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Textual analysis

Mise-en-scene in The Captain’s Feast

The Captain’s feast is an important scene when it comes to understanding the facist and  power hungry views that society held in rural Spain during the 1940’s. The feast is attended by a wide variety of people who all have one thing in common. Wealth.  All of the guests prove to be patronising and greedy for power and money. In this scene, Del Toro uses mise en scene to communicate meaning. During this task, I focused on the representation of the priest and the two sisters.

Costume

The priest’s ornate cross connotes that he is an important and powerful character. It also suggests that he is wealthy and has a gluttonous attitude. This is confirmed during the feast scene when he rudely states that he doesn’t believe that there will be enough food for everyone.

The two sisters are wearing expensive jewelry, including pearls. This articulates that they have wealth which gives them power and status above most less wealthy people.

Lighting and Colour

The limited lighting in this scene suggests that the film was set in a time before electricity was invented or widely used. However, the light that is provided is from ornate candles which once again fortifies the idea of wealth and importance of the people around the table.

Actions

The priest represents the idea that he is gluttonous when he states that he does not think there is enough food for everyone at the table. This is especially shocking since the film is set in 1944 during the war, when rationing is seriously affecting how much food people- especially the poor, can get.

Props

Del Toro uses juxtaposition to articulate to the audience that the war did not have a huge impact on the wealthy. The priest and the sisters both hold ration cards in one hand and silver cutlery in the other. This reminds the audience that the mov9e is set during the world war when rationing was cemented in place and yet these wealthy people are having a feast. This could come across as sardonic humor.

Setting

The banquet is set in a large, spacious dining room. This implies that the captain is used to hosting parties or feasts like the one we see in the movie. This idea is supported since there is a large fireplace, since this implies that the room needs to be often heated since the Captain is used to having company.