Use of Mise en Scene in the Film Yellow Earth :: Movie Film Essays

Use of Mise en Scene in the Film Yellow Earth The film â€Å"Yellow Earth† is the sad tale of a girl being forced to follow her â€Å"fate.† She sees an opportunity to escape in a foreigner, a soldier from the south. In this film, director Chen Kaige and cinematographer Zhang Yimou create windows into their characters. Several scenes are made more significant because of the use of mise en scene. This technique allows the viewer to see everything that happens during the course of the scene. The most impactful scene is perhaps when the soldier Gu is first brought into their home. Although the camera will show different shots, time is still continuous. It is not an interruption and is only moving to provide the audience with a better view. The continuousness of time is important because the audience knows everything that is occurring between the characters. The viewer hears their conversations and their silences. This use if mise en scene allows the viewer to get a sense of the tension between Gu and the family (as he is a newcomer), and between Cuiqiao and the others. There are two main angles that Yimou uses in this scene. One is centered on Gu and the other is centered on Cuiqiao, from slightly to the right of Gu’s perspective. Whenever the shot is facing Gu, it is at his level. Everything is level with his camera angle and straight with his life. Cuiqiao’s angle, however, is looking down on her. This is reflective of her current emotional state. She is sorrowful and repressed. Whenever a character performs an important action, the camera shows them. The first time that Cuiqiao and Han Han are spoken to, they become visible. Also, we see Cuiqiao’s reactions when they are important to her characterization. Gu speaks somewhat about the South and how free and wonderful it is. Cuiqiao’s curiosity is expressed on her face. The audience also sees Cuiqiao forgetting about what she is doing with the bellows.