Thursday, September 16, 2010

Penland Mise on Scene: Moulin Rouge


In the movie, Moulin Rouge, a young writer, Christian, falls in love with a courtesan, Satine, who aspires to be an actress. The owner of the Moulin Rouge, and Satine’s “manager,” Zidler, wants the place turned into a theater, and wants Satine to be the star. All of the characters in this scene are trying to impress the Duke by entertaining him with the show they want to put on. The Duke will provide them with the money they need to create the theater.

The dominant in this scene is Zidler (Jim Broadbent). All of the characters are centered around him, and he has his arms spread open, presenting himself as the center of attention. His white undershirt also stands out above all of the other characters, who mostly have dark clothing on. However, Satine (Nicole Kidman) and Christian’s (Ewan McGregor) hands on Zidler’s jacket make the eye lead back to them. Their faces are also brighter than the other characters in the scene. Zidler’s hand also leads back to Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo), who also stands out more due to his off-white undershirt.

The lighting in this scene is low key mostly. Toward the bottom of the scene, the lighting is darker, and the darker clothing of the characters emphasizes this. The top of scene has more light; the red and golden background shows this.

The character proxemics in this scene is personal, because only half of the characters’ bodies are shown, and a few of them do not fit entirely in the frame.

The camera proxemics in this scene is personal as well, because the main focus is on the characters, and they are half in the frame with their bodies. Other aspects, such as the harp in the background, show more of the social proxemics, because it is not in full view.

This particular scene, the frame is open, because Zidler’s hands are open, and there is nothing framing the two sides. The scene has the feel of warmth, with the red and gold colors, but also of darkness, because of the black clothing the characters are wearing. This represents the feel of the entire movie, as even though it is about happiness and love, there are also many dark moments each character goes through.

Here is a trailer for Moulin Rouge:

No comments:

Post a Comment