The visual architecture of the film César Deve Morrer an analysis of the cinematic creative process based on scenographic and representational structure

Abstract

This study examines the theatrical language present in the film César deve morrer (Cesare deve morire; Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, 2012), which draws upon intertextual principles to construct its scenographic and representational structure. The general objective is to identify the elements involved in the film's creative process. Specific objectives focus on exploring the perceived interconnections, with the presence of the performing arts serving as the primary area of ​​inquiry. The initial phase of the study analyzes the directors' approach and visual architecture within the context of Neorealism—an artistic movement that helped shape the staging structure of the work under analysis. The study posits that the appropriation of theatrical language as an intertext creates a "cinema of opacity," conceived through both physical structure and the dynamics of action and staging. Bertolt Brecht’s definitions are employed to examine the scenic space and the "distancing effect" (Verfremdungseffekt), while the general analysis of scenic elements draws on the theories of Jean-Jacques Roubine and Jacques Aumont. The concepts of a cinema of opacity and transparency are grounded in the work of Ismail Xavier.