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I think the visual representation of Miguel’s experience is a great display of the thin line between reality and illusion and how illusion can steadily overpower reality. To start, there were times when it was difficult to discern whether what we were seeing was reality or illusion. For example, when Miguel first saw Eva in the open field, I never questioned the fields reality. I saw the field and knew that it was odd for it to exist in such a place, yet the thought of it being an illusion never even crossed my mind. I accepted it as reality just like Miguel did until it was revealed to be an illusion. I was especially intrigued when we started to be shown the differing perspectives of what Miguel was perceiving to be reality and what we as an audience knew to be reality. Illusion slowly became reality for Miguel. First, he sees a hologram of Eva that he perceives as reality. Then, we see his face take the place of Carlo’s in a portrait. Next, his surroundings, at least from his perspective, become permanently changed to an open field. Soon he becomes Eva’s lover, and eventually his identity completely changes to that of Carlo. This step-by-step process allowed illusion to smoothly overtake his reality without him ever noticing or questioning it. He just accepts it.
To us, the acceptance of this new reality is still surprising given the drastic difference between what one could consider a visual paradise in Miguel’s “reality” and the pool of sludge on a ship in space in our reality. However, with what we have been told about Miguel, it becomes easier to understand. Miguel’s desire for his reality is to have a relationship with a beautiful woman. The illusion fed off of this desire allowing itself to become more easily accepted by Miguel. The film uses desire as the bridge over the line between the perception of reality and illusion.
The BGM of this movie gave me different feelings. In the beginning, the music accompanied the scene of a broad and peaceful universe, displaying unlimited space but also the feeling as if the music was a universal sound that echoes, even though sound waves can’t travel in space.
Also the whole movie is shadowed in a pretty dark background, except for a few scenes where Heinz and Miguel were manipulated by their memories. Also every time when the holograms appeared, which indicated the start of illusion, it seemed so real. The use of light colors such as red, pink, yellow and gold created the warm atmosphere that successfully conveyed to us that Heinz’s memory was in fact very joyful. Aside from general warm colors, the use of green and blue in the scene where Miguel saw Eva for the first time echoes with Miguel’s desire for earth and its beauty. The drastic conflict and collision of dark general atmosphere with warm occasional appearances pretty much indicated how illusion can make people happy, especially for Miguel.
When Heinz and Miguel first entered the palace, the whole environment felt somewhat calm and safe, unlike a environment that would be found in space. Everything was lavishly decorated from the paintings on the wall to the intricate furniture. As they both continue to explore the palace, the environment becomes much more sinister and eerie. Food, furniture, and various items turn out to be fake or holograms which causes us to wonder about what is real or just an illusion.
Miguel ends up venturing into the damp swamp-like area with the grand piano.The surroundings are devoid of the rich colors we see at the start, and instead are of a brown and gray color scheme. When Miguel presses the key on the broken down piano, the piano is restored to its previous glory and grass and flowers fill the area. It almost feels like the beautiful gardens and fields are the reality, seeming more realistic and believable then their actual situation. The natural scenery and paradise-like environments in situations like these where Heinz and Miguel are transported into an alternate reality really create this blur between reality and illusion.
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