Download (12MB) - University of Salford Institutional Repository

with Adelfo and Laura, Primo is surprised to see the driveway full of cars. Entering the
house, the camera adopts a POV shot to reflect the three characters' puzzlement as it pans
over piles of expensive overcoats. The evolving hypothesis both from characters and viewers
regarding an impromptu gathering is confirmed by images of a lively party that
simultaneously startle characters and viewers; but the event's significance is gradually
revealed as Barbara enters the diegesis, graciously accepting the offers that the guests, like
usurers, make for the family's goods. In these situations, viewers are induced to replicate
Primo's mental processes, while also experiencing his sense of dismay. Besides, Bertolucci
increases viewers' cognitive engagement by keeping one character - Barbara - in the dark
about the developments in the kidnap saga. This puts viewers in a position of omniscience
with respect to her situation, thus inducing further hypothesis-making regarding the possible
point at which she will be told the truth, and her possible reaction.
The affective and intellectual impact of the mise-en-scene
The melancholic mood pervading the film is largely attributable to its structure and mise-en-
scene. The dreamlike representation of the landscape, Primo's voiceover narration which
elicits a sense of irreparability and inevitability, and the sombre music score which cues a
sense of irrecoverable loss, are all 'emotion markers' (Smith G., 1999: 117-118). These
elements are combined with a slow narrative pace and soundless images. The construction of
Tragedy echoes that of Tlie Spider's Stratagem, in that the clear knowledge of the
protagonist's feelings, combined with a correspondingly bleak ambience in the film's audio­
visual style, feed into the narrative as they represent the mental state - in this case
sombreness and defeat - experienced by Primo and the viewers. With Tragedy Bertolucci
seemed to have sidelined the virtuosismi of his previous films (1900 and La lima) in favour of
a restrained mise-en-scene. This factor can be read as a sign of his preoccupation with making
stylistic choices that corresponded to the film's difficult socio-political issues. More
117