Sample Movie Review On Reading Response – Editing In The Legend Of Paul And Paula

In Heiner Carow’s The Legend of Paul and Paula, editing becomes one of the primary tools with which the editors express the unique (and doomed) dynamics of Paul and Paula’s relationship, including Paul’s strict need for control and Paula’s airy exuberance. In the scene in which Paul and Paula attend an open-air concert, the editing helps to convey some fundamental truths about Paula’s character in particular – namely her love of beauty and joy, and her inability to be restrained or controlled. On top of this expression of Paula’s unbridled emotion, the scene also acts as a potent metaphor for the GDR’s desire to control the passions of the public in the late 1960s, with Paula as the avatar for those resisting this kind of control.
Overall, the editing in the scene follows the rhythms of the music, the speed of the cuts increasing and decreasing along with the ebb and flow of the music (and Paula’s reaction to it/Paul’s ambivalence). From the beginning of the scene, the film takes Paula’s point of view, the first shot zooming in on Paula’s face. The vast majority of the cuts in this particular sequence are eyeline matches; whether cutting to the disinterested, silent, stiff Paul or the exuberant, passionate orchestra (particularly the violinist), Paula’s face in closeup typically intersects and interrupts these other shots, establishing her as the focal point of this sequence. For much of the early part of the sequence, the concert consists of Paula’s face looking just off-center of the camera, match cutting to the violinist, cutting back to her (showing the audience what she is reacting to), then cutting over to Paul after she looks to her left (as we ‘look at’ Paul with her). Paul, meanwhile, sits stony-faced in the scene, unmoving but for a brief glance at Paula in one shot. This invariably contrasts the violinist’s concentration and beautiful playing with Paul’s stoicism. The shots showing Paul’s face are much shorter in duration than Paula’s shot lengths, illustrating Paula’s greater investment in the concert and her desire for Paul.
One of the most fascinating editing techniques used in this sequence is the series of jump cuts that show Paula fantasizing about Paul’s clothes being removed. In a series of quick jump cuts, all focused on Paul, an article of clothing is removed one at a time until we see Paul’s bare chest (with a locket of Paula’s face on it). This image metaphorically shows Paula’s yearning to be close to his heart, as she buries her head in his chest right next to that symbol of her. Paula’s frustration is further illustrated in her choice to cover her ears to block out the music that is causing her such passion – the film mutes the orchestra during these moments, as we see when they cut back to the orchestra playing in silence, hearing only the sound of her breathing. However, later in the scene, she closes her ears again, but the music still plays, Paula having fully accepted the beauty of the music into her being. This shows her transition from resisting her passions to embracing them.
Eventually, Paula achieves a more intimate relationship with the lead violinist, which is shown through long, lingering cuts between the two characters. In two of the sequences’ longest shots, the lead violinist passionately focuses on his playing, forcing the audience to appreciate his craftsmanship as the camera lingers on him for a long time. Then, the film cuts to Paula, slowly zooming in on her as she absorbs this beauty in a shot that lasts nearly as long as the other one. These two shots become paired by editing and shot length, elegantly expressing Paula’s deep adoration for the beauty she is receiving from the orchestra (and not, notably, from Paul).
Paul and Paula’s relationship with the rest of the audience personifies their metaphorical position within East German society. The scene itself feels somewhat removed from the rest of the city, only a few wide shots showing the skyline of East Germany set against the more intimate setting of the orchestra. Apart from this, the film’s editing focuses chiefly on the main characters featured in the scene (Paul, Paula and the lead violinist), with the rest of the attendees and the orchestra acting as background.
Sitting among their peers and fellow citizens, Paul feels the need to fit in with the other repressed German citizen – the director cutting to several groups of them late in the sequence all at once, each one just as stony-faced as Paul. Paula, meanwhile, cannot handle that passivity, taking back control of the crowd at the end of the concert by giving the orchestra a standing ovation. Here, the editor cuts to a POV shot, presumably where Paula is sitting, with the audience sitting with their backs to the camera as they join in. In this shot, the film’s audience becomes the orchestra’s audience, Paula having successfully elicited an emotional reaction from both. Through these cuts, the editor identifies heavily with Paula’s passionate, deeply feeling nature, inspiring the audience to follow her into the more fulfilling practice of enjoying and appreciating beauty – as compared to the deeply stoic nature forced upon East German citizens during that time.