Film 2 evaluation

City of God mise en scene essay –

In 2002’s crime – thriller, City of God, mise en scene queues are used to evoke emotion in the audience. Such may include setting and scenery, (for example the spaciousness of the beach compared to the overcrowded favelas) lighting and clothing used to create dark atmospheres in the rape scene, and more.

In the beach scene, a relaxed and more carefree feeling is conjured compared to previous scenes through the use of lighting, sound and scenery. We are given a long shot of the characters walking along with the beach in the background and immediately it is portrayed to the audience as much less crowded and more vast and open, juxtaposing the favelas shown earlier. To me, the spaciousness denotes that the beach is a more relaxed environment with less pressure and stress that can be inferred from the over crowdedness of the slums. We are then given multiple mid-shots of Angelica changing into a bikini, conforming to the male gaze theory. Throughout the film, not many primary female characters are introduced into the plot, and those we are shown often end up wronged or unhappy, such as Bernice, (Shaggy’s girlfriend) who cannot escape the harsh favelas and Ned’s girlfriend who is raped. This symbolises the patriarchal system of the favelas, and illustrates a certain unfairness. The close ups of Rocket’s smiling face highlight the light-hearted atmosphere of the beach compared to the slums, as back in the favelas, genuine smiles are rarely seen on the characters faces. On the beach, there is little non diegetic noise, only a few short songs with upbeat tempos. The diegetic noise of the ocean takes on a relaxing effect.

The Rape scene – directly juxtaposing the atmosphere created in the beach scene - uses mise en scene techniques such as low key lighting and clothing to create a more intimidating atmosphere. The first prominent thing to pick out is the choppy editing - used to force the audience to piece together what is happening, pushing them to think about how bleak and foul the event is, and to allow them to form ideas - and handheld camera; the unsteadiness of the camera creates a more emphasised feeling of unease or discomfort as it transports the viewer, making them feel like they are witnessing the rape first hand. The audience is shown Ned from a high angle shot with a foot holding him down – the shot takes all power away from Ned and gives it to Lil Ze and his gang, not just figuratively as we are shown the gang members higher in the frame, but also because we are shown one of the members physically on top of Ned. The pan to the next eye level close up of Ned’s face denotes his emotion to the audience and creates a sense of helplessness. The dark clothing shown through the long shot of the characters makes the scene seem more like a typical crime. The long shot showing the gang in the distance and Ned in the foreground utilises almost chiaroscuro type lighting, with the gang’s dark outfit creating a dramatic darkness and Ned contrasting this, shown in a more high key light. This emphasises him as the good or better man being shown in the high key light and the gang as bad or immoral in the dark. As the gang walk closer to the screen, having only their legs in the frame, it dehumanises them and illustrates them solely as perpetrators.