An Introduction to Carmencita

The scene opens with a medium close up shots focused on an energetic little girl dancing in a white dress. Her face is shrouded by a veil and she wears an unfinished sleeve on her arm. In the foreground we see a woman sitting below the girl looking up at her.

Then the scene cuts to a close up shot of the woman sitting in the chair. She gives the girl an annoyed look as she pins the girl’s dress. We recognize the woman as Carmen’s mother from the beginning of the film. 

Next the camera cuts to an extreme close up of the girl as she lifts her veil to reveal her exuberant face. We understand that the girl is the daughter of Carmen and Antonio Villalta. The presence of Grandma hints that she is now the girl’s primary caretaker. 

The next cut takes us to a bizarre close up of a chicken, and introduces us to Pepe who is the girl’s best friend. Pepe later plays an important role in the story when the stepmother uses him to teach Carmencita a lesson. 

The chicken is followed by a cut to a close up used to show the emotion on grandma’s face as she yells out in pain and pricks her finger. These extreme emotional close ups are used frequently throughout the movie as it is a silent film and can not rely on dialogue to help create this emotion. 

Finally we cut to a close up of the little girl, she looks at her grandma with a tender expression as sucks the blood from her grandma’s pricked finger. This scene introduces us to the character of Carmencita and shows us that she is an energetic and caring little girl with a lot of spirit. It also serves to show the close bond between Carmencita and her grandmother.