Page 367 - Livre Beau Rivage Palace

Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7

orchestra in the belief that it will enable them to escape the clutches But the ‘box within a box’ game breaks down at the end of starting point of the sequence which began outside the building. These haunting and silent exchanges are no more than
of the mafia mobsters who are out to get them. The subterfuge of the movie which, true to the rules of the genre, ends in a frenetic On the other hand, the other areas of the hotel whose social the most extreme version of the comedy of appearances that
disguise played out in the classy surroundings of a luxury hotel is chase. In a scene compressed to the point of absurdity, the two significance would have been of considerable importance to rules the well-to-do society of the day, played out in a grand
highly effective and offers all kinds of dramatic possibilities. men in drag rush down the staircase to re-emerge from the lift high society at the start of the twentieth century – dining room, hotel which, like the theatre and the boulevard, is one of its
The space within the grand hotel in Berne featured in only seconds later, disguised as a wheelchair-bound invalid and lounge, terrace – remain completely autonomous. In the absence most fertile fields of operation. Seeing and being seen is one of
Gilberte de Courgenay was compartmentalised. In Some Like it his male nurse. of any physical connection between them, they never become the main activities of the leisured classes who, during their stay,
Hot, a whole series of comic misunderstandings caused by men Paradoxically, as the pace accelerates, the whole geography of attached to one another. are happy to participate both as actors and spectators. The film
in drag does not seem to have been enough for the director the hotel falls into place. The characters’ frantic bid for freedom It has to be said that even when there is a certain spatial accurately documents the preparations that must be made for
who adds yet another kind of concealment to the mix. He takes them through a succession of spaces, each of which has continuity, there are a number of distracting elements preventing every moment of the day since, like actors, these people dress
creates a complex spatial construction where one room fits into previously been seen in isolation in the course of the action (fig. 6). the spectator from completely capturing the field of vision. As up to go down to the lounge, they dress up for dinner or for
another in seemingly endless succession. The hotel contains Now, for the first time we see where each is situated in relation soon as we cross the threshold, we are in the midst of a ceaseless a walk on the terrace. They even dress up to go to the beach!
bedrooms whose doors, open or closed, are a key element in to the other and how they interconnect. We now see the physical ballet of liveried hotel staff, pirouetting around the hieratic guests Moreover, the bathing costumes are hardly revealing. And as if
each transformation whether completed or interrupted. Inside connection between the foyer, the banqueting room, the kitchens and constantly flitting across our line of vision. The architecture that were not enough, they also wear hats and shelter beneath
the bedrooms, the bathrooms allow the same comings and goings and the underground nightclub where the female performers and etiquette of the 1900s also contribute to this air of confusion. canvas awnings. Early twentieth-century society’s obsession with
between different forms of camouflage, often unbeknown to have appeared on several occasions. As in Gilberte de Courgenay, the luxury hotel is characterised by appearances is taken to its most ridiculous extreme when the
some innocent party who happens to be in the same room. Then, The film ends with the characters escaping to safety, finally cumbersome pillars, exuberant potted plants and over-elaborate obsessed Aschenbach tries to recapture his long-lost youth in a
the bathroom contains a bathtub where bath foam can conceal extricating themselves from the labyrinthine world of the grand furniture. Added to which is the use of the camera in a way that pathetic attempt to disguise himself behind grotesque make-up.
parts of the body that have not yet been changed. The closer the hotel and fleeing by boat across the ocean waves. The surface draws to the full on the innovative techniques of the 1960s, when The masquerade is doomed to failure since foundation cream
film gets to the end, the more these spaces within spaces multiply. of the water stretching away into infinity is the antithesis of the emergence of the zoom offered the advantage of replacing at and dye run in the heat of the Lido.
The two runaways dive under the banqueting table hidden by a the claustrophobic atmosphere of the hotel. It is the place for minimal expense the unwieldy equipment needed for a travelling This extravagant theatricality explains the fragmentation
tablecloth. A killer hides in a giant birthday cake and the fugitives revelations and confessions. All ends well, as one man confesses his shot. It meant that the camera could repeatedly pull back and forth of space. There is no apparent link between the different places
make their escape under cover of a sheet draped over a corpse on love and the other his true gender. at almost nauseating speed. It also made a coherent perception of frequented by the people depicted. This may be because they are
a hospital trolley. space virtually impossible. presented like scenes in the theatre, limited by the size and shape
The absolutely prototypical example of the ‘box within a box’ DRAMA Captured as if by chance, these intrusive elements come to of the stage and punctuated by entrances and exits, but creating
motif occurs within the confines of the lift which, apart from some By contrast, in Luchino Visconti’s 1971 adaptation of play a crucial role in a carefully thought out mise en scène. They no easy transition from one to the other. Like the curtain coming
bottom-pinching whose comic effect relies on gender confusion, Thomas Mann’s novella Death in Venice the spatial configuration tend to place the audience in the position of a casual observer of down, only an abrupt cut can bring about a scene change. At the
obliges characters who are trying their best to avoid one another of the Grand Hôtel des Bains is impossible to reconstruct. the action taking place around him. In an added touch of realism, same time, the hotel rooms in which the characters get ready can
to stand crammed together. In the vast foyer, the runaways easily Nevertheless, as the film begins, the camera follows, stage by we, spectators or perhaps voyeurs, are often hindered, as in real life, be compared to theatre dressing rooms, places of refuge providing
manage to avoid coming face to face with the baddies who, stage, the arrival of Gustav von Aschenbach with an insistence by the presence of some inconvenient object in the foreground the actors with their only chance to enjoy some solitude away
through an unfortunate set of circumstances, have ended up in that raises the process to the level of a solemn ceremony. We see of our field of vision. The process contributes to the theme of from the critical eyes of others.
the same hotel. They meet in the same shot only because they are him as he makes his way up the steps to the main entrance, is looks exchanged, which is developed in the course of the film. However, the magic of theatre has its price. No matter how
caught ‘in miniature’ in the mirror of a powder compact which greeted at reception, takes the lift and walks along the corridor to Death in Venice is the story of an ageing man’s fascination with a much we may admire the show, it will always remain inaccessible.
one of the fugitives uses to observe them without being seen be shown to his room by the hotel manager himself (fig. 7). This beautiful boy. The camera finds a multitude of ways to express this Irrevocably trapped beyond the footlights, the audience cannot
(fig. 5). The enforced intimacy of the lift brings them together in continuous train of events ends with a shot of the newly arrived fascination as it catches a casual glance in the dining room, a brief climb onto the stage and start interacting with the performers.
reality and the pursuers even indulge in a little flirtation with the guest contemplating the view from the window of his room. The exchange in the lounge, eyes that meet on entering or leaving a In Death in Venice, Aschenbach – a composer and hence a man of
pursued, mistaking them for real women. camera then executes a circular movement taking us back to the place, an unexpected encounter close to the lift (fig. 8). the theatre – suffers the same fate. He can never communicate

Billy Wilder, Some Like it Hot, USA, 1959. Billy Wilder, Some Like it Hot, USA, 1959. Luchino Visconti, Death in Venice, Italy, 1971.
Although they are all in the hotel’s spacious foyer, pursuers and pursued The final chase enables us to revisit all the places already glimpsed in passing. The ageing dandy arrives at his holiday hotel. Skilful composition lends great depth
are only brought together with the help of a compact mirror. The elaborate architecture and furnishings create greater, more complex, space. to a shot consisting of many different focal points. The careful positioning of extras
also serves to create perspective.

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