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Life is Beautiful Film AnalysisEnglish 310Susan HechtThe Robert B. Miller CollegeJohn C. Rasmussen, Ed. D.June 21, 2013Life is Beautiful Film AnalysisGuido, a Jewish waiter, is a quirky character to say the least. Fascinated by Schopenhaur or will power, a term he learned from his friend, Guido uses finger gyrations and “wills” that things change. Tall, balding, and lanky, Guido is far from the typical “Don Juan” image; but that perception is not necessarily true for one woman, Dora. Expressive big brown eyes and full lips which curve up ever so sweetly when she sees Guido are adorned with a slightly reddish-brown lipstick. Soon to be engaged to a man she does not want to be with, Dora, through a series of events where Guido shares his quirky talent using Schopenhaur, finds him charming, clever even adorable. This admiration can be seen not only in her facial expression but also heard in the light hearted music that begins when they are together. They eventually marry, have a child, Joshua, and end up in a concentration camp where their life drastically changes. Close up shots which capture emotion along with strategically placed framing and varied music styles adds to theatrical elements in film. Life is Beautiful is a foreign film with English dubbed subtitles. Unfamiliar with the storyline while attempting to follow the script a person might overlook important theatrical nuances, such as facial expression, which help to convey meaning in the story. However, with the film industry technique referred to as framing, defined as capturing all the important information in one shot, a director can focus the audience’s attention to character’s facial expression (Muller and Williams, 2003, p.88). Facial expressions, along with other forms of body language, convey volumes of information. According to James Borg, 93 percent of communication is understood through nonverbal means, such as facial expressions (Wikipedia, 2013). When framing is used in conjunction with a close up shot which focuses primarily on the face or other small objects, a character’s emotion is captured through even the smallest movement (Muller and Williams, 2003, p.88). Some of the most stoic facial expressions come in the close up shots of Dora when she is around her soon-to-be fiancé. Although not stated, it is obvious she is stuck in this relationship and her facial expression attests to that fact. In one scene the camera shot shows Dora and her fiancé standing amid a crowd of well-wishers at their engagement party. It’s a gala affair with a full orchestra which plays lively music and where fancy glitter-studded ball gowns are swept across the mosaic tile floor, and elaborate floral arrangements fill the room in brightly colored vases. The director uses medium shot framing (from the waist up) and slowly zooms to a close up of Dora as she stares into the crowd of friends with a blank, somber expression (p. 88). The shot pauses on her stone-like expression, framing it as her oblivious fiancé speaks of their blissful future together as husband and wife (Benigni and Cerami, 1997,1:13:28 - 1:13:35). Depending on what is happening in a particular scene, a director may choose to use a close up shot on one character and extreme close up shot which “is even a ‘tighter’ shot, usually used on the face, and will emphasize elements such as the eyes or mouth” on another (Muller and Williams, 2003, p.88). The use of these elements are found near the end of the film as described in the following riveting scene. After several days being separated from his wife at the concentration camp Guido, in disguise as a woman, makes a plan to venture to the woman’s side of the camp. Knowing that he cannot take his son with him, he continues his elaborate fictitious point-driven game (the game is a way for Guido to reason with his son as to why they are at the camp) and has Joshua ‘hide’ in a mailbox to so they can ‘win’ the game. Guido sets off across the guard-filled camp to find Dora. Eventually he is apprehended by the police and is taken back to the men’s side of the camp. With a gun pointed at his back, Guido finds himself passing in front of his son’s hiding place. Having given strict orders to his son not to come out of the box, the director shifts positions from Joshua’s vantage point, viewing out through the box from the small mail slot to witness his father marching by with a gun at his back. The close up shot then switches to Guido’s perspective, passing in front of the mailbox, trying to catch a glimpse of his son through the mail slot. Almost instantly, the perspective changes to an extreme close up of Joshua’s concerned brown eyes following the movement of his dad as he passes in front of him. His eyes are framed in by the mailbox mail slot. Concerned that Joshua will become alarmed, Guido stops in front of the mail box. The director zooms into a close up shot catching Guido sharing a wink with his son, a gesture he has established as part of the game. The camera snaps back once again to the extreme close up shot of Joshua’s eyes where he in turn winks back at his dad. (10:00 – 9:37). Guido continues out of sight from Joshua and is ultimately shot by the guard. No words between father and son were exchanged, but the message is a clear one. As an audience, one might interpret Guido’s wink to mean that everything will be ok- just keep playing the game. Another important aspect to this film is the use of music to “help create a mood, build tension, or remind us of a time, place, or person” (Muller and Williams, 2003, p. 96). At various times throughout the movie, a particular melody is used to represent Guido. This tune, light hearted and happy matches the character’s personality. The delicate sounds from the cords of a harp serenade Guido and Dora as they sneak under a table to plan their rendezvous and steal a quick kiss (1:11:22-1:10:45). The music changes once again when Dora arrives home to find that their apartment has been ransacked and Guido, their son, and uncle have been taken by the Nazi’s. No longer do the whimsical and lighthearted sounds of the harp sound, but instead a much lower cry from a violin resonate the somber tone (55:57-59:15). Near the end of the film and desperate to communicate with his wife, Guido suddenly finds that he has access to a phonograph gramophone with large metal horn while cleaning up dinner plates after waiting on Nazi soldiers. With anticipation and nervousness he finds a record with a familiar barcarolle and carefully opening the window, swivels the horn outward, cautiously places the needle on the record and the music begins to flow. The scene follows the music out the window as if floating aloft on every musical note through the hazy, dark prison like scene of barbed wire fences, dimly lit streets, and up to a third floor window. The music enters the barracks where the women sleep and gradually arouse Dora from her bunk. She approaches and opens the large casement windows. Standing there she absorbs the sounds and love that the music carries with it. Dora knows who the music is from. The director, framing the image of Dora, zooms in to a close up shot to catch Dora’s expression as tears well up in her eyes. Without conveying a single word and through the art of framing and close up shots, the director is able to speak to the deep heart ache that their separation has caused and the audience senses that Dora and Guido are connected—if even for a moment through the sweet sounds of the music (20:20-18:30).Although there are many elements in film making such as lighting, staging, and costumes to name a few, facial expression captured through close up shots, strategic framing and music, whether light and whimsical or heavy and foreboding, resonate with the audience more than other elements. Capturing intimate details which reveal emotions through facial expression and the soulful impact that music can create solidify the creative elements in film. Music can carry the audience to unexpected levels of anticipation, fear, love and excitement. Facial expression, whether captured in close up or extreme close up shots, add depth that words alone are not able to convey. Life is Beautiful creates a story line easily interpreted, even when the language is not easily understood, by capitalizing on the elements of framing, close up shots to capture facial expression and appropriate music choices. ReferencesBorg, J. (n.d.) Body language. Wickipedia. Retrieved from the World Wide Web: , G. & Ferri, E. (Producers), & Benigini, R. & Dean, R. (Directors). (1997). Life is beautiful [Motion picture]. Italy: Cecchi Gori Group. Available from: , G.H. & Williams, J.A. (2003) Writing about film. In S. Toubrog & A Stameshkin (Eds.), Ways in (p. 88). New York: McGraw-Hill ................
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