What can a cigarette hide?

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Lively tourists have invaded the coast of Nassau in a beautiful summer day. As the sea caresses the shore it fills the air with the loving sound of its waves thus creating a perfect romantic gateway. While people are enjoying the lovely weather in the seaside, a life changing moment is taking place in one of the tables in a waterfront restaurant in Nassau. The simple gesture of lighting a cigarette marks the beginning of a new life for Charlotte Vale.

In the presented still image, we can see a fashionable young lady. It is a close up of Charlotte’s hidden face, which is positioned in the center of the frame and takes most of the space. Everything behind her is out of focus. We can only see a hand, coming from the left of the frame, offering to lighten Charlotte’s cigarette. It is Jerry’s hand, the person with which Charlotte shared the carriage during the seaside tour and whom she will fall in love with. Despite the clear and strong light, Charlotte’s face is in the shade of her hat, and she is looking down, towards the flame of the lighter. This detail is very important because even though Charlotte has completed her treatment, she is not fully ready for the outside world. She still hides behind her hat and her fine veil, and we can’t see her eyes, the window to her soul.

But, what draws our attention in this shot is the action of sharing and lighting the cigarette. The fire coming from the lighter symbolizes a moment of intimacy between a woman and a man; it is a moment of giving and receiving something from each other. Even though a casual encounter between two unknown people, this moment is crucial to the way the story of the film develops. After many years, Charlotte is in the company of a man who has some interest in her...

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... is a stylish young woman in the company of a handsome man.

Later on in the movie, as Charlotte and Jerry get closer, the motif of cigarettes gains a sexual notation. After the tour in Rio, where Charlotte could finally overcome her fears and mature sexually, Jerry lightens two cigarettes together and hands one to Charlotte. This gesture symbolizes the passion and the intimate relationship between the two. We come across it again in Rio, when Charlotte leaves for Boston, then when Charlotte and Jerry meet after a long time in Boston, and finally at the end of the movie. During the whole time, that flame is a special sharing of the couple’s intimacy. Whereas at the last scene, when Charlotte has taken many important steps in her life and has crystallized her definition of happiness the cigarette motif transforms into a representation of friendship and understanding.

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