1. THEMATICALLY we are exploring three different
perceptions of Freemasonry which are contained in the subtitle:
THE MYSTERY, MYTH AND TRUTH OF FREEMASONRY, namely:
1) Mysterious
2) Mythical
3) Factual
2. FORMALLY the film was divided in three
parts:
1) Prologue
2) Discourse or the body of narrative presentation
3) Epilogue
3. THREE MASONIC PRINCIPLES are explained
in the body of narrative presentation
1) Brotherly love
2) Relief
3) Truth
4. INVESTIGATION about the subject was approached
using three different methods
1) Historical
2) Philosophical
3) Sociological
5. DRAMATIC feature representation of the
candidates process of initiation was divided in to three progressive
parts.
1) Candidate's entrance in to the temple
and search for the lodge which was accompanied with Mozart's music
from Masonic opera "The Magic Flute". Three ladies singing
on the stage represent three ferries who are saving the hero from
the dragon who symbolizes force of darkness. The interpretation
of this particular connotative association does not belong necessarily
to the subject of our analysis (the paradigmatic Masonic sub-code)
rather to a "General cultural code of associative connections".
2) Parallel montage between the prayer at
the opening of the lodge and preparation of the candidate, finishing
the sequence with three distinct knocks at the door.
3) Bringing the candidate to the light -
the act of illumination. Scene ends with extreme close -up of the
burning candle.
6. The INVESTIGATION AND EXPLANATION of Freemasonry
was conducted from three different angles by three different characters
which could be explained through our "paradigmatic Masonic
sub-code" or the " Masonic Symbolic level of the connotative
layer" as:
1) The omnipresent Narrator accommodates
with his moderation, leading the viewer through the maze of fascinating
facts and sometimes confronting opinions, symbolizes the Junior
Warden who observes the time and call the Craft from labor to refreshment;
superintend them during the hour there of... If we consider films
being "refreshment of the mind", and connecting the notions
of art and beauty, this associative connection through analogy to
the "pillar of beauty" would be very probable.
2) Consequently, historian John Robinson
is associated with the Senior Warden - "the pillar of strength",
assisting the W. Master in opening and closing his lodge...Providing
the audience with some bold historical interpretations he actually
assists in our plastic investigation of the subject of Freemasonry.
3) Masonic scholar, Jerry Marsengill who,
as the Worshipful Master in Masonic lodge, in our film represents
"the pillar of wisdom" masterfully governing the philosophical,
psychological and sociological complexities of our investigation.
7. THE SEGMENTS from three different mediums
were used to dramatically illustrate and underline different aspects
of Freemasonry.
1) Theater - opera "The Magic Flute"
by Mozart
2) Literature - novel " War And Peace"
by Leo Tolstoy
3) Art - painting "18th Century Viennese
Lodge"
8. THE THREE GREAT LIGHTS of Freemasonry
were implemented in three different places of the film as a separate
iconic signs in the structure.
1) Bible appears in the scene of narrator
talking about King Solomon's Temple.
2) Square appears on the illustration scene
about medieval builders.
3) Illustration of compasses appears on the
famous Blake's painting of God.
9. THE THREE LESSER LIGHTS - the three burning
tapers - appear in three different scenes.
1) Opening of the Tolstoy's "chamber
of reflections" sequence, where the character of Count Villarsky
carries the three-candle candelabra leading the character of Pierre
through the darkness. Masonic connotations of this sequence are
virtually limitless and we don't have the time to explore them more.
2) IN THE MASONIC LODGE sequence, where
the Senior Deacon arranges the Lights.
3) IN THE NARRATOR'S CONCLUDING scene, where
the actor ascends three steps carrying the three burning candles
talking about the focus of many famous Masons lives.
10. METAPHORIC ICONOGRAPHY of the horse,
carriage, and the old driver with the top hat on his head, has a
three-fold function
1) Narrative transitional - exposing the
ambiance and the setting while smoothly transposing the topics and
themes between different places.
2) Rhythmic transitional - accentuate and
determine the pacing of the film
3) Symbolic unified function - presents the
third element in the connotative -communicative structure consisting
of
1. the viewer - identifying with the candidate
who is ready to be initiated in to the new order of knowledge; the
viewer will experience art through the medium of film;
2 the filmmakers - who will bring him from
darkness to light trough his new and unique experience of the film;
3. the film itself- as a symbol of the highest
level and the creation that associate with the notion of Deity.
On this highest degree of the symbolic level
in the film's structure, iconography is reaching it's meaning through
the "syntagmatic" connotation. In other words, the horse-carriage-driver
symbol doesn't exist as such anywhere else except in the film "The
Freemasons" and is gaining it's connotative meaning only in
relation to the other structural elements of this film, other signs,
symbols, metaphors, and the totality of it's global experience.
The horse-carriage-driver symbol offers several
connotative interpretations on many different levels, but I will
concentrate only on the three main ones.
1. Incongruity of the horse and carriage
in the modern city subconsciously associate to the "old times",
tradition, continuity of the journey through time, which leads to:
2. Juxtaposing the scenes of carriage through
the film, starting in the very opening of the prologue, through
the body of the narrative, and finishing with the last scene of
the epilogue, filmmakers created the feeling of a journey through
1) film; 2) Freemasonry; 3) The life itself. The first time we see
the carriage in the opening sequence, the ambiance strongly suggests
the setting in the past - probably the last century. Through the
middle section of the film carriage is always seen in contemporary
setting - the present time. The last time we see it, is at the very
end of the film, where the shot of the carriage leaving dissolves
to the shot of the Earth, suggesting the idea of the Future (also
mentioned in the narration: "...The symbol of the Future...").
Coming from the Past, passing through Present, and raising to the
Future - so, we journey upon the level of time to that "undiscovered
country from whose bourne no traveler returns..." All of this
will lead us to the next level which is:
3. Unexpected appearances of the carriage
throughout the film suggest the feeling almost of a Deus Ex Machina
presence, but also are perceived as something natural or inevitable.
Horse carriage is driven by the old man. He is dressed in black
and has a top-hat on his head. Connotative association to the Worshipful
Master of the lodge is unavoidable. But what kind of Master in the
context of the internal symbolism is he and where is his lodge?
He might be the symbol of the greatest Masonic metaphor. He is somebody
who leads us trough space and guides us through time; from the first
shot of the film which is of Moon, to the scene of the rising Sun
in the middle section of the film, to the last picture of our journey
which is of Heavens.
