World Cinema: Discuss how aesthetics are used to communicate themes in your chosen films. Make detailed reference to particular sequences in your answer [40]

Aesthetics are incredibly important in the Paleman sequence of Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth. For example, the use of colour. The mise-en-scene of the red food has connotations of danger, blood, and fear therefore creating tension and fear in the audience through aesthetics. Moreover, the mise-en-scene of the fire connotes the idea of hell, which links into the theme of religion that is explored throughout the film but is also another way of aesthetically creating fear in the audience. This Paleman’s room itself could be deemed similar to the church buildings due to the painting like murals around the room that were inspired by Goya’s painting of Saturn eating his son. This link to Christianity in such a horrific place could be a way of conveying negative attitudes about Christian’s lack of involvement during the war, which was also explored earlier in the movie. Aesthetically these elements of mise-en-scene are emphasised to the audience, only making them more disturbing, scary and building more tension. Such as, the foley sound of the hellish fire, and the non-diegetic (but possibly imagined) sound of the screaming children when Ofelia sees the pictures. The terror of the room conveyed through aesthetics links to the representation of children, as Ofelia is able to handle herself and escape from such a place as child suggesting children are strong and capable. In general, the room is decked with yellow, red and gold which are colours associated with the fantasy world while the real world is associated with blue and green. Del Toro created a place away from danger for Ofeli to escape to (blue has cold and harsh connotations), but the escaping place was also dangerous (red has violent connotations). However, by the end of the movie, this use of red, yellow and gold takes on a different aesthetics meaning and feels more passionate, warm, and safe. 

During the ending of Pan’s Labyrinth when Ophelia is running away from Vidal there is blue low-key lighting that makes the audience feel cold and fear for Ophelia as blue has the connotation of coldness and because blue is associated with Vidal, who is a dangerous fascist character throughout the movie. This lighting is repeated when Vidal shots Ofelia. This lighting shows that Ophelia is surrounded by the danger of fascists like Vidal and the effects of the Spanish Civil War which the film was set shortly after, the effect that war has on children is something that Del Toro often explores in his films such as The Devil’s Backbone. To contrast, the yellow flood of light that takes Ophelia into the magical world after being shot in which the lighting and mise en scene such as set design is yellow and red makes the audience feel calmer as it feels like Ophelia is safe now, she’s away from the dangers of fascism and the aftermath of the Spanish civil war. In this scene the mise en scene has references to other movies that Del Toro took inspiration from. Such as, Ophelia’s red shows link to ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and therefore the idea of going home, suggesting that Ophelia is home now and will be much happier. Despite it being a much happier place, the mise en scene does provide some discomfort to the audience. The chairs that Ophelia and her parents have suggest a hierarchy as the king is taller than the queen and princess. This represents the gender inequality that also existed in the real world which could be suggesting the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War as the problems didn’t stop immediately – even when Ophelia had entered a magical world/afterlife some problems still carried on making the audience feel sad. However, these chairs also provided closure to the bildungsroman genre/coming of age theme in the movie. Fallopian tubes were shown throughout such as with the fauns horns which was one way of highlighting that Ophelia was growing up and there’s chairs provide evidence to the audience that Ophelia has grown up as she is not greeted like a child but like an adult and must and can get to the high seat herself.

The ending of House of Flying Daggers conveys many things aesthetically to the audience. For example, the use of wire work in the rest of the movie, such as during the bamboo fight scene, helping to form the wuxia genre is changed for the ending of the movie. There is no wire work making the fighting seem more down to earth and realistic. There is also more mise en scene of blood than in the rest of the movie. This aesthetically makes the fight more brutal, which builds tension in the audience. This makes sense as it’s the climax of the movie. The snow, although not under the crews control, aesthetically made the scene more dramatic as did the use of non-diegetic music (one note being held at a time). The snow however did become a choice, as the close up of the drop of blood on the snow was foreshadowed right at the beginning during the text sequence. Moreover, the editing could also be interpreted as having an aesthetic impact on the audience. Such as, when Leo and Jin are edited to fall twice which emphasises the brutality of the fight. Plus, the camera circles around them when they have literally and metaphorically stabbed each other in the back. All of this aesthetically connotes  to the themes of deceit and betrayal. 

The Peony Pavilion aesthetically links to the Tang Dynasty period, also referred to as the ‘golden age’.  The mise-en-scene of the set design may seem extravagant with the richly coloured and patterned walls, floor, furniture and everything else in sight, but it’s actually based in reality. The Tang Dynasty period was full of peace, literature and poetry. Bordellos of the time were places of beauty and artistic expression, just like the one depicted in the film. This is aesthetically gotten across to the audience through the mise-en-scene of the Peony Pavilion. The aesthetics of the scene are also deceiving. Such as, during a long shot of Mei dancing we see blue butterflies on the floor. As she is wearing a similarly coloured  blue dress the audience may see the butterflies as a metaphor for Mei. This suggests delicateness and innocence. However, this is not the case. She’s actually a trained fighter and a member of the House of Flying Daggers. Plus, the central framing of Mei during the opening sequence aesthetically conveys her importance to the audience. Moreover, the use of repetition could aesthetically link to the representation of gender. Such as, the repetition of the men picking up their swords against the repetition of the women walking in with their instruments. This represents men as the fighters and women as the performers.

Cinematography 

• Extreme long shot of Jin and Leo fighting with the contrast of the snow on the ground and the autumn coloured trees.
• Mid shots of the fighting 
• Close up of the swords intertwining 
•  Mid shot of a drop of blood on the snow from Leo’s dagger 
• Close up showing that Leo didn’t throw the dagger he wanted to kill her. Mei smiles, she keeps them both alive. 
• Close up of Leo’s face when Mei is dying in Jin’s arms 
• Close up of Leo dropping the dagger 
• Extreme long shot of Leo walking away 
• Extreme long shot of Jin holding Mei 
• Camera tracks round as they elbow each other 
• Sequence of crash zooms 
• Close up of Mei crying 
• Series of mid shots and close ups of the three individually and then an extreme close up 
• Close up of eyes – reaction – crash zooms 
• Extreme long shot – almost triangle like – Jin throws his sword and moves closer to Leo, trying to help. 
• Circling camera
• Close up/mid shot of Leo’s angry face then close up  of the blood he has drawn from Jin 
• Camera tracks around them when they have stabbed each other in the back 

Mise en Scene 

• Snowing (happened on set). The blood from Mei with the snow was foreshadowed at the beginning. 
•  contrast of the snow on the ground and the autumn coloured trees. 
• Army with their swords getting ready to attack the HOFD is the only thing we see of that attack. It’s about the romance story really. Plus, we probably know who will win anyway. The raid was set up as the point of the movie at the beginning, this is now cast aside. 
• Blood flying across the scene 
• Blood on the snow from the men (foreshadowed) 
• Drop of blood on the snow 
• Daggers hits the blood in the air – slow mo 
• Blood pours from Mei 
• Different from the bamboo fight scene. No wire work. Less special effects but still some. Bloodier and more brutal. 
• White is a funeral colour for the Chinease 
• Dagger sticking up might by symbolic of death – bad luck to leave chopsticks sticking up because they look like incense which get burned at funerals??
• Notches on the sword – isn’t a ballet like scene that’s pretty it’s a fight to the death 
• Repeated cutting each other’s shoulder and blood 
• Jin cuts off Leo’s hat that represents his status 
• In previous scenes they have used nature as a weapon, the snow is like nature fighting back against the injustice of the situation??

Sound 

• Loud foley sword sounds but only when they clash 
• Diegetic screaming 
• High pitched singing – holding long notes and snowy landscape over the fight scene
• Orchestral music when Mei gets up – we’ve heard it before – music about the love triangle/ tragic song of the film 
• ‘You shouldn’t have come back’ repeated from earlier 
• No music when Mei has hit the tree and before? Jin is running to Mei and holding her
• He cries holding her
• Jin sings Mei the song from the beginning to Mei while holding her as she dies 
• ‘ I came back, for you, my love’ – romance genre 
• Instrument playing over those ready to attack the HOFD is the same as the ones from the opening – history and politics – then it changes to the romance story 
• Magical sound of the blade – sound of Leo’s (fake – tricks us) and Mei’s 

Performance 

• They fight despite being injured. Originally they were set up to be on the same side. 

• Mei starts to get up 
• Mei hits the tree – romance not politics – not picking a side or an accident. It was going to hit the dagger as shown by the blood. Leo’s final deceit. 
• Leo walks away (stumbling)
• Different from the bamboo fight scene. No wire work. Less special effects but still some. 
• Both Leo and Jin stab each other at the same time while facing back to back. They then remove the swords at the same time. They are equals. Betrayed each other. 
• Leo removes his dagger 
• Leo and Jin both being equally damaged in the same way etc 
• Leo and Jin are different. Jin shows a softer side, he runs over to Mei and cries. Leo just leaves – he’s bitter, his undercover work has left the relationship with Mei stale, he’s hurt. Maybe it’s saying something about it not being what’s happened to you, but how you deal with it?
• Close up showing that Leo didn’t throw the dagger he wanted to kill her. Mei smiles, she keeps them both alive. Leo deceives. Mei is selfless. 
• Leo can’t look 
• Left and right movement throughout the film. Leo turns right and leaves. Jin breaks this and goes to Mei.
• Fighting feels less choreographed than earlier in the movie. Bloodier. Gritty. Harsh. Contrasts. 
• Close up/mid shot of Leo’s angry face then close up  of the blood he has drawn from Jin 

Editing 

• Slow motion of them punching/kicking sometimes??
• Slow motion of the dagger 
• Special effects of throwing the dagger and it hitting the blood in the air 
• Editing compacts the different areas (bamboo forest and open space by tree of forest)
• Fade from snow covered to snow storm 
• Fade to black 
• Break of continuity for effect – edit the same fight moment twice – crash into each other- emphasis 
• Slow motion of edited blood when they slash one another 
• Treats both men equally 
• Conversation between Mei and Jin 

Meanings and Response 

• Aesthetics 

Representation 

• Women as strong and with their own feelings and motivations 

Context 

• Political context 

Cinematography:

• close-up of the bamboo going through the bamboo and smashing on the bamboo – tension
• long shot/extreme long shot of her being surrounded – link to other title
• high key lighting
• long shots to close ups of their faces when they are trapped
• close up of them holding hands

Mise en Scene

• shot on location in a bamboo forest
• women – house of flying daggers – rescue them, standing together in a line – unstoppable (bar main three who are stood further forward)
• flying daggers
• bamboo cage
• claustrophobic feel – then the HOFD show up with a lightness in the background

Performance

• martial arts – Wuxia – wire work
• mixture of special effects and wire work
• Mei is acting blind still
• Foreshadowing –  Jin throws the sword past Mei and hits the tree
• Holding hands
• The army/police fall down together x3
• Mei’s fighting the urge to look at him – keeping up the facade

Editing

• reduced cutting rate
• slow-motion shots – flying people after being kicked, bamboo smashed against the bamboo, bamboo running together (with slow music when they are running together)

Sound

• swords swooshing
• clinging etc. – utilised to reinforce the idea that she’s blind when paired with the action-reaction shot of leaves falling, etc and the close up of her reaction
• it’s from Mei’s perspective – heightened sound effects – she has to focus on sound (far away and close up has the same foregrounding)
• no non-diegetic music (before Jin)
• screaming
• punctuation sound when Jin comes to save Mei
• diegetic sound when Jin’s fighting
• Whistling – throw bamboo call
• when they’re trapped, the song she danced to plays
• hear the dagger coming

Genre

• Wuxia and wire work

Meanings/Messages/Response/Themes

• politics and romance
• deception

Representation

• Jin/Mei/Leo represents the youth?
• Mei is strong and powerful
• House of Flying Daggers people/women contrast the women at the Peony Pavillion
• How the film is reflective of Chinese culture, and how it is a Chinese film

Contexts

• Oppressive, trapped, chased – regime?

Cinematography: 

• Mid-shot/long-shot of her standing in-front of Jin, then after a reaction, a close-up of Mei
• She’s framed in the centre, giving her more of a presence than the other girls
• high key lighting, low contrast
• Crane shot – tug of war
• Zoomed in to wide – tracking shot of women entering. Also happens later with Mei
• central framing

Mise en Scene:

• text to set up the plot and the historical context
• Green and red outfits
• Peony Pavilion: colourful, stylised, elaborate
• Colourful outfits (Peony Pavilion)
• Blue dress – blue can be seen as a military colour BUT it’s more to do with feelings than a symbolic meaning
• Specially made flooring
• During the opening titles – red art on a white background – foreshadowing the ending with the blood on the snow
• military/police base has dull colours/lack of colour especially when compared to the Peony Pavillion
• Saturated colours
• Bits of blue on the carpet – butterflies – and Mei’s dress is blue (high angle shot)
• Red lipstick and paint separates her from the other women (and she said she was unlike them) and a possible link to the red associated with the soldiers/police

Editing:

• Long take of her dancing (then it starts cutting – still her dancing)
• Slow motion of her robe falling down after Jin cuts it
• Cross fade of red lines to…….
• Action reaction shots – conversation

Performance:

• Mei is walking cautiously – deceiving us that she is blind
• Jin is drunk
• Leo is polishing his sword and sitting upright, contrasting to Jin who is slouched and drinking (but they are of equal rank)
• Picking up swords compared to the women and instruments (similar/same shot) – representation of men and women
• Repetition of men picking up the swords and the repetition of the women carrying the instruments.
• Although everyone is lying – Leo true emotions are technically revealed as he feels jealous due to be in love with her
• ‘Why can’t a blind girl work here?’ – Mei stands up for herself which Jin likes

Sound:

• Opens with classical Chinese orchestra
• Song lyrics that Mei sings
• Distant sounds of laughter
• Magical treatment to the sound one instrument echoes but not the rest – highly stylised sound scape
• diegetic music
• talking sets up the deception
• “A second glance leaves the whole nation in ruins”

Messages/Meanings/Response:

• Aesthetics: set (auteur), colour, elaborateness
• Aesthetics: dedicates 3-4 minutes to a dance sequence

Representation – Gender:

• women laughing as they lose tug of war against a single man (Jin)
• He undresses Mei with his sword
• Women all try and tear Jin away form hurting Mei
• She’s arrested for being indecently dresses, but it’s not her fault – plan to arrest her then to ‘save’ her??
• women are giggling, frivolous, named after flowers
• women scared of the men
• women falling over Jin

Contexts:

• Tang Dynasty – Peony Pavilion  may seem over the top and stylised, but it has an element of truth. Correct representation.
• Actress is in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon