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Textual analysis Student C

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Textual Analysis: La Mujer Sin Cabeza

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TextualAnalysis:LaMujerSinCabeza(2008)

SequenceRunningtime:00:03:11–00:08:11

Thescene Ihavechosen is taken fromthebeginningof the film,wherewesee

themain character,Veronica, leaving a family gathering andhitting something

whiledrivinghercar,andtheaftermathoftheaccident.Theveryopeningscene

of the film, right before the extract, shows four boys and a dog playing in the

sameareathroughwhichVeronicawillsoondrive,andoneof theboysgetting

stuck in the canalalongside the road. In theextractwesee that shehitsadog

withhercar,withthequestionremainingwhethershehitandkilledoneofthe

boys, as well setting up the whole film. I am going to analyze the sequence in

terms of its social and political context as well as its use of diegetic sound,

cinematography, editing and sequencing, narrative techniques, and the

filmmaker’sintentionsandvision.

Thefirstimportantsymbolinthesceneisherhaircolor,whichisdyedblonde,

andattractsacomplimentfromafriendatthebeginningoftheextract(Fig.1),

makingitthefirstofmanypositiveandnegativecommentsaboutherhaircolor

throughout the rest of the film. At the end, she dyes it dark brown, “a sort of

impossibleredemption”,assherefusestoacknowledgethemurderthatshemay

havecommitted(Sosa:73).

Figure1–AfriendcomplimentsVeronicaonherhaircolor

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Textual analysis Student C

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Textual Analysis: La Mujer Sin Cabeza

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The total lack of soundtrack is another important element of my chosen

sequence,andit istypicalofdirectorLucreciaMartelinherdramafilms(Beck:

746).Sheuseslittletononon-diegeticsoundstocreateamoreimmersivefeel,

sothatwehearonlywhatthecharactershear.Inthisscene,whatwecanhearis

the song “Soley Soley”, by a group (appropriately) named Middle of the Road.

Thedirectordescribedthebandasmakingthetypeofmusicthatthepeoplewho

ignored the dictatorship would listen to, referring to the political state of

Argentinaintherecentpast(Taubin).Ithinkithasaverythoughtless,cheerful

qualitythatseemstoevokeasenseofwillfuloblivionthatperhapspeoplewho

wereignoringthenegativesideofthegovernmentwouldfeel,anditconnectsto

Veronica’sstateofmind,withherwillfulignoranceofapossiblemurder.

Thelackofsoundtrackputsusmoreintotheshoesofthecharacter,asdoesthe

behind-the-wheelperspectivethatMartelusesatthebeginningofthescene.The

directorsaidthatshetreatshercameralikeanothercharacter,andwilltherefore

neverputitinaplacewhereapersonwouldnotbe(Taubin).Forinstance,inthe

carscenethecameraisneveronthehood,butalwayseitherinVeronica’sseator

theseatbesideher. In thebeginningweseedirectly fromhereyes, there isan

animalcrossingsign,which isalmosta foreshadowing,andthena fewseconds

later the crash occurs, when she looks down to pick up her phone and the

cameragoesdownwithher.Whatfollowsisaverylongsingleshotofherprofile,

as she seems to contemplatewhether sheshouldgetoutand lookatwhat she

hasdone.Shemakessomehesitantmovements,asifsheweregoingtoopenthe

door, but she never really does. In the end she just puts on her sunglasses,

symbolically shieldinghereyes from thecrime.Thenshe turnsonher carand

keepsdriving,bothliterallyandfigurativelyleavingtheaccidentandthepossible

murderbehind.

Wegetabriefshotofwhatshehasleftbehind,whichisthebodyofadogonthe

road.We can see that shehit a dog, butwedonot know if she alsohit a boy,

because if she has, he has probably been forced into the canal by the impact.

Laterinthefilm,abodyisfoundinthatcanal,supposedlyhavingdrowned,the

issuestill remainingofwhethershehithimornot.Though the film is insome

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ways set up like a mystery, the director herself has said that there is no real

answer to the question driving it, what is more important than what actually

happenedishowVeronicarespondstoit(Taubin).

When thecameragoesback to the insideof thecar,wecansee that thesetof

handprintsonthewindowthatwenoticedearlierinthescenehasshifted(Fig.

2).Thehandprintswereputtherebyalittleboyatthebeginningoftheextract,

and Veronica had behaved very affectionately towards him, her fondness for

childrenmaking it evenmoredisturbing that she isnow ignoring the fact that

shemayhavekilledone.Notonlydotheprintsremindusofthatinteraction,but

the slight change of their angle and position on the window has no material

explanationinthefilm,andisasortofsurrealhorror-liketechniquetomakeus

thinkthatperhapstheywereinsomewayplacedtherebytheboyshemayhave

collidedwithandkilled.

Figure2–Thehandprintsonthecarwindowshiftposition

After driving for a little bit longer, she finally parks her car and gets out as it

starts to rain, this change in weather signaling the change in tone of the film,

fromsunnyandlight-heartedtodarkandserious. Italsoseemstosuggestthat

the rain is washing the blood off her car, if there is any, erasing any actual

evidenceofwhatshehasdoneandleavingherwithherownmoralobligationto

admitthetruthaboutit.Thisissomethingsheneverthoroughlydoes,evenwhen

she endsup tellingher fears toherhusband, “she strenuously conceals from -

herself the knowledge of her own guilt” (Bradshaw). Also, the rain on the

windshield of the car blurs her figure as she stands outside, which is perhaps

symbolicofthewayherrealityandsenseofselfaregoingtobeblurredforthe

rest of the film (Fig. 3). To convey the confusion and detachment from reality

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that the character is experiencing, the director uses shallow focus lengths

throughoutthewholefilm(Andermann:160).

Figure3–Veronica’sfigureisblurredbytherain

Theextractisimportantbecauseitisthetriggeringeventoftheplotanditalso

setsthefilmontoadarktone,separatingtheviewerfromthefamiliarsituation

portrayedinthepreviousscene.Therewasaverylighttonetothemothersand

childrentalkingaroundtheircars,butat thispoint,withapotentialmurderat

hand,weareseparatedfromVeronicaandarethereforeableto feelhershock,

butnotherguilt, aswebegin to judgeherandheractions.Thescene isalsoa

goodexampleofhowactinginvisualsymbolismformsthenarrativestyleofthe

film,asdoesthelackofsoundtrack.

TheculturalcontextofthefilmisthepresenceofracisminArgentiniansociety.

ThiscomesfromtheideathatArgentinawasfoundedby,andthereforebelongs

to,whiteEuropeanimmigrants,whichmaterializesitselfinsocietyasadisregard

forlowerclass,darkerskinnedpeople.Veronicaisarelativelycomfortableupper

middleclasswhiteblondewoman,whereastheboysshowninthebeginningof

thefilmwerevisiblylesswealthyandhaddarkerskin.

Martelherselfstatedthatthisfilmissymbolicoftherefusaloftheupperclassto

acknowledge the economic gap between themselves and the lower class

(Taubin).ThisisvisiblewithVeronica’sfailuretoadmitthedamagethatshemay

havecausedtotheboyandhisfamily.Shealsosaidthatsheseesalotofdanger

in the way that individuals “refuse to take responsibility for larger-scale

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problems”and thereforewanted tocreate this filmnotonlyasapsychological

thriller, but also, and more importantly, as commentary, examining and

discussing the responsibility of the upper class to make society a better place,

whichaddstotheculturalsignificanceofthefilm(Taubin).

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WorksCited

Andermann,Jens.NewArgentineCinema.NewYork:I.B.Tauris,2012.Print.

Beck,Jay.“AcousticAuteursandTransnationalCinema”.TheOxfordHandbookof

SoundandImageinDigitalMedia.Eds.CarolVernallis,AmyHerzog,John

Richardson.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2013.Print.

Bradshaw, Peter. “The Headless Woman.” Rev. of The Headless Woman, dir.

LucreciaMartel.TheGuardian.18Feb2010.Web.30March2016.

Martel, Lucrecia, dir. The Headless Woman (La Mujer Sin Cabeza). Strand

Releasing,2008.Film.

Sosa, Cecilia. Queering Acts of Mourning in the Aftermath of Argentina’s

Dictatorship: The Performances of Blood. Woodbridge: Tamesis, 2014.

Print.

Taubin,Amy. “LucreciaMartel Interviewed:ShadowofaDoubt.”FilmComment.

Jul/Aug2008.Web.30March2016.