A Note on Cabiria— Jaylah MB

As a lover of many black-and-white classics, as well as being a music nerd, I generally had fairly decent expectations for Cabiria going in— essentially, my thoughts were “eh, it can’t be that bad.” However, always weary of cheesy acting and rough storylines, I had some accompanying doubts.

I am pleased to say, however, that it surpassed my expectations. Cabiria is a theatrical phenomenon, and though a product of its time, simultaneously transcends being so.

Most notably, the production and technical aspects of the film were generally spectacular. The costumes were lavish and told a story; the lighting provided a stunning amount of contrast for the day; the practical and special effects were integrated and pulled off seamlessly. The most impressive piece, however, was the angles and, more specifically, the movement of the camera. Throughout the duration of the film, the mise en scene proved to be impeccably thought out, and if you were paying attention, led you to understand more about characters and the situations they found themselves in than one would expect. However, in addition to the setup of the shot, the addition of panning shots, where the camera moves on a rig or mobile tripod and is able to sweep through the shot to draw focus or, conversely, to show scope, is revolutionary for its time. This development paved the way for revolutionizing the movie camera into the artistic element we know it as today—and thus watching as a consumer of modern media, seems to be a much more relatively modern film compared to its actual release date.

Though the acting, while good for its age, was of course exaggerated for effect due to the nature of the movie—and we all had to agonize over how long and melodramatic Sophonisba’s death was—the story told was easily recognizable to a viewer and was made further immersive by the technical aspects above. It was strange, and of course propagandistic, but overall an enthralling film for its day that I would certainly watch again.