Bella Film Techniques

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In the moving picture ‘Bella’ the director Alejandro Monteverde uses certain scenes to project a series of ideas and themes to the audience. In order to do so, Monteverde uses a variety of film techniques, which help to develop the narrative. One of the most important parts of the film where these techniques come into play is ‘The home scene’

The dialogue of The home scene helps the audience to understand an important message. Near the middle of the scene Jose is seen being lectured by his mother for his behavior and the tone of her voice is loud and harsh because she doesn’t want to see her son mess up his life again, he then breaks down in tears. Some of the most important pieces of dialogue used in the movie come into play seconds before …show more content…

Again, near the middle of the scene where Jose is being lectured by his mother for his strange behavior. He can be seen in a close-up shot looking up at his mother; vulnerable, as she is looking down on her son. Jose keeps a straight face but as his mother mentions that his brother informed her that Nina is pregnant, Jose looks down and his eyes begin to tear up. This is when the music begins to play. What can be heard is a soft melancholic song that becomes louder the harder he cries into his mother’s chest, still not able to look her in the eyes. These particular techniques work together very well together, as they are the best way to show the emotion that a character is feeling; which could be a metaphor in it’s own way, the closer you are to someone, the more you know about them. With these close-ups it is easier to see more of his emotion, as with the music, it helps to set the mood to help give the audience a better feel of the atmosphere the director is trying to create. You can clearly see the way Jose’s face drops when his mother mentions Nina’s pregnancy, showing the empathy and love he has for Nina. He himself was in the same headspace as Nina once and it drove him to feel a deeper connection and emotion for …show more content…

While Nina is on screen in this scene, the pace is very slow and she is on the screen for a much longer time as she is feeling lost and sad, however when Jose and his mother are on screen the pace moves very fast cutting frequently and him moving back and forth very fast as he is overwhelmed has been holding back sadness. As Jose cries and his mother yells at him, Nina submerges herself under the water out of embarrassment because she feels that she is the reason Jose is being lectured. Her doing this symbolises how many people do want to hide from their troubles, when you submerge yourself underwater, nobody can hear you and you can’t hear them. It was Nina’s way of escaping reality for a bit until she was ready to come up and face the world again. Along with this, the set design also helps to convey emotion and atmosphere to the audience. On the wall of the bathroom, a painting of a butterfly can be seen and is deliberately focused on when the scene cuts from Jose looking down as his mother is trying to look him in the eyes to Nina getting out of the bathtub. The butterfly is a deep and powerful representation of life and is a regular occurrence within the film. Many cultures associate butterflies with our souls, and as Nina descends from the water and the butterfly is focused on, this shows us, and in a way foreshadows Nina’s decision to carry on with life, and in the end bring

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