Throughout the movie I feel the target audience was the working class and the poor. The movie provided such a stark contrast between royalty and the common working man. The most apparent ways I saw a contrast was in their clothes and intelligence. The king and his staff wore those lavish blue costumes made of wonderful cloth, with ruffles and other lavish details. The commoners however, were tattered clothes, made of harsh cloth, that almost looked like brown and beige rags. The contrast in intelligence came in little ways, like the valid questions the commoners raised in reference to their robbers tax. The king's servant had no answers for the working class people. The collector kept giving the blacksmiths the same round about answer over and over again, even though they had a valid question.
This film reminded me of Snow White because there was little to know magic. Sticking to the focus of focusing in on the working class, magic is an unrealistic option. In the real world there is no fairy godmother to swoop in and rescue a person, likewise there is no magic in DEFA films.
I believe the use of film adds comic relief. The scene where the main character accidently sets the kings hut on fire when he is really running away from a mouse I thought was great. That is an instance where is that scene was written in a book, it wold not be funny. I struggled a bit with this film, simply because the vice overs sounded a bit out of place.
I also noticed the lack of "magic" in this movie. I did not think of looking at the the costumes though. It is an interesting connection to make to the target audience!
ReplyDeleteI think the costumes is a very good observation that most viewers would take for granted. Aside from the material, the color patterns of the king and his entourage are a vibrant blue, while the workers have the drab earth tones that are tattered. The fact that the commoners are triumphant in the end is a victory for the lifestyle of the workers.
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