A middle-school music teacher finally lands his dream jazz gig, then dies in an accident before he can perform. He ends up in a realm where souls wait before they are born. There, he has to help a reluctant soul find her spark so she can be born. Pixar's film asks what makes a life worth living.
Soul is a 2020 animation, comedy and drama film directed by Pete Docter. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (1 editing, 1 sound, 1 cinematography and 1 narrative), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Pan's Labyrinth uses several of the same techniques.
Using animation, for a whole film or for short sequences inside live action, to make emotions hit harder. Drawn images can show inner feelings that realistic footage can't reach.
How this film uses it
Docter renders New York City in rich, textured detail. The Great Before gets stylized, abstract shapes. The 2 looks stand for 2 kinds of experience: the physical world and the inner life of the soul.
Where to see it
The jazz club against the soul world. The club looks almost more real than real life, and the soul world is abstract pastel shapes. Seeing both makes you ask which one is truly real.
Making a character's music or other art the thing that keeps them going. When everything else is taken from them, playing is how they hold on to who they are.
How this film uses it
For Joe Gardner, jazz piano is more than a career. It is his whole way of being. The film's main point is that his obsession with the music was his greatest gift, and it also made him miss his actual life.
Where to see it
Joe finally playing the club gig and feeling strangely empty afterward. The piano gives him everything he wanted. Then he sees that what he wanted wasn't enough.
Limiting the film to a tightly chosen set of colors, or giving each place or state its own set. The colors tell you about the world and its mood without dialogue.
How this film uses it
The Great Before uses cool blues, purples and whites against an endless void. The colors feel calm, abstract and slightly sad. New York blazes with warm amber and gold, and it has the crowded mess of life being lived.
Where to see it
Joe's soul arriving in the Great Before. The color shifts from the warm street to the cool, abstract pre-life world. You immediately get what is at stake in getting back.
Giving a film 2 very different tones, such as comedy and tragedy, often split into halves. Each makes the other hit harder, and the film never blends them into 1.
How this film uses it
The film seems to be building toward Joe's triumphant jazz performance. Then the final act becomes much quieter and harder. It turns into a reflection on being present and on what ordinary days feel like.
Where to see it
Joe sitting at his piano after the gig. The big triumphant moment is already behind him, and only now does the film ask its real question.
Questions
Soul: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does Soul use?
CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Soul (2020): Animation as Emotional Amplifier, Music as Survival Identity, Color Palette as Worldbuilding and Tonal Bifurcation.
Who directed Soul?
Pete Docter directed Soul, released in 2020. CineCode also covers Inside Out (2015).
What films are similar to Soul?
Films that share techniques with Soul include Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Inside Out (2015).
