This week’s reading is on Mise En Scene and the film we watched in order to analyse this was The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. I’m a fan of Wes Anderson and even more so of the French “put in scene” to which Mise En Scene refers to. I’d already seen The Life Aquatic, along with several other of Anderson’s quirky films. Like The Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom, the aesthetic and cinematic beauty of The Life Aquatic is enough to draw you in. Personally, The Life Aquatic is not my favourite of his – storyline wise – but I was a fan of the Mise En Scene, luckily.

Year 12 Media taught me quite a bit about Mise En Scene, so even though I’ve done the readings, this is stuff I’m already pretty familiar with. In my own words, it’s basically everything within the scene from props to character’s position that create meaning. In The Life Aquatic, this stuff is pretty crucial.

The readings actually gave the example of George Melies (who we discussed all the way back in week one), and I can’t help drawing a comparison between Melies’ artistry and Anderson’s The Life Aquatic. I wouldn’t be surprised if Anderson was inspired by Melies, notably his A Trip to The Moon. Though generations apart, both utilised decretive sets and fantastical costumes to create a dreamy quality.

For example, the obvious set of Steve Zissou’s ship as we follow characters through the separate rooms is reminiscent of the cardboard space ship within Melies’ film. Other elements such as the puppeteer looking fish and aquatic animals that are stylistically similar to the props and sets within Melies’ film.