There are only two kinds of stories about the author on the artistic level. One is the change of identity. Just like Pamuk's "White Castle", the recorder and the recordee are very similar in appearance, and finally succeeded. Swapped identities, moved to a life that belonged to someone else and made it successful. The other is the psychological distortion of the shadow writer, such as Keigo Higashino's "Malignity", the whole book constructs an atmosphere full of jealousy.
In this "Shadow Writer", the director made the protagonist act as an exploratory semi-identity conversion. First of all, the protagonist does not have a clear name, and the last subtitle also presents the word "ghost". This is obviously deliberate. The protagonist goes straight to the topic when communicating with acquaintances. When facing strangers, he calls him a "ghost" or a substitute writer. Adam calls him "MAN", while Rick directly rejects his name. . This setting, coupled with the melancholy wind and drizzle on the isolated island, made the writer worry a lot. The thirst for the truth makes the writer doubtful. The truth is the inner hidden driving force that writers yearn for the realization of self-identity in society, but obviously, once the truth is revealed, the shadow writers will no longer have the living conditions on which they can survive. The conditions are gone, and there is only one way for life to end. So, Mike and the protagonist have the same ending.
The end of the film is not brilliant, and it does not let the whole film rise to a higher level. But the highlight of the film is no longer here, it is reflected in the level of character relationships. "I am your ghost" can be regarded as the cornerstone of the whole film. The most famous story of ghosts controlling humans is Faust. Mephistopheles made Faust do all the feats. Although it backfired, we have to admit that Faust's achievements were almost entirely in the hands of the devil. Because he has been controlled by ghosts. "Shadow Writer", when the truth is revealed, it is not difficult for us to find that the relationship between the main characters in the film is almost the same Faust-Mephistopheles model. The writer said bluntly "I am your ghost", so why not everyone else?
The writer entered Adam's life and broke the rule of not staying in a client's room. In a sudden incident, acted as the drafter of Adam's speech. From that moment on, he became Adam. As a body, he fulfills Adam's duty, which is to have sex with Adam's wife, Ruth. Work is the purpose of the writer's trip, but in the film he is always in a state of deviating from writing, and we only know that he deleted some of Mike's drafts. The sentence "Because of Ruth, got to know politics" at the beginning of the writing section is also rejected later. He enjoys the three meals served by others for free, and enjoys the client's wife's body and everything in the manor. In the end, Adam was killed and his autobiography was successfully published. The process of creation and organization is not shown in the film. The writer seems to be just a cutscene.
Ghosts can be attached to the body, but not the soul. The role of a writer can only be a devil, a character who deviates from the truth. Once he learns the truth, he has the capital to ascend to the soul and break the original rules. In the original rules, the writer was Adam's ghost, Adam was Ruth's ghost, and Ruth was Emmett's ghost. In the level as a subordinate, there can be no out-of-the-moment behavior. These triple ghosts have a progressive relationship in terms of loyalty. Adam's death is for the same reasons as the writer's end. Because he did not fully follow the instructions of the upper level. In the period of capitalist development, there was a saying "My vassal's vassal is not my vassal". This sentence is an invisible principle in the film. Emmett knew the writer, but never took advantage of it directly, but did so through a triple relationship with a nondisclosure clause. If anyone breaks this principle, Emmett has the right to deal with it. Adam is not politically savvy, but he has a good image and socializing, which is why Emmett is attracted to him. Ruth may be willing to become Emmett's ghost out of her infinite admiration for the mentor. With her excellent mind, charming figure, and acting talent, she makes Adam her ghost, thus serving Emmett. Purpose. As an individual, Adam's image not only won the favor of his superiors, but also an explicit behavior that led to his own death. He sometimes overemphasized his image, acted contrived, and sometimes had to come forward himself, thus indirectly breaking the principle of vassal. He defected to the United States, and inevitably learned Emmett's identity, so death was his only ending. Adam is also a shadow writer. (Emmett is also a ghost, but he serves a group, not just an individual)
This rather complicated invisible relationship makes the early stage of the film seem too heavy, making any reasonable ending unable to bear the weight. But the ending also makes sense.
In the end, the writer dies in a car accident, a shot that embodies the process of being objectified. Every manuscript is every person, and they are scattered in the wind, acting as the ghosts of the wind. There are many relationships, and the pages of manuscript paper without a stapler can only be a thin layer. They are the unbearable light in life and can only act by the power of the wind. The wind flies, the paper flies, the wind stops, and the paper falls.
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