Assignment 3: Exploring Elements of Film

         The film “La Casa del Fin de Los Tiempos” is about a woman, Dulce, who after being accused of killing her husband, Juan Jose, and her son, Leopold, was imprisoned for thirty years. She was eventually transferred to her old home where the crimes occurred where she meets a young priest who investigates the crimes. While at the home, Dulce begins to experience strange events within the home leading us to believe that the home she is in is haunted.

         The scene chosen from the movie, shown above, uses plenty of dark colors such as blues, blacks, and grays. It further makes excellent use of shadows and lighting from several different angles. Additionally, there are several instances of vertical lines being employed throughout this scene. Take for instance the use of the shard of glass that Dulce is holding in her right hand and place that into comparison with the lantern she is holding in her left hand. Both of these are placed into the foreground and are parallel to each other with special attention being placed upon those objects. Furthermore in the background there are plenty of vertical lines being employed using a doorway and the wall in the background. Additionally in the background, there exists what appears to be someone standing in the back looking out at Dulce without her knowing it. The scene is also shot at an angle, which seems to elongate the hallway in the middle ground between Dulce in the foreground and the shadowy figure in the background. It is important to note, that this scene is initially used as a flashback in the beginning of the movie, but then is later reintroduced as an action in the present. This scene communicates a sense of confusion, fear, and a feeling of being lost. Here Dulce, appears to be searching for something simply being guided by a very soft light coming from her lantern. She is being watched by something in the background without knowing it but clearly she feels something around here which is why she is in possession of a shard glass shard possibly for her own protection. It is important to note that the glass shard came from a broken mirror in an earlier scene within the movie.

  

          Another scene chosen from the movie, shown above, uses many dark shades of red, orange, brown, grey, and black while contrasting that with the white as worn by the elderly Dulce. The scene highlights a dresser covered with various items in the foreground, uses the mirror as a middle ground, and presents Dulce in the background within the mirror behind a message of “11 11 11 11 11 11”. This scene places special emphasis on the message within the mirror foreshadowing future events within the movie. What is important here is that we see Dulce only as she sees herself through the mirror possibly due to the scene being shot from a very horizontal perspective, as if it were Dulce’s perspective. The scene also uses many vertical lines including the frame of the mirror, the use of the message “11 11 11 11 11 11”, the use of various pictures hanging on the wall and the use of the curtain on the left hand side of the scene. This scene, like many others throughout the whole movie, places special attention on the use of a mirror. There is a sense of mystery within this scene as the mirror in which we see Dulce within shows the world that the character lives in to be more dark and full of more shadows (as shown on the wall) than in the actual world she is standing in. An in-depth reading of this scene can inform us of the following features: Dulce looking into a mirror sees the message "11 11 11 11 11 11" written presumably in blood. Dulce immediately understands this message as something meant to terrify her, rather than a message meant to communicate an important idea. Dulce, is misunderstands the meaning of the message "11 11 11 11 11 11". These events could possibly discuss the idea of how individuals are quick to judge a situation leading to misunderstanding. 

         Overall, I was very impressed with how this movie was filmed. There are many great elements and contrasts of color used, film styles used, lighting used, etc… However, the most striking element within the movie for me was the active use of mirrors throughout the entirety of the film. There is definitely a deeper message and meaning being communicated by such use of the mirrors. I am still developing my thoughts on the exact meaning of the use of the mirrors but I believe that we as an audience are supposed to question what is reality and what is real throughout the whole movie. I further believe that the mirrors are used to remind us that often times, we are seeing the world through the perspective of specific characters and the mirrors allow us to see the world in which the character exists as it is.