An Analysis of How Mise-En-Scene Is Used in the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus to Show the Difference Between the Real World and the Imaginarium.

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The imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Gilliam, USA, 2009) is a fantasy about Dr Parnassus (Plummer) and his imaginarium, a fantasy world which guides your imagination and gives you a choice between good (light) and evil (darkness). Dr Parnassus however made a deal with the devil, Mr Nick (Waits), swapping his immortality for youth on the condition that when Dr Parnassus’ first born child reaches the age of 16 he/she belongs of Mr Nick. Valentina (Cole), Dr Parnassus’ daughter is soon turning 16 and Mr Nick offers Dr Parnassus another deal, whoever seduces the first five souls will get Valentina. The sequence I will be looking at starts at 1:09:00 and ends at 1:13:39. In this sequence Tony (played by Ledger in the real world and Law in the imaginarium) is getting women to go into the imaginarium. Dr Parnassus is saying to Mr Nick, who is sat on a table near the imaginarium, that he only has one more soul to get. The imaginarium is bright and colourful which contrasts with Mr Nick, who wears a black suit, this shows that those working in the imaginarium to be good and Mr Nick to be evil, which gives the audience an understanding of what’s what. When the gang of men get out of the car and start walking to the imaginarium they’re all wearing black suits, making the audience assume that they’re also evil and may be working for/with Mr Nick. This is idea is proven when Tony see’s the men, when he notices them, you see a look of worry on his face and his body language seems to go tighter, he shuffles to hide behind the woman who came out of the imaginarium and Valentina. He also puts on his mask to hide his identity; this fear that he has of the men gives the idea that Tony may have done something wrong or angered the men. The men, realising that Tony is the man they’re looking for start to run to the imaginarium and Tony, pushing a woman out of the way, showing again more

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