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 I have chosen is the final scene of the film. It begins with Antoine Doinel playing soccer with the other boys from the observation center and ends with the freeze frame of Antonie at the ocean. The setting of the film itself is Paris, France and many of the shots were taken within the city as well. This allowed the mise-en-scene to appear very realistic as the city portrayed was the city shown on the screen. Shooting on site allowed Truffaut to bring the injustices of the treatment of juvenile offenders in France at the time to life. The one major location used other than Paris, was Calvados, which is a roughly two hour drive from Paris today. By using the city itself the shots of Paris looked more realistic, however the shots in Calvados, mainly the shots after Antoine is sent to the observation center, give the film a even more reliable appearance. According to his mother, Antoine’s dream was to see the sea, and by placing the observation center in a city near the water the scene of Antoine running to his dream appears more genuine. To the North of Calvados is the Baie de la Seine,a part of the English Channel and on the east, the Seine River. Although the body of water shown was not an ocean, the fact that the actor was actually running towards water, rather than through a set is not missed by an attentive audience.
The scene begins with a suburban looking area of France, away from the city and closer to the countryside, inside of a soccer field filled with young boys. As the department was a decent distance from the bustling city of Paris, it is understandable that there would be more open space for children. Not only would the countryside allow for more space, it would allow for more wildlife, like the plants seen during Antoine’s escape. Right outside of the gate of the soccer field, there is a lake and well as several trees, which would be seen as common for a rural location, especially one that would be used to help rehabilitate children who have had run ins with the law. As he runs down the path to the water, the audience is shown various farm-like areas with common domesticated animals, like cows, which makes Antoine’s run for freedom appear that much more realistic. Unlike Paris, Calvados appears to be less populated, which would have allowed Truffaut to shoot where he needed and edit the shots to result in the escape scene rather than have to make sense of the well-known city.
The scene I chose is at the beginning in the classroom when Antoine gets in trouble. It is very strict and the mise-en-scène reflects that. This connects to France, where the film was made and takes place, because at the time the education system was very strict. It was well-known for being very harsh until reforms were made in 1959. At that time, after World War Two, people were making efforts to modernize and democratize the schools. The 400 Blows takes place in a school before these changes were made, because it is the type of school that François Truffaut went to. One example of the mise-en-scène mirroring the rigidness of the classroom is through the walls. The walls are blank and plain. The lack of decoration indicates the lack of creative expression allowed at the school. There are rules for everything, and students must conform. Another aspect of the mise-en-scène is the clothing. The boys are all dressed very similarly, almost like uniforms. Again, there is no creative expression or individuality. Everyone must dress a certain way. Some of the necklines are very high, and it seems like they are choking the students. In general the mise-en-scène is dull and constricting to reflect what it was like for a student in France at the time.
I chose the scene in The 400 Blows where Antoine comes home with his father and they start to prepare dinner. In France, meals hold great importance and the family time involved is emphasized. There is also an emphasis on cooking yourself, which is why the scene partly takes place in the kitchen, and you can see everything from the stove to the pots and pans in the room. At the time this movie was made, France didn’t exactly have the same idea we had about the archetype of the woman in the kitchen. In France anybody in the family cooks. We see Antoine’s father, the man of the family, wearing an apron meaning he is primarily cooking, and Antoine is helping him. The fact that they’re working together to cook supports the French emphasis on family togetherness in meals and cooking. This scene takes place in their home, which similarly establishes this idea of familial closeness since a family typically is together in their home. Overall, things like the set design and costuming in this scene display the cultural significance of cooking and family in France.
The scene from Breathless I am choosing is the car scene. I feel like the driving scene gives an amazing view of the mise-en-scene in the film. We are following Michel and Patricia driving the through the streets of Paris as we view them from the front of the car with closed framing. The scene itself like the whole movie is filmed in Paris at the time of the film being the same of real life which make acquiring mise-en-scene very simple. As we see real people, in their real cars, on the real streets of Paris, the mise-en-scene is perfect, you feel like you are there with Jean and Jean in the car driving slowly as Michel confesses all he loves about Patricia.
The scene that I am choosing from the 400 Blows, by Francois Truffaut, is the final scene in which the protagonist, a young teenage boy, is running through the french country side following his daring escape from a boarding school for juvenile delinquents. This is one of the first moments in the film in which our character is finally free. The quiet, isolated french country side which he is running through contributes to the mise-en-scene by creating an atmosphere of isolation and tranquility.
At the end of the scene our character runs all the way to the cost and he stops and gazes out at the open sea. The open horizon and fluidity of the waves helps further contribute the mise-en-scene by providing a sense of freedom and endless possibilities. The open sea represents how the character has his entire life in front of him and it is his to decide hoe he will live it. For once, there are no parents, teachers or peers around him to restrict him and he is finally free
Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless portrays France at the turn of the decade, ushering a new sense of raw, sexy youthfullness that set the tone of the sixties. By utilizing mise-en-scene to represent this ideal, Godard shows Paris’s changing atmosphere in full exposure. One scene that demonstrates great mise-en-scene is the one in which Patricia meets her editor in a restaurant to discuss publishing opportunities and writing assignments. The cafe has huge windows that take up all the two’s background space. Through the windows viewers can see a huge bustling street of Paris, filled with European cars and streetwalkers. It’s a great glimpse of what life in the city looks like to those not present in France in the sixties, especially through the wide view of the street. It’s a simple snapshot of city life, but completely places the actors within the geographical context. The character of Patrica does a great job in encapsulating the new wave of French expression, based on appearance alone. She wears a boatneck striped top, which is one of the quintessential staple of French clothing. This example of tradition is balanced out by the haircut she sports: a cropped blonde pixie cut. This haircut was a small symbol of change for it’s time- women mirrored their evolving liberation through their appearance as well. This mise-en-scene is a great representation of Paris within its geographical context, showing how convention was being raised by an alternative and eccentric new wave.
The 400 Blows uses geographical location to enhance the storytelling and mise-en-scene of the film as a whole. A scene that particularly reflects this is the scene where Antoine decides that he can’t return home because his parents will be mad at him for lying. After abandoning the hideout his friend showed him, Antoine walks around the city. The scene has little to no dialogue, so use of the environment is vital in creating the the right atmosphere and tone to convey emotion. The first shot of this sequences emphasizes how large the buildings are in comparison to Antoine by filming Antoine from a slight high angle but still only showing a small portion of the buildings. This reflects the isolation Antoine is feeling at this point in the film. The city, due to it being night, is cast in shadow, making the buildings seem even more threatening and further creating a lonely atmosphere. As Antoine continues to walk, he walks past a building with a window that shows lights on and people inside, celebrating. The window acts as a barrier, showing the disconnect between Antoine and the many people in Paris. The next shot is from inside an empty restaurant, where Antoine can be seen through the windows. Here, the empty chairs and tables reflect Antoine’s state of mind, and the windows (again) act as a barrier seperating Antoine from society. Additionally, the darkness of the city outside acts to further separate Antoine, as his dark coat blends in with the shadows outside. Antoine stops in front of the restaurant, but he is boxed in within the frame as a result of the windows, creating closed framing and, again, reinforcing the disconnect between him and society. There is a closeup of Antoine that then pans to a milkman leaving milk for someone in front of a building. This building and other buildings in the background are not shown completely in frame, further showing that Paris is too large for Antoine to handle by himself. After Antoine takes a bottle of milk, he walks down a road that has light reflecting off the middle of it. Though Antoine walks in the pathway of reflected light, his figure is still silhouetted, making him match the darkness of the shadowy buildings around him. The same effect is created with the next shot, where Antoine’s coat allows him to blend in with the shadows of the alleyway he drinks the milk in. As the night starts to end, Antoine goes to a fountain where he washes his face. The fountain is white, and it is brighter, so there are less shadows, but a sense of isolation is still conveyed through the environment. For one, the steps and the fountain are both very large, taking up a lot of space in frame while still not fully being shown, similar to the buildings earlier in the scene. Additionally, the whiteness of the fountain and steps juxtaposes Antoine’s own outfit, showing that he doesn’t belong alone in the city while also showing his loneliness. There is a long shot of the fountain as Antoine walks away from it, which pans over to be a long shot of the city (buildings, again, cut off by the frame), where Antoine comparatively very small in frame, once again showing the power and scale of the environment and how Antoine is not ready to handle it by himself.
The 5 minute scene I chose is the last scene in “The 400 Blows” (Truffaut). This scene starts with a shot of the soccer field and ends with the end of the film. The film was released in 1959 in France. During this period of time, France was still recovering from World War 2, which had ended around ten years prior. During this period of time, a new government was imposed to help with war reconstruction, the French Fourth Republic. It was an attempt, and regrettably failed one at that, to repair the broken French infrastructure. In this scene, Antoine starts off outside of his prison playing soccer, and then makes a run for it. He keeps running and doesn’t look back. When he gets to the ocean, he just stands there, possibly accepting fate, perhaps realizing he is free, it is ambiguous. The point is that he ran away from organized society (even if it was hard on him) and the end result was completely meaningless. It is very possible that Truffaut is drawing a comparison to the state of France at the time and how the citizens should not stray away from organized government as it is meaningless.
Another possible interpretation is more focused on the absurdist revolution in France. Absurdism, a kind of sect of existentialism, is focused entirely on believing in one's our personally established morals and principals and refusing to accept societies rules. This certainly aligns with the main protagonist. Absurdist also believe death to be incredibly final and that living shouldn’t be given an extreme about of thought as we will all die, meaning that life has no meaning. This connects to the fact that Antoine's actions have no meaning in the end.
The scene I have chosen to analyze is that of the police interrogation, between the police and Antoine. The scene is shot at a medium, with Antoine sitting alone at the interrogation table. The interrogating officer is never seen and the camera remains on Lionel for the entirety of the scene. My interpretation of this scene is that of a disconnect between the law and youth, and that there is a lack of communication between the two. The law cannot figure out any efficient means of dealing with the troubled youth as there is no real communication between them. This results in the collective youth, represented by Antoine, not having a complete understanding of what is being done wrong by them. Like Antoine, they are alone and are not given the proper guidance that is required to recognize the error of their ways.
François Truffaut's "400 Blows" shows the life of Antoine Doinel as he tries his best to get to a better life. One of Antoine's aspirations had always been to visit the ocean, but he had always been too far inland to get near it. After he had been arrested, though, he was sent to a boot camp near the coast of France. In the ending scene of the film, Antoine was shown to run from the camp directly to the ocean as fast as he could, achieving a major goal for him.The placement of Antoine on the beach in the final shot, as he looked into the camera with a clueless expression, shows how Antoine's aspiration seemed irrelevant now. The geographical location was the only representation of this goal, and it managed to effect the mise-en-scene as it dictated the entire layout of the scene and its meaning to the narrative.
The 400 Blows by François Truffaut portrays the educational system of early 1950’s France as one of strict disciplinarianism through the use of Antoine Doinel. Doinel is a young boy who is forced to attend a harsh school with a cold, intolerant teacher, who verbally abuses the students during lessons. Doinel is rebellious however, which is characterized within a classroom scene in which he is forced to write sentences on a blackboard while the other children enjoy recess. Instead of doing what he is told however, Doinel writes a slur, sending the teacher into a rage. Doinel is completely just in taking these actions however, as Truffaut makes a point of illustrating the classroom as a prison-like environment through the use of mise-en-scene. For instance, the framing of the shots are important, as they always show large rows of children packed in tightly with one another. This shows a lack of emphasis on individual learning and expression, as well as represents a cramping of the children both physically and creativally. This emphasis on rigid learning as opposed to creativity is shown through the costume design, as each child is forced to wear a uniform, thus furthering their overall sameness. Overall, Antoine Doinel is placed into a geographical setting which stifles his growth as a creative and rebellious person. There is no room to grow when you are walled in on all sides, thus forcing Doinel to act out against authority.
The scene I have chosen is the final scene of the film. It begins with Antoine Doinel playing soccer with the other boys from the observation center and ends with the freeze frame of Antonie at the ocean. The setting of the film itself is Paris, France and many of the shots were taken within the city as well. This allowed the mise-en-scene to appear very realistic as the city portrayed was the city shown on the screen. Shooting on site allowed Truffaut to bring the injustices of the treatment of juvenile offenders in France at the time to life. The one major location used other than Paris, was Calvados, which is a roughly two hour drive from Paris today. By using the city itself the shots of Paris looked more realistic, however the shots in Calvados, mainly the shots after Antoine is sent to the observation center, give the film a even more reliable appearance. According to his mother, Antoine’s dream was to see the sea, and by placing the observation center in a city near the water the scene of Antoine running to his dream appears more genuine. To the North of Calvados is the Baie de la Seine,a part of the English Channel and on the east, the Seine River. Although the body of water shown was not an ocean, the fact that the actor was actually running towards water, rather than through a set is not missed by an attentive audience.
ReplyDeleteThe scene begins with a suburban looking area of France, away from the city and closer to the countryside, inside of a soccer field filled with young boys. As the department was a decent distance from the bustling city of Paris, it is understandable that there would be more open space for children. Not only would the countryside allow for more space, it would allow for more wildlife, like the plants seen during Antoine’s escape. Right outside of the gate of the soccer field, there is a lake and well as several trees, which would be seen as common for a rural location, especially one that would be used to help rehabilitate children who have had run ins with the law. As he runs down the path to the water, the audience is shown various farm-like areas with common domesticated animals, like cows, which makes Antoine’s run for freedom appear that much more realistic. Unlike Paris, Calvados appears to be less populated, which would have allowed Truffaut to shoot where he needed and edit the shots to result in the escape scene rather than have to make sense of the well-known city.
The scene I chose is at the beginning in the classroom when Antoine gets in trouble. It is very strict and the mise-en-scène reflects that. This connects to France, where the film was made and takes place, because at the time the education system was very strict. It was well-known for being very harsh until reforms were made in 1959. At that time, after World War Two, people were making efforts to modernize and democratize the schools. The 400 Blows takes place in a school before these changes were made, because it is the type of school that François Truffaut went to. One example of the mise-en-scène mirroring the rigidness of the classroom is through the walls. The walls are blank and plain. The lack of decoration indicates the lack of creative expression allowed at the school. There are rules for everything, and students must conform. Another aspect of the mise-en-scène is the clothing. The boys are all dressed very similarly, almost like uniforms. Again, there is no creative expression or individuality. Everyone must dress a certain way. Some of the necklines are very high, and it seems like they are choking the students. In general the mise-en-scène is dull and constricting to reflect what it was like for a student in France at the time.
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ReplyDeleteI chose the scene in The 400 Blows where Antoine comes home with his father and they start to prepare dinner. In France, meals hold great importance and the family time involved is emphasized. There is also an emphasis on cooking yourself, which is why the scene partly takes place in the kitchen, and you can see everything from the stove to the pots and pans in the room. At the time this movie was made, France didn’t exactly have the same idea we had about the archetype of the woman in the kitchen. In France anybody in the family cooks. We see Antoine’s father, the man of the family, wearing an apron meaning he is primarily cooking, and Antoine is helping him. The fact that they’re working together to cook supports the French emphasis on family togetherness in meals and cooking. This scene takes place in their home, which similarly establishes this idea of familial closeness since a family typically is together in their home. Overall, things like the set design and costuming in this scene display the cultural significance of cooking and family in France.
ReplyDeleteThe scene from Breathless I am choosing is the car scene. I feel like the driving scene gives an amazing view of the mise-en-scene in the film. We are following Michel and Patricia driving the through the streets of Paris as we view them from the front of the car with closed framing. The scene itself like the whole movie is filmed in Paris at the time of the film being the same of real life which make acquiring mise-en-scene very simple. As we see real people, in their real cars, on the real streets of Paris, the mise-en-scene is perfect, you feel like you are there with Jean and Jean in the car driving slowly as Michel confesses all he loves about Patricia.
ReplyDeleteThe scene that I am choosing from the 400 Blows, by Francois Truffaut, is the final scene in which the protagonist, a young teenage boy, is running through the french country side following his daring escape from a boarding school for juvenile delinquents. This is one of the first moments in the film in which our character is finally free. The quiet, isolated french country side which he is running through contributes to the mise-en-scene by creating an atmosphere of isolation and tranquility.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the scene our character runs all the way to the cost and he stops and gazes out at the open sea. The open horizon and fluidity of the waves helps further contribute the mise-en-scene by providing a sense of freedom and endless possibilities. The open sea represents how the character has his entire life in front of him and it is his to decide hoe he will live it. For once, there are no parents, teachers or peers around him to restrict him and he is finally free
Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless portrays France at the turn of the decade, ushering a new sense of raw, sexy youthfullness that set the tone of the sixties. By utilizing mise-en-scene to represent this ideal, Godard shows Paris’s changing atmosphere in full exposure. One scene that demonstrates great mise-en-scene is the one in which Patricia meets her editor in a restaurant to discuss publishing opportunities and writing assignments. The cafe has huge windows that take up all the two’s background space. Through the windows viewers can see a huge bustling street of Paris, filled with European cars and streetwalkers. It’s a great glimpse of what life in the city looks like to those not present in France in the sixties, especially through the wide view of the street. It’s a simple snapshot of city life, but completely places the actors within the geographical context. The character of Patrica does a great job in encapsulating the new wave of French expression, based on appearance alone. She wears a boatneck striped top, which is one of the quintessential staple of French clothing. This example of tradition is balanced out by the haircut she sports: a cropped blonde pixie cut. This haircut was a small symbol of change for it’s time- women mirrored their evolving liberation through their appearance as well. This mise-en-scene is a great representation of Paris within its geographical context, showing how convention was being raised by an alternative and eccentric new wave.
ReplyDeleteThe 400 Blows uses geographical location to enhance the storytelling and mise-en-scene of the film as a whole. A scene that particularly reflects this is the scene where Antoine decides that he can’t return home because his parents will be mad at him for lying. After abandoning the hideout his friend showed him, Antoine walks around the city. The scene has little to no dialogue, so use of the environment is vital in creating the the right atmosphere and tone to convey emotion. The first shot of this sequences emphasizes how large the buildings are in comparison to Antoine by filming Antoine from a slight high angle but still only showing a small portion of the buildings. This reflects the isolation Antoine is feeling at this point in the film. The city, due to it being night, is cast in shadow, making the buildings seem even more threatening and further creating a lonely atmosphere. As Antoine continues to walk, he walks past a building with a window that shows lights on and people inside, celebrating. The window acts as a barrier, showing the disconnect between Antoine and the many people in Paris. The next shot is from inside an empty restaurant, where Antoine can be seen through the windows. Here, the empty chairs and tables reflect Antoine’s state of mind, and the windows (again) act as a barrier seperating Antoine from society. Additionally, the darkness of the city outside acts to further separate Antoine, as his dark coat blends in with the shadows outside. Antoine stops in front of the restaurant, but he is boxed in within the frame as a result of the windows, creating closed framing and, again, reinforcing the disconnect between him and society. There is a closeup of Antoine that then pans to a milkman leaving milk for someone in front of a building. This building and other buildings in the background are not shown completely in frame, further showing that Paris is too large for Antoine to handle by himself. After Antoine takes a bottle of milk, he walks down a road that has light reflecting off the middle of it. Though Antoine walks in the pathway of reflected light, his figure is still silhouetted, making him match the darkness of the shadowy buildings around him. The same effect is created with the next shot, where Antoine’s coat allows him to blend in with the shadows of the alleyway he drinks the milk in. As the night starts to end, Antoine goes to a fountain where he washes his face. The fountain is white, and it is brighter, so there are less shadows, but a sense of isolation is still conveyed through the environment. For one, the steps and the fountain are both very large, taking up a lot of space in frame while still not fully being shown, similar to the buildings earlier in the scene. Additionally, the whiteness of the fountain and steps juxtaposes Antoine’s own outfit, showing that he doesn’t belong alone in the city while also showing his loneliness. There is a long shot of the fountain as Antoine walks away from it, which pans over to be a long shot of the city (buildings, again, cut off by the frame), where Antoine comparatively very small in frame, once again showing the power and scale of the environment and how Antoine is not ready to handle it by himself.
ReplyDeleteThe 5 minute scene I chose is the last scene in “The 400 Blows” (Truffaut). This scene starts with a shot of the soccer field and ends with the end of the film. The film was released in 1959 in France. During this period of time, France was still recovering from World War 2, which had ended around ten years prior. During this period of time, a new government was imposed to help with war reconstruction, the French Fourth Republic. It was an attempt, and regrettably failed one at that, to repair the broken French infrastructure. In this scene, Antoine starts off outside of his prison playing soccer, and then makes a run for it. He keeps running and doesn’t look back. When he gets to the ocean, he just stands there, possibly accepting fate, perhaps realizing he is free, it is ambiguous. The point is that he ran away from organized society (even if it was hard on him) and the end result was completely meaningless. It is very possible that Truffaut is drawing a comparison to the state of France at the time and how the citizens should not stray away from organized government as it is meaningless.
ReplyDeleteAnother possible interpretation is more focused on the absurdist revolution in France. Absurdism, a kind of sect of existentialism, is focused entirely on believing in one's our personally established morals and principals and refusing to accept societies rules. This certainly aligns with the main protagonist. Absurdist also believe death to be incredibly final and that living shouldn’t be given an extreme about of thought as we will all die, meaning that life has no meaning. This connects to the fact that Antoine's actions have no meaning in the end.
The scene I have chosen to analyze is that of the police interrogation, between the police and Antoine. The scene is shot at a medium, with Antoine sitting alone at the interrogation table. The interrogating officer is never seen and the camera remains on Lionel for the entirety of the scene. My interpretation of this scene is that of a disconnect between the law and youth, and that there is a lack of communication between the two. The law cannot figure out any efficient means of dealing with the troubled youth as there is no real communication between them. This results in the collective youth, represented by Antoine, not having a complete understanding of what is being done wrong by them. Like Antoine, they are alone and are not given the proper guidance that is required to recognize the error of their ways.
ReplyDeleteFrançois Truffaut's "400 Blows" shows the life of Antoine Doinel as he tries his best to get to a better life. One of Antoine's aspirations had always been to visit the ocean, but he had always been too far inland to get near it. After he had been arrested, though, he was sent to a boot camp near the coast of France. In the ending scene of the film, Antoine was shown to run from the camp directly to the ocean as fast as he could, achieving a major goal for him.The placement of Antoine on the beach in the final shot, as he looked into the camera with a clueless expression, shows how Antoine's aspiration seemed irrelevant now. The geographical location was the only representation of this goal, and it managed to effect the mise-en-scene as it dictated the entire layout of the scene and its meaning to the narrative.
ReplyDeleteThe 400 Blows by François Truffaut portrays the educational system of early 1950’s France as one of strict disciplinarianism through the use of Antoine Doinel. Doinel is a young boy who is forced to attend a harsh school with a cold, intolerant teacher, who verbally abuses the students during lessons. Doinel is rebellious however, which is characterized within a classroom scene in which he is forced to write sentences on a blackboard while the other children enjoy recess. Instead of doing what he is told however, Doinel writes a slur, sending the teacher into a rage. Doinel is completely just in taking these actions however, as Truffaut makes a point of illustrating the classroom as a prison-like environment through the use of mise-en-scene. For instance, the framing of the shots are important, as they always show large rows of children packed in tightly with one another. This shows a lack of emphasis on individual learning and expression, as well as represents a cramping of the children both physically and creativally. This emphasis on rigid learning as opposed to creativity is shown through the costume design, as each child is forced to wear a uniform, thus furthering their overall sameness. Overall, Antoine Doinel is placed into a geographical setting which stifles his growth as a creative and rebellious person. There is no room to grow when you are walled in on all sides, thus forcing Doinel to act out against authority.
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