Monos

Describes the setting of a scene in a play or a film. It refers to everything placed on the stage or in front of the camera—including people. In other words, mise en scène is a catch-all for everything that contributes to the visual presentation and overall “look” of a production. When translated from French, it means “placing on stage.”

Setting

Setting

Location

Explanation

Monos is filmed on location, with strikingly realistic details adding to the depth of the created reality. It is uniquely contemporary, with modern weapons and clothing, as well as video taping and motorized boats present. These props serve to remind the viewer that while this is an old tale-war and its toll on its victims-it is one that has seeped into the most remote stretches of humanity and most terrifying, reached those stretches modernized.
Details such as black ink seeping into the cement walls in La Doctora’s cell evoke the feeling of mold and decay. This feeling is a direct reflection of La Doctora’s descent into mental decay, such as this scene where she is making unrecognizable mutterings and movements in front of a wall. As the relentless nature that characterized the tundra and the jungle conquers manufactured spaces, Monos asks if it takes our sanity with it.
An extremely powerful example of how Monos uses its setting and space is the scene showing an above shot of two rivers converging: one clear and blue, and one muddy and opaque. Prior to this shot, Rambo was seen jumping into the river to escape from the other Monos. The viewer is meant to wonder what this may symbolize; but the shot is clean, uncluttered. It evokes abstractionism in its simplicity. One interpretation of this message is that Rambo is the dirty river, marring the pristine river. This is supported by the fact that after Rambo made his home in the diver's house, the violence that characterized his life is brought to it, and results in the destruction of the family.
A second example of how space and setting interact is when the Monos' connection to the outside world, the Messenger, is descending from the mountaintop. This scene is one that has been replicated for millennia, yet feels out of place. It is backwards: a man on horseback is modernity. It is an image that is simple and uncluttered, captures the raw beauty of the nature, and references a long history of cowboys/vaqueros and conquistadores in Latin culture.
Space:
In Monos, space plays an important role to reflect the character’s journey. It starts at a mountaintop, a tundra biome. This tundra is characterized by low-lying plants and clear vistas of blanketing clouds as far as the eye can see. As a result, it is a pristine but uniquely “cluttered” environment. Here, the proximity to the sky acts like a magnifying glass, where nothing can hide. As the Monos are under assault, the scene becomes increasingly muddled and chaotic. As they make home in the jungle, the Monos are frequently covered in mud and ink, and the jungle seems to consume them. What it is important to realize, is that as they change their environment from mountaintops, to jungle, to even a domestic setting, the violence and trauma follows them-because they are there.

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Props

Prop

nature; belongings

Explanation

Monos is careful not to steal the focus away from the stunning setting away from the film; nature itself becomes the prop. For example, when Smurf is tied to a tree as punishment, it is vines that are used to entangle him.
Despite this focus on nature, there is a stunning example of how physical belongings are interpreted by the militant group. When Lobo, the group leader, is killed, his belongings are neatly sorted on a well-made blanket and picked over. Knives, watches, gloves-items that are seek to control nature. Yet, as the film teaches us, they are futile.
An important prop is the lack of one-a national symbol. Despite the belief I had watching the film that it takes place in Colombia, there is no overt mention of this fact in the film. While this can be seen as an act of anti-nationalism, I argue that this is done to avoid personal biases and connections from being put upon the film. As the viewer watches, they understand that these acts of violence can happen anywhere-in Latin America, and abroad. While not actively disputing nationalism, this lack of nationalist props such as flags, mottos, or colors make us ponder whether it is nationalism that is to be feared or the ideas and actions that serve no nation that should be.

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Lighting

Explanation

Monos takes full advantage of natural lighting-and all the terrifying realities that come with it. In fact, the use of natural lighting serves to amplify a sense of realism that the film possesses despite its frequent bordering with almost magical realism. Up in the tundra with a starless night, the characters are illuminated only by bonfires. This pitch-black reality is hauntingly punctuated when they become under attack. Viewers thrusted into this environment feel the emotions as we see Bigfoot in the trenches, defending their position. Interestingly enough, as they make home in the jungle the danger is not what lies in the dark, but in the light. Bigfoot shoots the leader in broad daylight, and Lady repeats this action at Rambo’s new found home.
Because Monos relies on natural light that is characteristic of their setting, they play with it by messing with our expectations. In one startling scene during a montage of the Monos criminal activities, we see a black car burning brightly and turning in a jungle with a setting or rising sun. We expect danger to happen at night, yet it isn't clear what time of day this occurs. The car nevertheless burns brightly. Surrounded by lush, unwavering jungle foliage, the burning car is not necessarily startling because of its act of violence, but rather because it serves as a reminder of the Monos attack on modernity and the outside world. Bigfoot, the leader of the group after Wolf's death, even goes as far as saying that they are their own unit, that even the Messenger has no control over them. As this scene happens in broad daylight, it makes this idea even more terrifying.

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Costume

Costume

Costume and MakeUp

Explanation

throughout the film, characters have clothes that naturally mirror their circumstances, yet hint to the wider globalization intermingling in regional affairs. For example, while isolated on the mountaintops in what appears to be indigenous Latin America, the characters sport athletic gear that wouldn't receive a second look on an American college campus. The diver that meets Rambo in the river is dressed in modern diving gear. In the case of La Doctora, she is frequently being cleaned and dirtied, a cycle perpetuated by her use as a hostage. Gender is not immediately coded, and if anything it is undermined; the Monos are meant to be a unit, where differences are minimized. The parody that exists is that these characters could and perhaps should exist within our Westernized viewpoint. They do not wear exotic clothes, meaning they are fully integrated into our society. This is where the power of the makeup comes in. Frequently throughout the film, they cover themselves with what appears to be dirt or black paint as part of their organized crime and military practice. When we see them go through lengths to groom, such as when La Doctora is helped by two other women on the mountaintop, we understand that it is an active, taxing job to appear clean. This dirtiness was emphasized when La Doctora is screaming into a broken mirror, and she appears dirty. As she looks at herself, she has lost her connection to the clean, Westernized appearance she expects, and as a result experiences further mental decline.

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Figure Behavior

Example

Acting and Choreography

Explanation

The actors-which I believe are all professional- in the movie all appear Hispanic or Latino, with some characters particularly indigenous. This of course is in contrast to La Doctora, whose use of English and White appearance is juxtaposed as a hostage.
Importantly, the children making up the Monos differ in age. Rambo and Smurf are both young, compared to the more matured Wolf, Lady, and Bigfoot. As the film progresses, this is used to highlight the tragedy that militias have on communities. For example, when Rambo runs away from the group, he joins the family of the diver. In this domestic setting, he changes from a radicalized youth to another member of a nuclear family. When Lady comes and kills the parents of this family, she then discovers the children they left behind. We are left to imagine if the cycle will continue and if the children will join their cause.
Another important characteristic of the movie is the use of whistling and hand gestures to communicate. The sounds they create are mimicries of the jungle symphony, and can be seen as a allusion to the indigenous heritage. These sounds are further reverberated by a soundtrack of flute sounds. By mimicking the jungle and indigenous heritage, the Monos become part of the jungle themselves, and the viewer understands them to be more alien to a Westernized understanding of civilization.
Lastly, the actions of the Monos throughout the film play a tug-of-war on the sympathies of the viewer. In the bunker with Swede, La Doctora comforts her after a blast, almost adopting a mother like figure. While a sense of sympathy builds, it is destroyed when Swede begins vigorously kissing La Doctora, which the latter pushes Swede away who then points the gun at her. The scene drastically changes from one of motherly comfort to almost sexual assault. La Doctora's own motherly attributes are put into question later in the movie. When Smurf is tied up, she takes his boots when escaping but struggles to put them on. Smurf suggests to cut off the toes, which works. Smurf then pleads her to take him with her, but she runs away without responding. These scenes seek to make the viewer understand the levels of emotional, traumatic complexity and social structure that are created in the type of environment that Monos takes place.

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This is the art of photography and visual storytelling in a motion picture or television show. Cinematography comprises all on-screen visual elements, including lighting, framing, composition, camera motion, camera angles, film selection, lens choices, depth of field, zoom, focus, color, exposure, and filtration. Cinematography sets and supports the overall look and mood of a film’s visual narrative. Each visual element that appears on screen, a.k.a. the mise-en-scène of a film, can serve and enhance the story—so it is the cinematographer’s responsibility to ensure that every element is cohesive and support the story. Filmmakers often choose to spend the majority of their budget on high-quality cinematography to guarantee that the film will look incredible on the big screen.

Editing is the process of putting a film together–the selection and arrangement of shots and scenes. Editing can condense space and time, emphasize separate elements and bring them together, and organize material in such a way that patterns of meaning become apparent. In addition, editing can determine how a film is perceived: for instance, quick, rapid cuts can create a feeling of tension, while a long take can create a more dramatic effect. The first photoplays generally had no cutting, owing to the fact that they were single-reel films; once filming began, you could not stop until the film ran out. (https://filmglossary.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/term/editing/)

Sound is an integral part in a film. It refers to everything that the audience hears including sound effects, words and music. Sound is used in films for various purposes, including: providing the information to the viewer about the location of the scene, heightening the mood, telling the audience about the characters and advancing the plot. Every person who watches a film realizes that the choice of voices, soundtrack and music present in a film affect the way that the viewer perceives a particular film. As a result, the sound is an important and integral element of the film, one that determines the way that the viewer experiences and understands a film as a visual experience.

Narrative analysis is an examination of the story elements, including narrative structure, character, and plot. A narrative can be considered to be the chain of events in a cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space. In order to analyze the narrative of a film, we need to first make the distinction between the plot of the film and the story of the film. This is sometimes referred to as the discourse and story of a film. Narrative may also be called the story thought story mainly refers to the events that describe the narrative.

Film genres are various forms or identifiable types, categories, classifications or groups of films. (Genre comes from the French word meaning "kind," "category," or "type"). These provide a convenient way for scriptwriters and film-makers to produce, cast and structure their narratives within a manageable, well-defined framework. Genres also offer the studios an easily 'marketable' product, and give audiences satisfying, expected and predictable choices. Genres refers to recurring, repeating and similar, familiar or instantly-recognizable patterns, styles, themes, syntax, templates, paradigms, motifs, rules or generic conventions.