Toro’s creative decision to change the colour palette from a cold blue to a far warmer red indicates a change from the reality of the Captain’s world to the fantasy world that she is about to step into which shows the audience that Ofelia is temporarily free from the Captain’s entrapment.
Del Toro gives the appearance of the Pale Man’s lair aspects of typical gothic design as the vaulted ancient ceiling gives the impression of catacombs underneath a cathedral with a chessboard-like floor which gives the audience the impression that the creature is mythological and enhances the mystery and intrigues surrounding the monster. There are further references made to the story Alice in Wonderland such as the oversized sand timer that she places in the doorway before she steps down to keep track of how much time she has left, emphasising to the audience its importance to the plot. The corridor that leads to the main chamber curves around a winding corner to show how deep the lair is whilst the windows are smaller than typical windows which demonstrates that she will be unable to get out; these various elements of the lair present to the audience that Ofelia is small in comparison to the task she is facing and how the task will be overwhelming for her, creating anticipation as it seems that she will inevitably face trouble in escaping from this place. Ofelia emerges into a huge expansive chamber, dominated by a large table that almost extends the length of the entire room with a figure at the end of it, resembling the Captain in a previous scene when he had previously held his feast for a group of the most important people including the doctor and other fascist sympathisers, heading the table as a commanding and evil figure and showing that both characters are as evil as each other, creating a further sense of foreboding for the fate of Ophelia. Del Toro uses an extraordinary collection of different foods including jellies and overflowing fruit piled up on this table to form a large banquet, something that a child might possibly imagine as all this food is unavailable due to the rationing brought into effect by the war, hinting towards the fact that she could be imagining what she used to have but can now only dream of which has increased relevance given the ending of the film which can be left up to interpretation as to whether Ophelia imagines all these events.
The towering figure that heads the table is the Pale Man; a skinny giant with large flaps of pale skin that dominate its body as the murals on the wall of his lair depict him eating large amounts of children as a creature of legend, but he hasn’t been able to eat in a long time, causing him to grow thin and frail allowing for him to look even more visually horrifying to the audience. There is a substantial amount of shoes piled up across the chamber; a visual reference to the concentration camps at Auschwitz during WW2 which is when the story is set and so the atrocities that resulted in the deaths of thousands of children would have been occurring at the time, links the creature to the atrocities of real life events and how its actions have caused the deaths of an enormous amount of innocent people, further influencing the audiences mindset that Ophelia is in grave danger. A fire situated behind the Pale Man appears to represent satanic imagery such as the mouth of hell, further utilising the hellish imagery seen in the murals to show how this monstrosity of a creature has a clear evil intent.
At first Ofelia chooses to acknowledge the figure before moving on to focus at the task of finding the dagger. She uses the shining and golden key with a twig handle, referencing Ofelia’s natural elements that link her to the rebels, to open a hatch so that she can obtain an ancient looking knife wrapped in a cloth with a golden handle that further links to the colour palette used to identify the fantasy world. Her temptation to take and eat the grapes is caused by them being oversized which gives them a succulent and divine appearance, referencing to the forbidden fruit in genesis where Eve was tempted to eat the fruit from the tree of life that had been forbidden from her, and like Eve, Ofelia’s actions lead to loss as two fairies die as she attempts to make her escape.
Another film that appropriately uses mise-en-scene to covey meaning is the portmanteau film Wild Tales, with six different stories, all connected by themes of violence and revenge, directed by Damián Szifron.
Focusing on the wedding sequence, it starts with a montage of old childhood photos that present the innocence of the couple which will later contrast their nature in the sequence and help the audience to infer relevant information about the sequence such as it being a family event that wouldn’t be available at this point in the scene without this context. The setting of the wedding gives a distinct rich and privileged appearance with lots of champagne glasses, expensive alcohol, golden chandeliers and tuxedos that all contribute towards this whilst also creating a disturbing feeling later on in the sequence when the bride later threatens to take everything away from him as they speak on the rooftop after she discovers he’s been cheating on her, allowing the audience to grasp the scale and severity of her threats and what she would be taking away. There is also a use of pathetic fallacy on the rooftop, used to demonstrate her ferocity as she lashes out at him and simultaneously, a bolt of lightning can be seen striking behind her in the distance as the sound of thunder follows thereafter.
Before these events however, the bride and groom first appear from behind a curtain as they joyously bound towards their in-laws, greeting them affectionately. The fact that they appear from behind a curtain immediately implies to the audience that their relationship is a façade and they are putting on a show to appease their guests as they wish to avoid criticism. The groom, Ariel, has neglected to shave for his own wedding showing his lack of care for his new wife, foreshadowing the fact that is unfaithful to her and the caring attitude that we were originally led to believe that he had is replaced with suspicion as it is a sign of his intention to conceal his cheating nature. After the buoyant dancing, the crowded setting is replaced by a much calmer and spacious one, where all their guests are sitting down as the bride, Romina, talks with them and points out from what backgrounds everyone is from in relation to them. Romina is drawn to her husband appearing to flirt with a mystery woman across from the room and therefore uses her initiative to uncover whether her suspicions that her husband might not be as caring as she once thought, by using her phone. The phone is used as a device to discover the secret that Ariel has cheated on Romina and is used to call the mystery woman who he had been flirting with earlier, leading to her confronting her husband during their first dance where its revealed to her that her suspicions were true. To escape this embarrassing and distressing situation, Romina runs frantically down a long, narrow hallway that leads to a fire escape and on to the rooftop. This hallway suggests to the audience that she feels trapped and claustrophobic because of the events that have just transpired and now feels as though everything is closing in around her, betrayed and alone. Her white wedding dress is intended to represent the idea of purity and innocence that is present in her character before she discovers the harrowing truth of her husband’s deceit, but the white becomes tainted with blood later on after she smashes the mystery woman into a mirror, showing that her innocence has been fragmented by this act and has stained her personality that can never wash out and return to her original purity, symbolised by this dress.
As the film reaches its climax, a broken cake, glass and ripped out hair show the destruction both physically and mentally inflicted on one another and how it has caused chaos for both them and their guests. At this point it seems unlikely there will be a happy ending for either of them, until Ariel offers out his hand possibly in forgiveness and apology and they slow dance alone on the stained floor as their guests look on in amazement. The final image is a particularly striking one, depicting a bride and groom statue resting crooked on the floor as the couple have sex on the adjacent table where the cake once stood, which could be symbolic of all the evenets that have occurred at the ceremony and how as a couple. they have both fallen down but still remain together despite the anguish they have caused each other.
Both Szifron and del Toro use aspects of mise-en-scene to convey meaning throughout their films to have a wide range of effects on the audience. Del Toro utilises it to show the contrasting world’s from the realistic and the fantastical in Pan’s Labyrinth, and how they share similarities with each other that only Ofelia is compelled to see. Szifron on the other hand uses mise-en-scene to allow the audience to empathise with characters through the use of symbolic imagery that appropriately coveys how they are feeling or how they have changes as people on screen.
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