Mise-en-scene of the Last Emperor

In this particular shot from the Last Emperor, a sense of power and royalty is evoked, contrasted with the conveying of a "finale"/doom ambience: the end of this exotic culture. In order to convey this effect, the shot has been set up in such a way to create different sensations on the spectator. It is a long-shot, which gives a broad image of the whole set: a temple which inspires power by its magnitude and exotic style, perfectly aligned rows of followers, a central passage through which the Emperor's caravan is being transported, and a part of landscape (sky) behind the temple. The long distance of the shot gives characteristic power to the set, as the spectator can view (shot is slightly high-angled for it to have a wider approach to every single object in the scene-specially characters, as the contrasting colours tell the audience about this culture: a different, exotic one) the hugeness of the space in where the characters (spacially small in contrast with the vast set, also conveying this powerful sense of magnitude, representing therefore the cultural royalty and power, respect) are symmetrically aligned and ordered. This symmetrical display of the whole set (passageway in the middle, aligned follower lines, temple in the center) gives a sense of discipline and respect from behalf of this culture, hinting us about its importance and tradition. The lighting is carefully chosen to convey an atmosphere of doom, as it is dull, and the sky behind the set is grey, using the opaque colour to generate this ending effect: the ending of all this powerful and ancient culture, which is magnificent as ever but at the border of collapse.