At first, it was difficult for me to pick a particular scene in the movie that stood out simply because they are all in some way or another connected to the main theme of setting in Shark in the Head. One scene that really impacted me depicted the little girl and the chalk drawings on the side walk. The scene starts off with a girl about five to six years old bending over drawing pictures while the main character watches her from his window. He is dressed in a tank top and his boxers. He is smiling while admiring her artwork; it is clear that he is in an amiable mood. The shot then cuts to him coming outside and bending next to her while she keeps drawing. Immediately after we see the girl’s guardian take her away, not before handing him the chalk. As he leans against the wall, we experience what seems to be a point-of-view shot. There is an image of a green tree, seemingly left unfinished by the girl. As we watch, the tree begins to move as it is colored in and finished by what seems to be no one. This same pattern is seen with an image of a rooster. At first, we think that perhaps the main character is imagining the completion of these drawings. We then see however, that the images are being washed away at night because of the rain. Were the images ever completed in reality or just his imagination? This is completely open to interpretation. By doing this Maria Prochazkova is deviating from the traditional depictions of setting seen in Hollywood where everything is delivered to the viewer with no room for creativity or deep thought. In my opinion, this moment definitely contributes to the mise-en-scene because of the visual elements it has in common with the other scenes. The bright colors, contrasts, camera movements, and reactions of the actor of this scene match the others.
It is clear from the beginning that this movie does not follow the classical paradigm. Even though it seems to follow some what of a chronological order, the opposite could be argued because of the incoherence of the scenes. The diegesis of the movie itself at times seems as if it were non-diegetic because of the unrealistic aspect of the images. In my opinion, the film does achieve style. It is clear that the director is not concerned on how the story is told. In a way there are no smooth transitions or in fact real connection between events and what we see on screen. We do pay much attention, however, to the details within each segment of the story. Much thought is put into every single detail, from the clothes he is wearing to the color of his room. These details work together with the mise-en-scene to create the overall theme of the movie.
