Mise en scène

Greetings!

While, each of the senses we have, carry unfathomable spectrum of perception and associated emotions, the two that take the crown (generally), are the visual and aural. 

Within these two, the visual surpasses aural on most counts.

This is the very basis of entertainment industry and our collective fascination of movies.

However, there are a chosen few, who have taken this medium to its pinnacle, especially visually. 

One of such rare breed is Conrad L. Hall, ASC.

And arguably one of his ultimate masterpieces, completed just before his death, (for which he got his last Oscar Academy award, posthumously,) is "Road to Perdition"

Full Disclosure: I consider - every aspect of this movie, the graphic novel that inspired it, the creator of this graphic novel,  Max Allan Collins, and the manga that inspired Max to pen this graphic novel, 'Lone Wolf and Cub' and the creators of this manga viz. Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima - as an endless source of awe and inspiration. I may come back to these again and again as I get enchanted by different dimensions of these wonderful creators and creations. Be alerted :-) 

It is said that, "Connie" (as he used to be referred to by his associates) took an 11 year break, after cinematographing movies successfully for 12 years and winning his first Oscar Award.

The reason why he took that break? To study and learn unique filming techniques from others.

It shows, and how!

The first time I saw Road to Perdition (circa 2003) I felt like I couldn't have enough of just seeing the scenes once. I have watched it uncountable times afterwards (and most recently streamed it through amazon).

Like a foodie, savouring one flavour at a time, what I savoured leisurely this time is "mise en scène".

In  plain english it means, the settings or surroundings. 

Each frame, each setting, each angle evokes something within. 

Some of them envolope us in a sense of warmth, some evoke melancholy, some make you traverse the 'innocent but coming out of age' mindscape of a teen boy facing tragedy, while some bring out sense of 'how small we are in bigger scheme of things' as the movie canvases on large fields that abound the midwestern USA of 30's. And then some, and then some more!

See some chosen scenes in this very first episode of 'Scene Study Series' from Film.Music.Media, which, honest to god, i saw only after writing this blog and was amazed at how the same scenes that resonated with me have moved the best in this trade!


I started reading more about the making of this movie, trying to get into the wonderful mind of "Connie", whose magical viewpoint created this masterpiece. And that made me stumble onto a brilliantly written article from ASC magazine, which has worded my emotions in much better way than I would have...

This 2002 article is aptly named Emotional Triggers! (click here to read the article) 

As I read through this insightful article, what struck most to me is this quote by Connie, which summarizes what was in his mind when he shot for Road to Perdition.

"I'm not trying to characterize the people in the film; the actors do that. I'm trying to frame them in an appropriate emotional context for the scenes. How are their characters behaving in those scenes? Are they behaving like human beings? My goal is to make a given scene emotionally accessible for the audience. I just try to make it real. Whatever the story is trying to say to the audience dictates to me the mood I should use to reach that audience. In this case, the film is about a father who's trying to raise his son so that the boy won't grow up to be like him. It's a powerful story with great performances, but it's not a fun-and-games type of movie. It's a stark story set in the Depression, and it has a serious message."

While, there are many parallels to living life with such a point-of-view, where you set only emotional context while other 'actors' characterize it - this time, I would leave it to each one of you to just experience this marvelous creation and savour its flavours. 

My only suggestion: watch the movie and fulfill aesthetic needs of your audio-visual senses with a rare and rich experience! 

Sincerely Mine!
Anand Kulkarni

Comments

Nidhi Gupta said…
This is a good read Anand. Awesome! Keep going, waiting for the next one!
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
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