What does Juliet sing from the balcony of Ilam?
The headlong rush of the film’s narrative is ruptured at a critical point by Juliet’s poignant a capella rendering of Puccini’s “Sono andati?” from LA BOHEME, sung by Kate Winslet. At this point Juliet has agreed to help Pauline murder Honora and there is at last a calm sense of complete inevitability introduced by this piece. It is as if the girls have finally given up all thoughts of fighting their destiny, and once again there is a strong sense of predetermination, which continues in a quiet, chilling way for the rest of the film. Juliet’s singing begins off-screen with a close-up of Pauline, which fades into a split-screen image with Juliet, followed by a very slow dissolve of Pauline. This sustains the dynamic that the narrative remains from Pauline’s point-of-view, and that she is imagining Juliet as a tragic-romantic heroine, singing to her. Also, significantly, the second ship scene, so key to understanding Jackson’s view of the girls’ relationship, is interleaved with this pie
