Delicatessen Homework

How is sound used to support the visual narrative?

In class like how we usually begin on a Monday, we watched another film which was called Delicatessen.

Summary of the film :

Delicatessen is a movie that was made in the year 1991 by two french film directors, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro.

Plot : The scenes takes place in a run down apartment building in post-apocalyptic France. In this era money is seen as grain and the meat is running out. Luckily someone finds an idea to earn more meat. His name is Clapet, a butcher that remains on the ground floor of the building and puts jobs opportunities in newspapers. Sadly he is not trying to help these people secure a job, he is trying to kill them and sell their meat to his customers (quite morbid)

I was asked by my tutor to write an essay on how is sound used to support the visual narrative in this film. (500 words)

One scene I would like to talk about it in-particular is the sex scene. In this scene there is many ways in which the sound is used to support the visual narrative.

In this scene we see the butcher having sexual intercourse with Mademoiselle Plusse, a very attractive woman who also stays in the apartment building.

At first we can hear the sound and see the springs slightly moving once they have laid on top of the bed. Then we see louison painting, his movement is going up and down. We then hear more sounds of the springs which sound a tiny bit louder than usual. The sound forms an echo through the vent and we can hear the sound of a violin being played, yet again in-sync to the sounds the bed is making.

After this the sounds of the springs, creak louder and you can see the springs are moving up and down, frequently. You can hear the intense detail of the springs creaking. You could tell there is a lot of friction happening on the bed.

We then see another person who is dusting a dusty carpet, which happens to be in-sync with the sounds the bed is making. She wacks the carpet with the same rhytmn.

In the next frame we see a man who is pumping a bicycle tire, in and out, in the same rhythm up and down. After this the violin is repeats and you can hear the bed creaking again in the background.

The bed springs get louder and the motion of it going up and down gets quicker and with that, so does the motion of everyone else. The woman who was wacking the dusty carpet wacks it quicker and firmer. We see a timer going back and forth for a split second. The man who was pumping his bicycle wheel, puts more effort in it. Louison who was painting goes back and forth a lot faster. We see a man drilling holes into a can and tuning it faster too. At this part the springs are moving speedy up and down. We then transition to see louison painting again but more swifly. Everyone's motion from here gets faster and yet again in-sync. The bed gets very loud and noisey and you can tell there is a lot more friction and action happening on the bed.

Everything goes rapid, quick, VERY FAST and we see the face of the butcher who has ejaculated, even whilst he has finished his activity we see the springs of the violin spring out and louison dropping on the floor. To represent that he has finshed his deed, he has ejaculated.

The sound in this scene supports the visual narrative very much, The sound helps show what is happening which is intercourse without presenting the visual scene. When a lot of friction and sexual movement was being heard on the bed such as the springs, everyone else did their actions quicker to symbolise that their intercourse was getting faster. It helped support the visual narrative without showing people what is clearly happening.

One that their bodies were moving quickly and there was alot of pressure being made. Its only at the end of the clip we see the butcher's face that he has orgasmed and ejaculated.