I found these two characters to be the most interesting and heartbreaking. They were friends in a way, or at least they could have been in the damn war hadn't gotten in the way. So what's the illusion here? I would argue that it ties into the idea of friendship...the illusion is that one of these two men - Rauffenstein - thinks that he can have a cordial and respectful relationship with the "enemy," or Boeldieu, mostly because of their similar social statuses. And how does this mise en scene reflect this?
Well, the subsidiary contrast is the flower - although others have pointed out that it's the symbolic dominant, which I would agree with. It is mentioned as being the last flower in the fortress, just like Rauffenstein feels that Boeldieu is the last man with class who he can relate to. And when Boeldieu dies by Rauffenstein's hand, Rauffenstein cuts the flower. So even though my eyes were not immediately drawn to the flower, it's what stands out in my mind as being the most important part of this image.
This is a medium shot, which is used to emphasize relationships. Furthermore, the distance between the two men can be categorized as "persona," as they are more than 18 inches but less than four feet away. They appear to be comfortable with this distance. The men definitely have a bond, but despite the medium shot and personal distance being used to emphasize this bond, there is still an illusion present, due to Rauffenstein later shooting Boeldieu (not exactly the actions of a friendship).
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