Mise-En-Scene Analysis Of The Mise En Scene Of Romero

The connecting scene of this sequence begins with a tracking shot of Romero as he leaves the conference and heads towards an unknown building. The shadows of the moonlight move over him as he walks next to a wall, perhaps signifying doubt, uncertainty and fear for the future after an unsuccessful meeting on a matter of great significance. Bright luminous light shines from windows of the building behind him, and casts a halo of light around him intermittently. A significant shot in this scene is an establishing shot that shows Romero standing in the entrance of the building and with a statue of Mary Magdalen in the foreground of the shot. The camera tracks to the right to bring a statue of Jesus into the background, with a common girl sat in

This also relates back to the brightly lit windows glowing behind Romero as he walked, that perhaps were used by the director to signify that Romero was heading towards a space where God’s presence was greater (with the common girl). Liberation theology is again reflected in this scene through Romero’s interactions with the common girl. As they begin to talk they sit down together, positioned at the same eye level. This shot composition reflects ideas of equality and mutual respect for one another; two things Romero strives to achieve for the poor in the film. Dialogue is again of great significance in this scene as well. Romero asks her if she wishes to confess, to which common girl replies “’how can I confess what I did not do?’” (0:34:55). This line, although on the surface may seem irrelevant, is of deep significance as it conveys how the poor, guilty of nothing, were the innocent group in society but were made to suffer

Traditionally, the church has sided with the colonisers, elites, or ruling class of a region, however by asking the common girl for her advice on what he should do, Romero demonstrates the idea that a ‘true’ Christian must stand up for the poor and exploited of the world, and fight for political and social change, which contains strong anti-colonial sentiments, as historically the colonised are the disadvantaged ones. The Mission (1986) is another film that could be considered anti-colonial through its use of liberation theology in a different way. The end scene of the film depicts a war fought in Paraguay by the Spanish Crown and the Guarani for the right of the Guarani to stay at the mission where they reside. Father Gabriel, a Spanish missionary living with the Guarani sides with them in the war, engaging in peaceful protest, while Mendoza, one of the other priests, participates in violent warfare, also alongside the Guarani. Unlike in Romero where liberation theology is explicitly addressed through dialogue predominantly but also through mise-en-scene and other cinematic techniques, this scene in The Mission demonstrates implicit connotations of liberation theology through the way the priests end up siding with the