Echoes+Of+The+Rainbow

Echoes Of The Rainbow (mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, lighting, sound)

Catharsis differs from mimesis in which catharsis resonates with the audience by releasing emotions identifying with the characters. From “Echoes Of The Rainbow”, the cinematography makes the audience feel the same way as the little brother. Since most of the film was done in the brother’s POV, we see how the world is changing and how the little brother adapts to it. This cathartic portion of the film specifically happened when we see the family reunited, we feel truly happy for them and we also feel touched by the family love. For Mimesis, the back lighting of the leaders shows their evilness, trying to oppress the boy’s family. As audience, we want to stop the leaders from bullying the family. Also, at the end of the film, the use of slow and melancholy music makes the audience resonants with the big brother as he learns his girlfriend died from cancer. Audience can easily connect with the character because the sad music evokes audience's weak and sentimental emotion.
 * Catharsis & Mimesis** (mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, lighting, sound)

This film involves a lot of personal and cultural experience. For example, the film happened in the 90s in HongKong, that was when people from mainland China moved to HongKong and we see the use of mise-en-scene from scenes like people from the entire street are eating together. This is a good representation of the cultural aspect of this film. People from different background sharing their food and their stories, adds in the significance of the cultural experience. In addition, through mis-en-scene, the costumes of the main characters are not fancy. This reflects the poor condition of the local Canto people, exemplifies the hardship that people from 90s had to go through. Editing also plays a big part through the cultural study lens. The opening sequence contains a montage, showing the setting of HongKong back in the 90s, again indicates the poor condition during that time period.
 * Cultural Studies** (mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, lighting, sound)

Feminist film theory expresses the inequality between men and women, specifically the weak and negative portrayal of women. In “Echoes Of The Rainbow”, the main female lead is the mom. The cinematography use illustrates that she is the typical mom you expect to see who doesn’t have power in a family. The constant use of low angles indicates this inequality. This tells the audience that she has to listen to her husband when making decisions. Also, the male character and the female character are framed differently. Especially looking this through the male gaze, she’s never been placed in the middle of the frame. This portrayed the weak characteristic of women in HongKong back in the 90s.
 * Feminist Film Theory**(mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, lighting, sound)