The Opening sequence of My Life in Pink/Ma Vie en rose (Directed
by Alain Berliner, 1997) prepares the audience for a European cinema drama.
Defining what makes it so is problematic, “It is probably easier to formulate
what a European cultural identity in cinema might mean by contradistinction
with the cinema of the United States, rather than on its own terms and in
isolation.” (Everett, W. (ed) (2005) European
Identity in cinema. Page 35. Intellect
Books.) This genre is established by the use of a foreign language and
naturalistic acting, following in the tradition of such films as La Cage aux Folles (Edouard Molinaro,
1978) in its honest and unembellished portrayal of dysfunctional and
unconventional relationships. It is influenced by post-war European realistic
cinema as exampled by Les Enfants du
paradis (1945). “[This earlier film was] centrally concerned with issues of
alienation and powerlessness, and with the plight of marginal, damaged
characters.” (Aitken, I. (2001) European
Film Theory and Cinema: A critical introduction. Page 204. Edinburgh University Press.) It is
clear that, in common with many European films, My Life in Pink has been made with a low budget. For example, in
the very first scene, a handheld camera is used to film the couples. Despite
the fact that the Belgian film industry is small, this film won a number of
awards including the 1998 Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film,
indicating its strong direction, unique plot and sympathetic acting.
The subject matter is introduced by
the cuts between Ludovic (Ludo) and the preparations for the party. The film
explores the attitude of conventional families to the challenging behaviour of
cross-dressing, and the problems that transgender people encounter. The first
time the audience sees Ludo the camera pans down to the mother’s missing red
shoes peeping from below a pretty dress. This is followed by Ludo’s head,
blurred in a framed shot which focuses on the reflection of his mouth as he
applies lipstick. The pretty mouth, the delicate hands, and the gentle relaxed
humming combine to convince the viewer that they are seeing a little girl
dressing up for a party. This natural assumption is only proved poignantly
wrong when the medium close-up of Ludo smiling ends the sequence. The audience
is placed in the position of the party guests as the mood threatens to change
from carefree and celebratory to shocking. The potential divide between Ludo
and the rest of society is enhanced by the set. A birds eye shot shows the rest
of the community coming to the party, but to do this they have to cross a road,
a communal green planted with trees and a second road. This use of physical
distance implies that there is a sociological split. The fact that Ludo is
psychologically at odds with the rest of the world is reinforced by the
disjointed relationship between the sound and the image as Ludo descends the
stairs. Although the introduction of Zoe is diagetic, the audience is aware that
Ludo is concentrating so hard on walking in the oversized shoes that he has
failed to hear that the resulting applause cannot be for him.
The mood of this scene is a feeling
of calm with an undercurrent of impending doom, which cuts through the initial
excitement of the imminent party. The feeling that this is an important event
builds as the audience is introduced to three households. The carefree singing
of the first lady implies that they are just looking forward to a fun social
event. In the bedroom of the second family the audience is made aware that this
man is the boss of the newcomer and it is very important to him that the
afternoon goes well and that his new employee is acceptable to the community.
The tension increases amongst the third family as the mother desperately rushes
around trying to make sure that they will make the best possible impression. The
rhythm of the sequence alternates between the fast-paced preparations for the
party and the gathering of the guests and the interwoven cuts to the slower
paced calm of Ludo’s isolated bedroom. The editing of this introduction to the
characters in the film reinforces the impression that Ludo is at odds with the
rest of the world. The external set appears overexposed whilst the bedroom is
dark and cosy. The comfortable innocence that surrounds Ludo is reflected in
the soundtrack. His calm humming as he prepares to reveal himself to society
shows that he is unaware that anyone might consider him to be different. The
audience, however, is reminded how different he is from the rest of his male
siblings by their noisy interactions outside in the garden. Of course at this
point they are led to assume that they are comparing the boys to a girl. The
mise-en-scene in this scene helps to create a light-hearted mood. Yellow is
used throughout the scene with the car, balloons, and tablemats.
The film uses many different
aspects of the micro-elements to introduce all the major characters in this
short opening sequence. The significance of shots show the audience how the
couples interact with one another. The study of the first couple uses a lot of
close-up shots. This indicates intimacy and closeness. This also draws the
audience in. The second couple are filmed, much of the time, with two shots.
This shows the audience that they are together, but perhaps not very loving. The
third couple (Ludo’s family) have a mixture of the both types of shots and also
a medium close-up of the mother and a close-up on the father’s face. This
establishes that they are main characters as they have individual shots, but it
also allows the audience to see that their relationship is complex and that
they are going through a time of stress. The Grandmother is the other major
character to be introduced at this stage, and she is immediately portrayed as
sympathetic in nature through her characterisation (being tactile and open body
language). The director makes an obvious decision with the mise-en-scene.
Berliner uses lots of mirrors within his set to perform the dual functions of
showing the audience that every character has two different sides and all the
characters care about what other people think. This is especially pertinent to
Ludo, a boy who thinks of himself as a girl, whose face first only appears as a
pair of lips in the mirror. The audience is shown that there is possible
discord in the partnership of the boss and his wife through the use of movement
and mise-en-scene. That they are not functioning as a unified couple is
pinpointed by the fact that they bump into each other both in the bedroom and
later in the garden. The wife seems incapable of anticipating what her husband
is doing or thinking. The boss’s relationship with his son also seems strained,
and this thought is reinforced by the shot of a dark blue balloon hovering
above the family as he appears to hug his son into him. This seems to be the
only dark balloon that exists at the party.
The scene begins with the three
couples giving a clear indication that the film will follow these characters.
It is obvious to the audience that the plot will develop around these people,
and the direction gives clues as to how the relationships will evolve. The
first couple, who are attractive and dressed in light coloured clothing,
prioritise marital relations over arriving at the party on time. The boss is
the only main character who is dressed in dark clothing and this, coupled with his
rudeness to his family, immediately indicates that he is a less than pleasant
character. When the audience sees them bump into each other twice, the audience
is led to understand that she does not understand him. This is why it is
plausible later when she becomes upset and suspicion when Hanna kisses her
husband and he protests that it means nothing. Much of the third couple’s
interaction revolves around her search for the missing shoes in Ludo’s
possession, and the fact that she will not stay still long enough for her
husband to do up her dress zip. This means that most of their interplay takes
place with her talking over her shoulder to him as he struggles to keep up. She
turns to face him to give him a loving compliment and to stand by him as he
presents his family to his new friends. This indicates to the audience that
their relationship is under strain but that they work hard to maintain unity
when under pressure. The colours that the director chooses to dress Ludo are
very important. He picks red and pink. One, they clash. Two, red is a dangerous
colour. Three, pink is a recognised in the Western world as a feminine colour. This
gives the audience a sense of foreboding that Ludo’s identity is going to be problematic.
The strongest indication that the forthcoming story is going to be troublesome
comes in the scene where Ludo’s feet are shown descending the stairs. Staircases
are significant in many films and are often used to denote status and the
relative power of various characters. For example, Gone with the Wind when Rhett Butler leaves Scarlett. In this film,
Berliner uses the stairs to indicate Ludo’s descent from the safety of his
heavenly bedroom to the judgmentalism and harsh reality below. The fact that he
trips, the stumbled framed in close-up, creates tension and concern for his
welfare.
The superb direction of the opening
sequence is clever in that it comprehensively prepares the audience for what is
to follow in terms of genre, mood, all the main characters and basic plot
development, whilst still retaining an element of surprise in the final shot
where the subject matter of transgender is revealed.
Aitken, I. (2001) European Film Theory and Cinema: A critical
introduction. Edinburgh University
Press.
Everett, W. (ed) (2005) European Identity in cinema. Intellect
Books
Ezra, E. (ed.) (2004) European Cinema. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Holmes, D. and Smith, A. (eds)
(2000) 100 Years of European Cinema:
Entertainment or Ideology? Manchester University Press.
Vincendeau, G. (ed) (1995) Encyclopedia of European Cinema. London:
BFI
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