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Contrasting Themes In Kenneth Branagh's The Magic Flute

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Through sonic, visual, and textual means, Kenneth Branagh’s The Magic Flute explores two contrasting themes: strength and weakness. Throughout the entire opera film, we witness both the afore mentioned themes from a variety of different characters, and the fate to which these attributes lead each individual. Mozart’s beautifully written music backs up this intriguing storyline, with well-placed arias, leitmotifs and an excellent score. As the story follows the adventure of Tamino and Papegano, many times we witness acts of both strength and weakness. Once Tamino has been saved from the gas by the Three Ladies, he is given the picture of Pamina along with the request to save her. Tamino falls instantly in love with this photo, which can be …show more content…

After the two men have found Pamina, and learned that Sorastro is not the evil man that the Queen of the Night made him out to be, they’re put up to trials to prove they are worthy of joining Sorastro’s forces. These trials are a show of great strength on Tamino’s part. Through the first trial, the trial of silence, Tamino remains strong and silent although he is persuaded to speak by the Three Ladies. The sing crisp staccato notes, expressing the urgency of the situation but it is also in a major key. The back-and-forth sung dialogue could also be described as playful and helps this film earn it’s label as a comedy opera. It isn’t until Pamina walks up to him that he is truly tested: when he does not respond, Pamina assumes that his love for her has died and he must watch in silence, unable to tell her otherwise. With his magic flute and Pamina’s support (she is reassured by the Three Boys of Tamino’s love), Tamino passes the final trials because he firmly believes in the power of the flute which he holds high above his head, even when death faces him. His strong belief in the magic flute saves them and it’s also what ultimately brings peace to the …show more content…

It starts at 20:45 as a strong yet gentle song, giving the impression that she is a good woman and that she is in a position of power, if her name hadn’t already given it away. She appears as a dark shadow; its very mysterious but appropriate as her name is Queen of the Night. Her entrance slowly fades into a minor key as she begins to share her story: an emotional tale of how her daughter was kidnapped from her and she looks genuinely concerned. Around 23:00 her song grows into a crescendo which almost resembles that of a musical scream as she re-lives the pain - “with my eyes I saw her taken”. It sounds as though she is weakened with sadness and longing for the safe return of her daughter but right before the scene ends, we see a close up of her eyes which are looking off to the side and giving the impression of deceit and deception. We can guess that she is perhaps not as weak and incapacitated as she

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