The Dying Swan was my favorite of the three films. Specifically because of the music and setting.
The Setting seemed like something out of a fantasy. I'm sure it wasn't anything that special, of course, but it swept me away. In the beginning, the story starts on a beautiful shore. Up on the docks and on top of the rocks, it's all interesting to look at. Which is KEY to a silent film. In a silent film, I've learned it's harder to stay focused at what is going on. This is highly obvious...
But in this genre of film, you must pay attention to the movements of the actors, and who's mouth is moving to see who has the subtitle that appears. This category seems to deem well with the viewers eye and it should!
The setting is then moved onto a garden that seems to be out of civilization. It's just relaxing to watch. The rest of the film is set in city that lies on the shore of the ocean. It seemed infinite.
Then there was the awesome music. It was so powerful and switched into delicate. The sad violin rips the whole scene together and really helps the characters emotion and acting. One musical part I remember is the start of Gizelle's(protagonist!) nightmare. There was only the slow scary piano pounding. It almost sounded kind of rockish, but very eerie.
A director has the problem of really showing what's going on by only short liners, and massive amounts of...hand gestures. Even if the director thinks the whole movie is right on the story, he/she can't, since he/she knows the story already. So he/she can't quite tell if the movie will make sense.
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I agree with you that a certain expansiveness was created by the settings in the Dying Swan (the gardens, the oceans, etc.) Perhaps these were intended as a sort of idyllic contrast to the closed quarters of Glinsky's house (especially think of the hands all reaching in to strangle Gizelle in her dream...).
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