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Essay On By Boat In The Moonlight

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I found that Mizoguchi’s staging within Ugetsu’s “By Boat in the Moonlight” scene was very interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgBHeJfnJ5s Astruc states that mise-en-scène is “movement of the body” (Astruc 266) that “extends states of minds” (267) like a song or rhythm (267). In this particular scene, I noticed how the character’s emotional responses changed through Mizoguchi’s “one scene/one shot” style. At 0:55, the camera pans from Genjuro and Tobei to Genichi in Miyagi’s arms. Until around 1:19, Miyagi seems fairly happy as they are avoiding danger by transporting by boat. However at 1:21, she looks away from the men and begins to appear upset. The men are talking about how they will become rich, hinting to the audience through Miyagi’s solemn movements that Genjuro is obsessed with the pursuit of wealth. Throughout the film, the viewer learns that this is his downfall, leading to him cheating on Miyagi with Lady Wakasa and ruining his life. Miyagi’s …show more content…

She is hardly looking around at first. At 1:57, her attention is grabbed by something out of the frame, ceasing to row. Her concerned movement as she turns from the oar and looks out demonstrates that she is immensely concerned about what she is seeing. The other characters may not be completely aware yet, but the audience knows through the mise-en-scène. Astruc further explains that it is an “irresistible movement that casts itself ever forward along the same path in the pursuit of fulfillment — or destruction” (267). With this particular movement that Ohama performs, it pushes the film onward as she is casting herself, as well as the characters within the boat, towards their destruction. As a result, they run into a suffering man who was overcome by pirates that serves as a bad omen. This scene stands true to being a sort of “irrevocable slowness that urges on” the plot of the film simply by the movement of the actors within

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