Within the film, "City of God", directed by Fernando Meirelles, the idea that it is impossible to keep a sustained relationship within areas of crucial development is shown and is represented in a more realistic way than the other films. During the sequence in the 1960's in which Shaggy attempts to escape the favela with his girlfriend, we are given the idea that due to social conditions, it is impossible to be in a constant, steady relationship. The fact that when we see the conflict in the escape vehicle, a handheld camera is used, without any non diegetic music, we get a real sense for the tension in the scene, which dramatically increases the sense of verisimilitude in the sequence. The girlfriend's decision to call Shaggy out for not being a man for not pushing the car straight away, is also one of the issues that the film manages to discuss as many woman in the time the film was set, felt like they had to be with a man who was brave and courageous. Shaggy being pressured into doing something he felt uncomfortable doing, is what leads him to eventually being killed, which is also one of the reasons why the relationship was going to end; masculinity stereotypes were a common way that lead en to violence and drugs. After Shaggy decides on pushing the car, we are shown through a very tight two shot him kissing his girlfriend, whilst also managing to include the mise-en-scene of the gun. I believe that Meirelles wanted to juxtapose the idea of love and hate, whilst also portraying the fact that the crime and violence will be what ultimately ends the relationship, in a similar way to many of the relationships within the City of God. The framing in the shot showing Shaggy pushing the car and his girlfriend watching over him, allows the audience to see in a realistic way how a woman and a man were separated from each other due to the social upbringing with crime affecting their relationship. This use of framing also acts as a microcosm of real life problems and how living in a poverty struck area will affect love due to reverting to crime to live or even just to escape. This is similar to how Wong Kar-Wai showed the same idea in his film, "Chungking Express".
Like Meirelles, Wong Kar-Wai strived to show the idea of failed relationships in his film due to the social conditions and because of Western Globalisation. However in this case, the film does not go to the same realistic extent than the film, "City of God". During the sequence in which Cop 633 must end his relationship with his flight attendant girlfriend, it is clear that relationships in Urban places are not meant to last. As there is a cut from the girlfriend on the escalator to Cop 633, we are shown that they are communicating through the mise-en-scene of glass and a window, which as a result reflects the barrier that is blocking them from taking the relationship any further. When referring to how realistic Wong Kar-Wai represented this issue that the people who inhabit urban environments, suffer from being unable to retain relationships, the only thing implying a sense of realism is that all throughout the sequence, only diegetic sounds are played, which immediately places us into the shot with the characters. However, unlike in the "City of God", there is no hand held camera in this sequence almost eradicating any sense of realism, in a way getting rid of any essence of a documentary. The idea of Western Globalisation affecting relationships is also a big factor when it comes to showing failed love realistically. Faye, a main character in the second story of the film, is highly influenced by American culture, which is reinforced by the constant playing of "California Dreaming" in the tighter one shots of when she is dancing around at work. The fact that her dreams and hopes in life are influenced by America and that they act as a barrier for her relationships, just goes to reinforce the problems of real life relationships; the idea that two people want two different things due to social upbringing and influences in life.
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