The Bridge of Reality & Fiction | Belle de Jour (1967)
In Belle De Jour, sound design and editing conspire to blur the lines between reality and fantasy, mirroring Sévérine's disorienting journey. The film's editing mirrors the chaotic nature of Sévérine's unconventional employment, while the sound design subtly underscores her inner turmoil, ultimately cementing Buñuel's surrealistic vision.
In Luis Buñuel's Belle De Jour, we're thrust into the tumultuous world of Severine, a woman straddling the line between bourgeois existence and a realm of illicit desires. While cinematography provides a window into the film's depth, it's the bold editing choices and cunning use of sound that truly define its essence. Through gritty, unpolished edits that mirror the characters' raw emotions, Buñuel succesfully blurs the boundaries between fantasy and reality, drawing viewers into a dizzying spiral of intriguing moments. The recurring presence of carriage bells serves as a haunting motif, punctuating key moments and guiding us through Severine's enigmatic journey. With these ingenious tools at his disposal, Buñuel constructs a surrealistic tapestry of Severine's psyche, inviting audiences to confront the complexities of desire and identity head-on.
Buñuel strategically employs sound as a pivotal tool in Belle De Jour, utilizing it sparingly yet effectively to delineate between Severine's bourgeois reality and her darker, masochistic fantasies. A notable example is the film's opening carriage scene, where Severine's husband subjects her to a disturbing scenario that abruptly shifts to reveal itself as a dream. While visually seamless, Buñuel punctuates this transition with the ominous presence of carriage bells, a motif that recurs throughout the film, growing louder with each occurrence. This subtle auditory cue not only preserves the film's surrealistic essence but also leaves audiences questioning the boundaries of reality within Severine's complex world.
In crafting "Belle De Jour," Buñuel employs a distinctive editing style that leaves viewers questioning the very fabric of Severine's reality. Through jarring montages and unconventional cuts, he not only emphasizes the collision of Severine's fantasies and her stark reality but also captures her pervasive sense of unease. Presented predominantly through Severine's first-person perspective, the film delves deep into her psyche, intertwining her personal traumas with her vivid imagination. For instance, a poignant flashback to a young Severine rejecting communion before her journey to the brothel parallels her conflicted feelings toward her newfound profession and the world at large. Through these evocative flashbacks scattered throughout the film, Buñuel masterfully blurs the lines between memory, fantasy, and truth, inviting viewers to explore the labyrinth of Severine's mind alongside her.
Through the strategic integration of editing and sound techniques, Buñuel enriches the surrealist narrative of "Belle De Jour," cultivating a cinematic experience that not only bewilders audiences within Severine's intricate world but also underscores the emotional ramifications of her choices and the resonance of her past experiences.
