Death And The Maiden Sacrifice

Death and the Maiden

Directed by Roman Polanski

Death and the Maiden is the type of movie where everything is done a certain way for a certain reason. Director Roman Polanski's genius portrayal of Ariel Dorfman's stage play delivers a powerful and haunting message of human rights violations in an unnamed South American country coming to terms with the atrocities of its past after the fall of a fascist government. This film captivates audiences with its disturbing allegations and suspenseful twists. The film's setting, acting, directing, and music so vividly add to the movies powerful messages of human rights violations and injustices.
The films title Death and the Maiden is named after Franz Schubert's string quartet in D minor known as Death and the Maiden. The song symbolizes the atrocities committed to Paulina Escobar and countless others,
The setting creates a suspense in itself with no words or actions. A beach house in the middle of nowhere at the bottom of a mountain with a single road leading to the house surrounded by the cliffs falling to the rocky ocean. There are no street lights, only the light shining from the moonlit sky and the one circling in the light house adding suspense and horror like atmosphere. There is a storm that knocks out all of the power leaving everyone in total isolation. No lights, no phones, no electricity. After Paulina drives Dr. Miranda's car into the ocean there is no way to get anywhere. The setting creates a feeling of isolation and helplessness. A feeling that Paulina was very familiar with while detained. She had no way of getting in contact with the outside world, much like the situation she puts Dr. Miranda in. When the electricity suddenly turns back on and the sun begins to rise the trial nears its end. The truth comes with the rise of the sun and Dr. Miranda finally confesses to his