Choose a 5 minute scene in either The 400 Blows or Breathless and analyze it through a geographical context. How does the geographical location of the film’s origin affect its mise-en-scene? Give detailed and specific examples.
The scene that I have chosen is the last four and a half minutes in the film, in which Antoine breaks out of the center for troubled youths and runs to the ocean. The last few years of the decade in 1950s France saw the end of an era and the fall of the Fourth Republic– France’s government system from the end of the Nazi occupation and ended in 1958. This social and political disruption was reflected in the change of movements such as the French New Wave. The French New Wave is widely considered as one of the most influential film movements and it popularized editing techniques such as the freeze frame and jumps cuts, as well as cinematography styles that were defined by the ending sequence of Francois Truffaut’s film The 400 Blows and Henri Decaë, the cinematographer’s, scene in which the main character runs off, away from the institution that he has been placed in. This is the scene that I have chosen to analyze. The geographical location that this was shot in juxtaposes the beginning of the film with the end. At the start, Antoine is pictured in the bustling streets of Paris. Most of the shots are set in the city and the apartment, further highlighting Antoine’s desire to escape his family. He is constantly surrounded by walls and buildings, just as he is by parents and teachers that seem to be out to get him. In the ending scene, however, he is physically running away from all of this. He has essentially been caged into the conformity and formalities that he has been trying to escape. The final sequence shows him breaking free of these and fleeing. His freedom is realized in the absence of industry, as he is now almost entirely surrounded by nature. This symbolizes Antoine’s “coming of age” moment and his newfound freedom.
The scene in which I’ve chosen is the kids running out of school in 400 blows where they all escape gym class and leave school. This film takes place after France’s recovery from the nazi occuaption. These times caused an abundance of tension around france as there was a lot of damage to recover from physically and emotionally. It particularly had an impact on the children of france as they were raised during this stressful time. They never knew france before the war and had to deal with the consequences for the entirety of their lives. 400 blows is a depiction of this as it is centered around the children of france and the main characters rebellious acts. This scene specifically is a representation of their rebellious but wholesome nature. They are all collectively working together to escape school. The mise-en-scene in this scene is the streets of paris all filmed through a birds eye view so we can grasp the world they live in. the streets appear functional but are also riddled with graffiti and congestion. This is a good representation of time and place as the graffiti represents the rebellion of unsettled people and the congestion is the opposite where everyone still continues their daily lives. Ultimately, this scene provides a representation of the streets of paris but also reveals the subliminal message of rebellion and unsettled nature of the youth.
The scene that I have chosen is the last four and a half minutes in the film, in which Antoine breaks out of the center for troubled youths and runs to the ocean.
ReplyDeleteThe last few years of the decade in 1950s France saw the end of an era and the fall of the Fourth Republic– France’s government system from the end of the Nazi occupation and ended in 1958. This social and political disruption was reflected in the change of movements such as the French New Wave. The French New Wave is widely considered as one of the most influential film movements and it popularized editing techniques such as the freeze frame and jumps cuts, as well as cinematography styles that were defined by the ending sequence of Francois Truffaut’s film The 400 Blows and Henri Decaë, the cinematographer’s, scene in which the main character runs off, away from the institution that he has been placed in. This is the scene that I have chosen to analyze. The geographical location that this was shot in juxtaposes the beginning of the film with the end. At the start, Antoine is pictured in the bustling streets of Paris. Most of the shots are set in the city and the apartment, further highlighting Antoine’s desire to escape his family. He is constantly surrounded by walls and buildings, just as he is by parents and teachers that seem to be out to get him. In the ending scene, however, he is physically running away from all of this. He has essentially been caged into the conformity and formalities that he has been trying to escape. The final sequence shows him breaking free of these and fleeing. His freedom is realized in the absence of industry, as he is now almost entirely surrounded by nature. This symbolizes Antoine’s “coming of age” moment and his newfound freedom.
The scene in which I’ve chosen is the kids running out of school in 400 blows where they all escape gym class and leave school.
ReplyDeleteThis film takes place after France’s recovery from the nazi occuaption. These times caused an abundance of tension around france as there was a lot of damage to recover from physically and emotionally. It particularly had an impact on the children of france as they were raised during this stressful time. They never knew france before the war and had to deal with the consequences for the entirety of their lives.
400 blows is a depiction of this as it is centered around the children of france and the main characters rebellious acts. This scene specifically is a representation of their rebellious but wholesome nature. They are all collectively working together to escape school. The mise-en-scene in this scene is the streets of paris all filmed through a birds eye view so we can grasp the world they live in. the streets appear functional but are also riddled with graffiti and congestion. This is a good representation of time and place as the graffiti represents the rebellion of unsettled people and the congestion is the opposite where everyone still continues their daily lives. Ultimately, this scene provides a representation of the streets of paris but also reveals the subliminal message of rebellion and unsettled nature of the youth.