I have chosen to study a sequence in Delicatessen, 1991 directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, France. The sequence starts at 12 minutes 44 seconds and finishes at 16 minutes 32 seconds. The stylistics I have chosen to study are sound and mise-en-scene and I aim to see how meaning is created through them.
In my chosen sequence louison blows some bubbles for two boys who live in his apartment block. Julie Clapet climbs the stairs and greets Louison making him stop blowing bubbles, as he is distracted. Next Louison is in a room painting the ceiling, which he finds difficult and takes of his braces. In another shot Clapet and Mademoiselle Plusse are on a bed kissing, they fall. We then see louison painting the ceiling but now attached to the wall by his braces. The image of the springs and louison is interjected with other shots of objects making various noises including Julie Clapet playing the cello, Marcel’s wife hitting a rug with a rug beater, her mother knitting whilst watching T.V and Marcel pumping up a bicycle tyre, a metronome and the toymakers at work. This continues with each shot getting shorter in length and the pace of the sound and action increasing as well until a climax where a cello string snaps, the bicycle wheel snaps and Louison falls over and all noise ceases.
Throughout the film sound plays a very important part as it helps to produce certain reactions from the audience.
The diegetic sound used in the first scene of my chosen sequence is very true to a real-life situation. All the noise created from everything we do is left in and you can hear footsteps, creaking doors and stairs and so on. It is emphasised by the lack of other sound, diegetic or otherwise. This exaggerated sound remains the focus for ten seconds quiet piano music is introduced and the action changes from everyday odd job work for Louison to a bubble performance for two boys. The music begins quite slowly and the pace doesn’t quicken much over the course of the scene before it slows fairly rapidly when Louison notices Julie Clapet, becomes distracted and awkward and say hello to her. The music, due to its speed and the fact that it has quite a high pitch and is rhythmical, creates a pleasant atmosphere. We have, previously in the film, learnt that Louison had come from the circus and so with his performance and also the music a nostalgic and romantic feeling is added to the scene as Louison’s happy expressions form a link with the music.
The music starts to slow and fade when Louison realises that Julie Clapet has climbed up the stirs from the lower and is on the same floor as he is. The music matches the narration because we see that both Louison and Julie’s postures change and Louison stops what he is doing, he is distracted breaking the nostalgic spell that he has brought upon himself.
When we are shown Clapet and Mademoiselle Plusse, Clapet makes low grunting noises. These are fairly animalistic as they are guttural sounds and they form a link with the fact that he is a cannibal, which is an inhumane act and very much similar to carnivorous animals. Such animals are often predators, which we see in Clapet’s personality as at the beginning of the film we see he him hunt down and kill his ‘odd job man.’ The next group of sounds, such as the squeaky bed spring, the cello, the rug beater hitting the rug, the knitting needles and so on and so forth all happen simultaneously. This creates the effect of an orchestra of household actions. There is a driving beat, which is the squeaky bed, which is always present and forms an aural link from shot to shot. Also, similar to an orchestra, different sounds are introduced at different times. The driving beat effects the pace at which the rest of the sound happens as the tempo of the squeaks increases so too does the tempo of the other sounds. All of the noises are diegetic. Which is why everybody in the sequence is aware of them and act accordingly around the main focus, the squeaky spring, the fact that it is the focus is emphasised by the editing because that shot is the most frequently used. The tempo increase also creates the idea of there being a competition or race in which all who are making the noises are competing for the most speed or, in another situation on a broader scale, power. Clapet is the leader of everyone in the apartment, which is why he reaches his ‘climax’ first and the rest follow.
Another important aspect of the film is mise-en scene. Jeunet and Caro play around with various filmic ideas to create a visual meaning. A motif in the film is the circle. We see this in almost every shot in the sequence. There is a circular light switch Louison is cleaning at the beginning of the sequence, as well as other circular shapes such as a door handle, a bicycle wheel the lights the springs and other things. One idea is that Clapet constantly hires an odd job man, whom he kills for food before hiring another for exactly the same reason. Another, especially in the latter part of the sequence could be that the inhabitants of the apartment block have to put up with Clapet and Mademoiselle Plusse’s antics. Either way, the circle implies that there is no escaping Clapet’s apartment block. The circle also comes in the form of the bubbles Louison is blowing. One of the bubbles that starts to go down the stair almost encases Julies face, this happens again a little later with Louison’s face. This could imply that they are in the centre of the vicious circle, or the lifestyle of those who live in the apartment block, and are the most important people in it, this is evident later on in the film, Julie is the one who enlists the help of the troglodytes and her and Louison are saved and come out on top of the others. Continuing with the circle motif, Louison blows a bubble filled with smoke and puts that with another bubble. Because there is a circle within a circle suggests that, again, the cycle is never ending. The smoke filled bubble in the centre could say that if the outer ‘bubble’ is burst, what will happen within the inner one is unknown because it is cloudy and we are not able to see through it, giving an air of mystery, of the unknown, you don’t know what to expect inside. This could imply that if the current ‘circle’ is broken there is no knowing what will happen next.
The two boys sat on the stairs are wearing bright clothing; this could represent their characters, as they are mischievous and more adventurous than the other people in the apartment block. Their clothing compared to most others is busier, colour wise. This connects with their youthfulness and naivety about the world they live in. a prominent feature of their clothing is the stripes. This connotes stereotypical prison uniform, which shows us that the two boys are not as innocent as their youth suggests and are delinquent. This ties in with other behaviour of theirs in the film where they get up to rebellious and naughty acts. The boy on the left in the shot is wearing more distinct and less covered stripes, whereas the other wears a vest over the top. This implies that the boy on the left is further along in the process and is more likely to do something criminal.
At the beginning of the next scene wee see Louison on some steps painting the ceiling. Above his head is a light. This could represent the idea he has about attaching his braces to the wall.
Marcel’s wife is stood at the top of the stairs and is encased by the bars on the stairs. This suggests that she is trapped by the situation she is in. the film is set in a place where it would have been very difficult to do anything without any major trouble, so despite the barbarianism of the cannibalistic situation they are all in it was seen to them to be somewhat of a safe haven. Therefore they all were trapped, if they left they would be stuck in a macabre world of fighting and brutality, if they stay they have to live as cannibals. Her being trapped could be interpreted in another way. It could be that she is trapped and forced to listen and compete with the sounds of the squeaky bed. The Rug Beater she is using forms a visual link with the next shot as it is in the background in Marcel’s living room.
All aspects of cinema used within a film are there to create a specific meaning that the director wants the viewer to pick up on and also to draw various emotions and feelings. Some things are used to create empathy or sympathy for a character and others to create dislike. All are used to, inevitably, provoke the preferred response and this done by using aspects of the viewer’s subconscious.
Delicatessen clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJU4IwC3LjQ
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