Marie Antoinette

 

Marie Antoinette - La Reine rebelle // The Rebel Queen

Story  

Marie Antoinette is a princess of Austria and is to marry the Dauphin of France to unite both countries “prior to the Seven Years' War (1756-1763)” (Harrison W. Mark). She is stripped of her simple life and of everything belonging to that of Austria and is welcomed as the new potential queen of France. But she has trouble growing accustomed to the many rules as well as consummating her marriage with her husband and producing an heir. Even once this is achieved, she is not in the clear. She still struggles with the population of France seeing her as the root cause of their suffering vilifying her.  

Cinematography  

Mise-en-scène

Throughout the movie, there are many contrasting visuals, one at the beginning of the film. At the border of the two countries when she is to cross over to France, she is in her Austrian clothing which is baby blue, soft, natural look. But once she steps out onto France territory she is dressed up in a puffy, constricting, unnatural, and stark blue. Her hair is more white and extra extensions to exaggerate it. This fashion is her new norm to her husband and the royal court. Later in the film when Marie’s brother comes to visit her, he comments on her hair that is so tall. 

Her life is constrained to the high royalty lifestyle as a young teenager and thus she acts out with food, jewelry, and partying. This is shown with the director's choice of music and even in one scene there is the use of converse along with the other shoes. Given that in this era converse did not exist but they are strongly associated with teenagers.  

Further, Marie's long drawn-out scene where she is coming to France for the first time. She has a long scene of her walking up to her new house surrounded by people not talking but staring at her like some creature. She takes in everything. The new culture, new life, and as she looks around it makes the audience look around as well. The comparison is made even more unique as Marie first enters her room for the first time looking around and seeing everything that her new room has to offer. Which is covered in gold, white, and richness which is contrasted to the last scene in the house of the room destroyed because of the people's dissatisfaction with her. 

Cultural relevance  

 A scene done well is her laying her head down on the balcony when the mob came to their house. As they yell, she bows and places her head gently on the banister as a moment of silence paces through. Then the yelling continues in greater volume as she lifts her head and looks upon the angry mob. This is relevant because the director foreshadows what will happen to her. She will be executed. Despite her caring attitude that is shown throughout the film it was suspected that “Marie Antoinette was deliberately targeted in order to bind the French together in a kind of blood bond.” (Antonia Fraser)

https://www.worldhistory.org/Marie_Antoinette/

https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/great-characters/marie-antoinette

Skinamarink

 Story    

I watched Skinamarink and it's a different film than most. The movie starts out with two children waking up in the middle of the night to their father missing and any access to the outside world closed off. This movie then follows the very basic fear children have when they are left alone in a familiar yet different place. Skinamarink is based around the perspective of children and often we are limited to how they perceive what is happening and limitations as young kids of four and five.  

   

Cinematography    

 Skinamarink uses different angles in an analog horror genre retro style. So, the entire movie is in snap shots of the entire house. Most often the house is in darkness and so the film uses the camera to try to adjust to the dark to show the stifling feeling the children are feeling. If the house is not in darkness, it is in the harsh colors of pink or orange, but it is a dark harsh kind of light. There are scenes where the camera is in the viewpoint of the child and it's terrifying because we are in the same position as the child. Helpless and afraid. One Thing I noticed throughout the film is that the children used flashlights and I didn't understand why when they had electricity and could flip the light on. But the kids are too short to reach the light switch. And by watching it's more evident because they are so low to the ground.  

Further, they can't fully comprehend what is going on, just that something isn't right, so they watch cartoons during the film and sleep downstairs where it isn't scary. There are also many deeper meanings throughout the film that predict the end. One of them is the cartoons that the kids watch. It tells a lot of what will happen or has happened. Skidamarink is slow and methodical to demonstrate the feeling of fear. Because when we are scared it seems slower and the director exemplified this.  

Lasty, the audio was used as a tool to tell the story. The film is quiet and when there is noise it's in lower tones. The children whisper the entire film, the parents whisper, with the only outlier being the cartoons. But even then, it doesn't disrupt the overall blanket of fear and uneasiness over the film.  

Cultural relevance  

This is culturally relevant to all children in a way with the basic fear of being alone in the darkness and a child's outlook on everything. While this movie isn't for everyone, and a lot of the films have darker undertones, the film is unique in its attempt at a new kind of horror. 

Stanley Kubrick one-point perspective

 

One-point Perspective

Chapter 2 

    I watched Stanley Kubrick's use of the one-point perspective, and it frames the scene in the center. It draws all the attention to the center of the screen, usually down a hall, long passageway, or a room to emphasize the distance and openness of the room. Specifically, movies like The Shining (1980) where he used this method. It works well to show the creeping isolation the family is experiencing and the Eerie feeling of insanity. It holds the viewer hostage to where they can look. They are locked in and see what the director wants them to see. The slow movement of the camera to the center of the one-point perspective can be scary as we have no choice in the matter.  

  

    Further, another scene in The Shining (1980) when they are walking in the maze it has a feeling of claustrophobia because the walls of the maze are so close, and the point is the mother and son walking infinitely down the maze to an unknown point. This assists in the thematic intent that the director wants for us. The director's intent is to make us feel uneasy, stressed, and not in control in these scenes. Which works well in this movie's context because the movement is slow and deliberate following the characters.  

    Additionally, in this scene the one-point perspective Kubrick uses color. The color is the harsh dark green of the bushes of the maze in comparison to the mother's harsh vibrant red. It compliments in such a way that it draws the eyes. As well as making it feel as if they keep walking that the maze’s darkness is swallowing its new victims.