Mise En Scene

ChngKing Express Mise - En - Scene Analysis

I will analyse the opening scene of Chungking Express in relation to mise en scene. We as the spectator see the recognisable costume piece, the wig. This is iconic as it represents a character in the film, known only for this blonde wig she wears. It establishes a clear character early on to the spectators as this is not typical and no one else wears a blonde wig or has blonde hair in the film. It gives us an insight into who she might be as we see her walking though a crowd of people in a small hallway. The fact that there are so many people yet a small hallway suggests that there are not meant to be that many people in the house provoking the thought of criminal actions. It also suggests that they are in poverty as the halls are hard to walk through. We see her walk through a red light, red connoting danger suggesting she is a dangerous person.

With lighting, we see glimpses of flashing lights, blurred as the camera moves through the streets. It is mainly dark outside and all we mainly see are dark silhouettes of people. The blurred flashing lights and dark environment suggests chaos and negativity. We see the title screen which is only black and white. The contrast of colours connotes conflict and opposites, which relate to the story of conflicting people and opposite attractions. The sky is dark and we see outlines of power plants letting out thick black smoke connoting negativity and set a dark mood to the film.

With space we see cramped locations, inside and out. I think the outside shots were shot on location to maintain realism of the film but the inside shots were shot on set. Inside we see the small hallways filled with people and outside where we see a plain clothed policemen chasing someone through the crowd we get glimpses of the city. It is cramped and he is bumping into people trying to run through the city. There is a claustrophobic feel to the city, which suggests they are in poverty as there is minimal room for movement.

Props used are the wig and the person being chased in the city has a bag over his head. This is cultural and once someone has been arrested a bag is put over their head to protect their identity from paparazzi. This prop indicates that this person is a criminal and also let's us know that the person chasing him must be a police officer even though he is plain clothed.