How does the use of the Mise en scene in a key sequence from Inglorious Basterds convey sorrow?
Inglorious Basterds attempts to provide a historical, postmodernist homage to cinema. Tarantino rolls Adventure, Drama and War into a ball and produces Inglorious Basterds. The scene I have chosen is the Revenge Of The Giant Face. A Jewish girl who escaped the Nazi’s grasp after her family died horribly in her presence dominates the scene.
The opening scene presents us with a long shot with static movement. Shosanna is following the rule of thirds, acting as the framework of the window in the centre of the shot. The use of mirrors directs the viewer to the central window no matter where you look whilst also containing the overpowering use of the Nazi Flag. The mise en scene would suggest that by the dominating use of the Nazi flag, Shosanna’s life is being overruled by Nazi influence. The use of mirrors on both sides of the shot provides us with a use of symmetry whilst simultaneously emphasising that Shosanna is figuratively and literally surrounded by the Nazi regime. Specifically in the mirror to the left of the shot it presents to me a reflection of Shosanna looking out of the window in sorrow or contemplation, looking directly at a Nazi Flag which is much bigger than her, the mise en scene of the flag would continue to emphasise the fact that the Nazi regime is much bigger than herself which vaguely reminded me of a Jack and the Giant Beanstalk or a David and Goliath scenario. It made me feel as if Shosanna has no power whatsoever as all she can do is face the people who had killed her family and have continued to torment her throughout the film. The mise en scene contains red wall paper, red Nazi flags and a red dress this suggests that whilst using the usual connotation of red meaning blood she is also figuratively and literally surrounded by blood, be it the blood of her family or the collective blood that the whole Nazi regime created.
The use of a cross dissolve, paired with a long shot grants me a zoomed in version of the opening scene, this time the window is dominating the scene, the reflection of Shosanna is clearer and I am now able to see outside. The use of a cross dissolve grants the illusion that a lot of time has passed, that she is contemplating or taking some time to herself, this also makes me wonder what else is going to happen afterwards leaving me with a sense of curiosity. I can also see a movie themed poster outside of the window; the mise en scene of the poster only furthers the fact that Inglorious Basterds is a homage to cinema as it provides me with a sense of historical cinema. Again the Nazi flag is shown within the scene to further imply that the Nazi flag is surrounding Shosanna, I feel as if the flag is almost lingering in the background and that the scene in question could arguably be a physical representation of what is happening in Shosanna’s mind, she is isolated in the highest floor of her cinema, surrounded by her own little space whilst outside Nazi flags can be seen dominating her surroundings, almost as if the cinema is her get away from Nazi influence, however in this scene she will be holding a film screening for the Germans which could possibly be the answer to her discontent, the people she despises are imposing into the one place she feels safe. I would like to note that the only movement you can see in the scene apart from the slow waving of the Nazi flags is Shosannas breathing, you can actually see her chest move as she breathes in and out, this gave me the feeling that she is brooding.
Once more Tarantino uses a cross dissolve which is then complemented by a mid shot, non-diegetic sound becomes more prevalent, which makes me feel like it’s foreshadowing events ahead. She is looking down with a hand covering her mouth which suggested to me that she is in a feeling of discourse or perhaps she could be judging the people outside. The mise en scene of the poster outside reflects the females’ emotion inside as both are looking emotionless, almost robotic, which could be attributed by the possibility of brooding. The non-diegetic sound which is currently ‘David Bowie - Cat people’ certainly casts Shosannas emotions throughout this scene, specifically as she is looking down at the street almost judging the lyrics “I could stare for a thousand years” can be heard, which emphasises the possibility that she is brooding.
Again, another cross dissolve finds it’s way to produce the next shot, which is a close up of Shosanna facing the window. This shot only furthers my previous point of Shosanna’s life being dominated by the Nazi flag however the shot is presented in such a way that the framing of the window presents a sort of blockade between Shosanna and the Nazi flag. To me this emphasized that outside of her cinema, her getaway, the Nazi doctrine can be found dominating everything around her. However, her cinema can be seen as protecting her figuratively and physically from the perils outside. As she turns to almost face the camera, I can really see the disdain and anger in her face. A close up of Shosanna’s face contains a slow tilt from her lips to her eyes almost giving me the feeling of determination, she’s been brooding and now it’s time to act.
A series of close ups of Shosanna applying makeup is then displayed with the Nazi flag appearing out of focus in every shot, this continues the feeling that the mise en scene of the flag provides. No matter what she is doing there is a Nazi influence on everything, almost as if the flag is watching her through the window. The non-diegetic sound then becomes more pronounced and it takes over the scene giving me the feeling that she is preparing for events ahead which dissuades from usual preparation as the makeup, looks and charm can be seen as her weapons. She applies one bit of makeup as if she is a commando about to go into the fray, foreshadowing an internal war she will enter. There is a common theme of Red throughout this scene, she is wearing a red formal dress, applying red make up, there is a Nazi flag somewhere in every shot and at one point she begins to drink red wine, this made me think that she is metaphorically bleeding, she’s bleeding for her family and the peril of her people and she has taken a very large amount of emotional torment. The mise en scene can be said to be crying out Shosanna’s emotions due to her being physically emotionless.
I feel like the next set of lyrics can be very closely correlated to show exactly how Shosanna is feeling. “Feel my blood enraged, It's just the fear of losing you, Don't you know my name, Well you been so long” This perfectly describes the scene and accurately describes her situation, she’s had a close encounter with the Nazi’s yet nobody knows who she is, they’ve killed her family and taken almost everything, now you get a sense of revenge, which can be seen as a predominant theme throughout the film.
