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possible to understand 'how the modalities of entering [...] the presentational space can be
used to make meaning', (McAuley, 1999: 103) in the sense that it is through the grouping and
movement of actors 'that the fictional world is mapped'. This is a process - termed
'blocking' - during which 'the absence of movement is as important as movement and the
utterly immobile body exerts its own fascination' (McAuley, 1999: 106).
Athos jr.'s repeated, solitary explorations of Tara, advancing into its empty spaces,
reflect the isolation of an individual floundering in an unfamiliar environment. Tara's silent
stillness emblemizes a taciturn diffidence and hostility towards its visitor, while
simultaneously emanating an air of intrigue surrounding its hidden truths. In this respect, the
significance of Athos jr. being recurrently filmed from the back is that it removes the
specificity of his identity, universalizing his role into that of a lone individual confronting an
unfathomable enigma. The shots also activate a twofold plane as forward perspectives,
symbolizing his obligation to confront the mystery, are reversed either by montage or by 180°
camera panning or tracking, techniques that transform Athos into an object encircled by the
mystery itself. This dual effect is exemplified by the sequence of the 'confrontation' between
Athos jr. and his father's bust in the town square, in which circular tracking shots represent
Athos" POV as he walks around the bust, staring at it, while identical reverse shots create the
impression of Athos being scrutinized by the bust itself. This sequence reflects the concept of
the stage and its objects being able 'to express emotion and convey complex interpersonal
relationships in ways that dialogue alone' could not (McAuley, 1999: 170).
This use of space and the lack of movement within the diegesis can be categorized as
'iconic', in accordance with Bernard Beckerman's distinction between iconic and dynamic
theatrical presentations. The iconic type privileges a demonstrative form in which events
transcend time and where the main purpose is to confirm established states, not challenge
them, so that the representation creates an illusion of stasis, of endless continuity
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