Introduction
The director’s commitment to strict symmetry explains the many orthogonal lines in the frame’s construction. Diagonal compositions, camera movements, and camera deviations from the horizon are almost not found in the film. A limited fictional world in which the strict arrangement of objects and people is practically a fundamental physical law is being drawn out in front of the audience. In addition, the director pays special attention to an unusual palette of bright colors (pink, purple) in order to further accentuate the dramatic effect in the film against the background of the general plot about the war.
The film’s Stylistic System
At first glance, such a toyiness of the adult world is quite touching to the viewer, and what is happening on the screen is often perceived as a parody of reality. However, it is precisely on the contrast of the pink-confectionary style and the dramatic plot that the effect of the film is built. The whole horror of the destruction of Old Europe by the Second World War, which the director loves so much, is most painfully realized precisely at the moment of the collision of the frivolously beautiful miniature world with the SS men who came to power.
Style to Create Meaning
A strict symmetrical image a priori makes viewers pay attention to it as something atypical. When there are too many such shots in the film, it gives the impression of artificiality. The audience finds themselves inside the most thoughtful, lined-up world. Harmony will be destroyed if at least one object is moved, and that is why the director’s world is so fragile and elegant, and the characters are unprotected. The author’s perfectionism becomes a way to escape the chaos of irrational life. The characters beloved by the author is placed in an idealized, fictional space that reminds all viewers of a dollhouse.