A Film Analysis on the Rhetorical Theory： Leon

【Abstract】The film Leon has been worshipped as one of the most classical and popular films， the influence of which has expanded globally and has been sustained through generations. Its gripping plot arrangement， distinct character setting as well as the well-organized diction are all highly praised. Scholars at home and abroad have examined Leon from different perspectives such as spectacle and song. However， few scholars make the academic analysis from the perspective of rhetoric. Under this circumstance， this paper aims at making a rhetorical analysis of Leon in virtue of the rhetorical theory of Aristotle， which discusses how Leons emotion changes from coldness to warmth. In this way， the audience will achieve a better comprehension of Leon. Meanwhile， this paper may also provide referential appreciation views for other similar films.

【Key words】Aristotle； Rhetorical theory； emotional changes； Leon

【作者簡介】王月，中國石油大學(xué)（北京）。

1. Introduction

The film， Leon， was first released in 1994 and still appeals to audience all over the world to appreciate， which demonstrates a great success of the film. The success can be attributed to many factors including the internal and external elements. For the external part， the film caters for the needs of the era and satisfies the requirements of Hollywood. Furthermore， many scholars at home and abroad have made massive researches on this film from different perspectives of the internal aspects such as the background music（Ai Jingjing， 2010）， the artistic technique （Zhou Yugang， 2011） and so on. However， there are only few researches appreciating from the perspective of rhetoric. In order to provide a relatively original aspect for analyzing this film， this paper lays emphasis on the rhetorical analysis of Leon.

2. Theoretical Basis

The Rhetoric theory of Aristotle consists of three books. In Book II， Aristotle discusses in detail the three appeals of persuasion that an orator must rely on： those grounded in credibility （ethos）， in the emotions and psychology of the audience （pathos）， and in patterns of reasoning （logos）. With these parts， rhetorical analysis of a speech or a play can be well made and in turn the analysis will contribute to the appreciation of a speech or a play.

3. Rhetorical Analysis of Leon

3.1 Pathos Analysis on Plot

In the first place， plot， as the most important part of tragedy， plays an indispensable role in every film. Through different plots， the emotional part of the actors is shown， which can directly affect the audience. So the audience will follow the story to feel the emotion of the actors. In Leon， there are two kinds of pathetic plots， cold and warm.

In terms of cold plots， drug is in the first place， which goes through the film. There are a few key plots showing how the coldness pushes the development of the film. In the beginning of Leon， Mathildas family members were killed by the federal officials just because her father hid some drugs secretly and refused to hand them over. In the studying process， she and Leon achieved a mass of missions and killed many people who were mostly related to drugs. The dark social background places the whole story in a quite cruel and cold atmosphere.

As for warm plots， the green plant in the brown flowerpot is the most meaningful one. Throughout the film， the plant appeared more than ten times and every time it represented life and love， demonstrating the rare warmth of Leons life. So at the end of the film， when in danger， Leon made no hesitation wrapping up the plant and letting Mathilda take it away. It symbolized that Leon would turn into the green plant and get himself fully ready to sacrifice for Mathilda.

3.2 Ethos Analysis on Character

Through a deeper analysis into the relations of Leon and Mathilda， there appear two pairs of relationship except lovers： father and daughter， teacher and student. These different identities reflect different features of the character of Leon and Mathilda.

Father and daughter： Either Leon or Mathilda was alone. Mathilda lived in an impersonal environment for several years but did not have the ability or the opportunity to make any change until she met Leon. Meanwhile， Leon， as a killer who did not have a stable residence， also aspired a stable home. During the days they lived together， Mathilda was taken good care of and experienced the so-called “paternal love”. In the process， Leon also learned how to express his emotion. And this kind of warmth aroused the warmth of the deep heart of Leon.

Teacher and student： Although Leon disagreed to teach Mathilda how to kill people in the beginning， he changed his mind at the last minute. With the promise， he started to train her systematically. As a teacher， he was indeed serious and patient. On one hand， he worried about Mathilda. On the other hand， he could not refuse Mathildas requirement. In fact， Mathilda was also the teacher of Leon. She taught Leon how to read and write when they had no missions to do. She taught him how to live and be an ordinary person. With the help of Mathilda， Leon finally slept in bed with his two eyes closed peacefully.

3.3 Logos Analysis on Diction

Logos is based on logic or reasoning. In the film， it is reflected in the forms of diction of tragedy. The forms of diction include command， prayer， statement， threat， question and answer. Here， it refers to the questions and answers between Leon and Mathilda.

Example：

Mathilda： “Is life always this hard， or is it just when youre a kid？”

Leon： “Always like this.”

This conversation appeared after Mathilda lost her family and was homeless. She showed her fear for life and posed such a desperate question. In the past twelve years， Mathilda lived a hard life all the time. The answer of Leon is short but full of bitterness. The word “always” reflects that Leon also lived a hard life and seldom felt happiness. Also， from this conversation， it is clear that Leon was not good at explaining to others. He used three words to respond to a fragile girl which matched his emotion at that time perfectly. And with the change of his emotion， he finally took the initiative to explain something.

4. Conclusion

With the rhetorical theory of Aristotle， pathos， ethos and logos， the three parts of Aristotles tragedy are analyzed from a detailed and original perspective. This paper sheds new lights on the combination of Aristotles rhetorical theory and tragedy theory， and in this way， the audience may find more hidden meanings of this film and have a new understanding of the warmth and coldness. In the short story， both Leon and Mathilda realized their self-redemption and furthered their soul in a new way. The former was buried in the ground and received the sunshine， while the latter returned to the school and welcome a rebirth with the love of Leon. Tragedy as Leon is， it still warms and heals millions of audience. Besides， the warm image of Leon will be kept in the deep heart of every audience.

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