I went to see "Isle of Dogs" on April 23.
At the beginning, there were five people in the theater, a mother and daughter, a young man, me and the fat man. Halfway through the film, the mother left at the request of her daughter, leaving the three of us. When the film was 70 percent screened, the young man also left. The only two of us watched the movie in a private room.
To be honest, I really like this movie.
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The opening chapter is a foreshadowing of the background of the story, and then the picture enters the speech of Mayor Kobayashi. Mayor Kobayashi issued a decree: Now the dogs have collectively contracted human-infectious influenza and need to be quarantined, so they decided to send the dogs, which have always been good friends of human beings, to the garbage island and let them fend for themselves. . At the meeting, Dian Dian, the loyal dog of Mayor Kobayashi's adopted son Atari, gave a demonstration, and Dian Dian was thrown on the garbage island in public. So Kobayashi's adopted son Atari stole a plane and flew to the garbage island to find his dog Diandian. This is the main line of the story. Later, with the help of the dogs on the garbage island, Kobayashi found a little bit, and cooperated with the student party who supported the dog faction's struggle to achieve a coup d'etat and overthrew the rule of his adoptive father.
The above is the outline of the whole story. Obviously, this is a political film in the guise of cartoons. But here I want to talk about some details of the film.
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1. When the truth is in the hands of a few people, telling the truth is easy to die and ugly
The first detail. It is Professor Watanabe's appeal before the decree: Dogs are our friends for many years, please don't abandon them like this. Our vaccine will be successfully researched soon, please believe us and give us time.
The audience who were sitting paused for a moment, and immediately reported their dissatisfaction, throwing various things at Professor Watanabe to vent their anger.
Was Professor Watanabe wrong? He was right. Why is he being scolded and beaten? Because at that time he and most people's ideas were not unified.
For example, if there are a thousand people, 999 of them believe that the earth is square, and only one person believes that the earth is round, so should he tell others about his findings or judgments? He had better not say it, he would probably be isolated as a freak by the 999 people. If the belief of the 999 people is not firm enough, in order to cover up his inner weakness, then the person who raised a different voice will even face execution, because and Admitting that you may be wrong is easier and easier than killing different voices. Just like Bruno who was burned to death in the flower square for defending Copernicus's heliocentric theory.
Therefore, people like to hug together to keep warm, because it is safe to follow the crowd, and even if the crowd is wrong, the law does not blame the crowd.
But only those who insist on the truth do not give up, the truth can be revealed.
Without the efforts and appeals of Professor Watanabe, he has persistently developed a curable vaccine, and there would be no later story. The unjust death of Professor Watanabe gives those young people who have the courage to fight to have greater motivation to discover the truth and expose the truth. The search for truth may be truly bloody, and without the courage and determination to put one's life and death aside, no one condition can be achieved. Bruno died for his support of heliocentrism, but he is also remembered forever. There must be more than Bruno who supports the heliocentric theory, but Bruno is the only one who dares to stand up and speak out his thoughts.
2. Scientist's Wife - Buddhist Youth
Professor Watanabe was poisoned by the cat faction party, and all the serums that were successfully developed were destroyed. Her wife washed her face in tears and numbed herself with alcohol every day. Dog sent student representative Tracy to find her to investigate the cause of Professor Watanabe's death. The wife of the murdered Professor Watanabe would only cry, drink, and repeat, "It's too late. It's useless." This scene actually reminded me of the four characters of Buddhist youth. Isn't this a typical example of Buddhist youth!
Lose fighting spirit, obey fate. There seems to be a bit of learned helplessness.
Buddhist youths gave up the possibility of changing the status quo. They were immersed in their own sadness and gave up all attempts and efforts. If there was no group of young people who dared to fight against Tracy, Professor Watanabe might have really sacrificed in vain.
3. The leader and the taming of Atari
In the movie, the plot where the leader finally surrendered to Atari made many people dissatisfied.
The leader is the dog with the strongest fighting ability and the strongest survivability among the dogs on the garbage island. He refused to accept anyone at first, and he didn't listen to anyone. But when he saw that Atari was about to be taken away, he still went up to the most difficult robot dog. However, he paid the most, and when Atari ordered him to sit down, he turned away in disdain.
In the middle of the film, an actor, Cardamom, said a sentence: "Dogs love boys." (Dogs love little boys) told the truth.
This is why the leader clearly showed disdain but never left Atari. The leader likes this boy, so he will not hesitate to protect him at the critical moment, but he is unwilling to lose his dignity in this relationship, so he chooses to turn around and leave when Atari orders him.
There is a very interesting plot at the end of the movie. Atari wanted to play the big slide he didn't meet the height standard for use. The leader repeatedly warned him not to, if you have to play I will leave. The boyish nature makes Atari want to experiment and take risks. The leader really did not look back. After Atari played the slide, he found that the leader had left and became flustered and sad. At the end, he sat there crying, and hummed the tune that he would hum when he and Dian Dian were together. The leader stopped walking when he heard this voice.
Atari, who was humming this tune, was sad and helpless, and he needed the help and company of the leader. So the leader came back to him, because you need me, I like you, and it has nothing to do with dignity. In fact, Atari was not calling for the dots at this time, he was calling for the leader. After returning, the leader and Atari have established a real emotional bond, and they have become the closest partners.
Six Months Later + Dog Fight
Some viewers were uncomfortable with the tameness of the episode. How can a dog that is so proud of its leader become obedient and loyal so easily? Because of love. The other four dogs are unconditional obedience to humans, while the leader is conditional, you need me, not me unconditionally surrendering to you.
The leader talked about his experience of being adopted by a family. The other party's child wanted to play with him, but he bit back and almost broke the child's hand. Later, the family gave him delicious barbecue after being hurt by him. He said he had never eaten something so delicious, but he still burrowed and escaped. The leader recalled why he bit the child, and he said it was actually because he was a little scared . The stray dog career made him reflexively fear the behavior of others since he was a child. At that time, he had a little delusion of persecution.
In psychological theory, the overall orientation of interpersonal relationships is roughly divided into several categories: safety, ambivalence and anxiety, and avoidance . The attitude of the leader in the relationship is very inclined to avoid the attachment relationship.
The reason for this type is that when they were young, they were brought up in a way that was forced by the caregiver with a rejecting or hostile attitude. Therefore, such children will think that others are unreliable from an early age, so they recoil in relationships with others and show avoidant attachment. People with avoidant attachment tend to doubt and anger others, and it is not easy to form trusting and intimate interpersonal relationships.
This is also why the leader threatened to eat him when he saw the little boy he naturally liked, but he followed him not far or not, helping him, every time he wanted to build further with him in Atari Intimacy, and choose to leave.
In fact, intimacy is essentially one of conquering and being conquered. That's why there are words like falling for it and bowing to the pomegranate skirt. Or like the dialogue between the fox and the little prince in The Little Prince:
"To me, you're just a little boy, like a million other little boys. I don't need you, and you don't need me either. To you, I'm just a fox, just like everyone else. Like a million foxes. However, if you tame me, we will need each other, and to me you will be the only one in the universe, and I will be the only one in the world to you.
Look, see the wheat field over there? I don't eat bread, and wheat means nothing to me. It's really sad that the wheat field doesn't conjure up an association with me. But you have blond hair, how wonderful it would be if you tame me! The golden wheat reminds me of you, and I love the sound of the wind blowing among the ears of wheat. "
When two people establish a relationship, it is the domestication of each other, we obey each other, and we move forward together. So that we can become stronger and work towards a common goal.
So in a sense, the leader has grown in this matter.
Loyalty is unconditional trust and support for a person. That is also a way of showing love. If it's just political use, what boy would risk his life to steal a plane to find his dog like Atari? Is it just because the dog is very loyal to him that he is reluctant to bear it?
Obviously not. Atari is also a loving and determined boy.
Sometimes too much emphasis on dignity and face just confirms a kind of inner weakness.
A sense of control makes many people feel safe, and it just means that this person's life is often out of control and insecure. People who are fearful and unconfident in their hearts like to emphasize face and dignity, because they cannot give themselves sufficient self-esteem in their hearts, so they need to seek outward, and the same goes for leaders.
So when the leader and his brother Dotty recognized their relatives later, the leader asked Dotty: Am I the weakest of my brothers and sisters? Dot to say, you are not now.
Unexpectedly, the seemingly most fierce and powerful leader actually felt that he was the weakest child in his heart. It turned out that his ferocity and bravery were all used to arm his own fears. Therefore, it is not courageous to take up arms, and true fearlessness is to dare to put down arms.
Fourth, the balance of interests between cats and dogs and the people
In this cartoon, it is obvious that cat and dog are two metaphors, just like left and right. It is a political struggle between two factions, and in the end the masses only passively accept the results of their struggle. The masses have no judgment. When the cat faction has the upper hand, every household will keep cats and throw the dogs on the garbage island. When the dog faction has the upper hand, every household will have pet dogs again.
When Atari led the Canine faction to victory, what I actually thought was, what about those cats, where have those cats gone? and the people? Do people really have their own preferences?
5. Victory requires the right time, place and people
When Mayor Kobayashi intends to issue a decree to kill all the dogs on the trash island with mustard gas, student representative Tracy comes out and tells the conspiracy of Professor Watanabe's death. When everyone hesitated, Mayor Kobayashi quickly responded that Tracy was used by relevant interests to confuse the public, and publicly banned Tracy from studying and wanted to send her back to China.
If Atari had not arrived in time, the fight would have been lost. But Atari's appearance only convinces everyone that Tracy's words are true. Did he have time to stop the dog-killing conspiracy? No, because the order was issued, the device that triggered the poison gas has been successfully activated.
But in the end, the poisonous gas could not be successfully released. Why, because there has always been an unsung hero lurking in the crowd - the little programmer. He quietly discovered the conspiracy of the dog faction's persecution very early, and quietly infiltrated the cat faction, becoming a cat faction technician. In the process, he secretly tampered with the wiring of the poison gas triggering device.
But without Atari's presence, this time the little programmer succeeded, and the cat pie would have a new way to persecute the dog pie, and the little programmer would probably be checked out, and the consequences would not be beautiful.
Therefore, victory will come only when the time is right and the place is right.
Then you can continue to ask: Is it really good to catch all the cat pie in one go? What about sweeping the dog line? It is not good, everything is the opposite of everything, and it is the law of nature. This is also why the emperors of all generations like to check and balance strategies. Two equally strong factions fight against each other is what the emperors are happy to see, and their disputes can make the high position enjoy a sense of security. This is not only what the emperor is happy to see, but the same is true of nature.
6. Changes in dog attitudes towards fertility
At the beginning of the film, there are rumors among the dogs that Cardamom is with a certain dog. The talking dogs are talking about this with an astonished attitude: there are dogs who have children in such an environment! Incredible!
Coincidentally, at the end of the film, the leader chats with Cardamom, and the leader asks Cardamom if she still doesn't want to have children under the current environment? Cardamom said shyly, I'll let you know when we're a little more familiar. Looking back at the first time Cardamom said this, the leader asked Cardamom would you like to show me your unique skills? Cardamom said the same, and gave the leader a sideshow as he finally left.
Cardamom represents a proud and duplicitous woman, if you say yes . Don't guess the girl's mind, because it has already been told to you.
This scene suddenly reminded me of a topic that was hotly debated on Zhihu a while ago:
People began to ask, "Why are young people now reluctant to have a second child?" The question is full of resentful answers... Housing prices are expensive, marriage I can't afford a wife, the cost of raising children is high, and all kinds of fancy complaints.
Who doesn't want to say something like cardamom: I'll tell you when we get to know you a little more.
7. Dog-like people
At the beginning of the film, the dogs who were exiled to the garbage island suffered from a disease: irritable, violent, anxious, and lost the meaning of life.
This reminds me of an article I wrote before, "Dog-like people" . When I watch this movie, I feel like, oh my god, it looks like a dog, but it's actually a human. These dogs who were exiled on the garbage island look like the current Chinese!
In the previous paragraph, I saw a Weibo posted by Jiang Fangzhou and said:
I think what she said makes sense.
Just like Mi Meng, who was a smash hit a while ago: an article "The Bitch" exploded the circle of friends of countless people. You will think that this is an article that is scolding the street. Why do people like to read it? Because everyone is holding back their anger like this and has nowhere to vent.
Life has tortured us like a low-pitched dog. Only on the virtual platform can we find a virtual object to scold us and vent our anguish. Now people seem to have caught some kind of flu: depression, anxiety, anger, loss of meaning and motivation in life...
What does the image of a cat symbolize? Pampered, proud and independent, flattering you in every possible way when you need you, and abandoning you without hesitation when you don't need you. They are sometimes mercenary and self-serving like capital. Capitalism takes over the highlands, crushing us, leaving people on all fours and crawling forward like dogs. Let people finally even lost the courage to bear children.
8. Rumors are always true and false
In the movie, there is a dog named Duke on Trash Island, and he always knows a lot of gossip.
Like cardamom with a certain male dog.
For example, dog eaters will eat the same kind.
For example, the canine infectious disease is a virus that the cat mayor Kobayashi and the others deliberately spread.
For example, the well-known dog biscuit factory went out of business.
He is like a little encyclopedia every day, conveying all kinds of news for everyone. Other dogs asked him, how do you know, and he said that I pay more attention to gossip.
As it turns out, all of his gossip has some basis in it.
For example, there is indeed a female dog with another legendary male dog, but it is not cardamom, which belongs to the gossip .
For example, the dog-eaters have proved that they do not like to eat the same kind, but once because of a severe famine, they had to eat the head of their tribe that was about to starve to death under the signal of the leader of their own tribe, rather than being ruthless. This is a rumor. Infinitely exaggerated plot in gossip .
Of course, there are more real ones too - for example, the famous dog biscuits have indeed been discontinued.
Therefore, rumors and rumors are not always spread out in vain, but they are often a mixture of truth and falsehood, and they should not be listened to and believed, nor can they be completely denied.
Nine, Atari is a dog faction, his father is a cat family, is it a game of the upper class or a long-planned coup?
In fact, there is one setting that I am very confused about, which is the relationship between Atari and his adoptive father, Dingren Kobayashi.
Kobayashi Dingren is a supporter of the cat faction, but he arranged a dog for the young Atari - a little escort. He lost his parents in an air crash since he was a child, and when he needed the most care and comfort, there was a dog who took care of him faithfully. For Atari, Dian Dian was no longer a simple master and servant. Their relationship was more like relatives. It was him. The most trusted friend and partner in the world. So later Atari would go all out to find a little bit. Could it be that Kobayashi Dingren didn't realize this?
So is the little escort inadvertent or intentional? It's hard to tell clearly.
At the end of the film, there is a detail that shows that the power of the housekeeper in the Kobayashi family is very powerful.
At the end of the film, when Mayor Kobayashi showed that his heart had changed, it was the housekeeper who desperately activated the gas switch. Including when Atari was hospitalized as a child, the butler's attitude towards the mayor's son was also very domineering and rude. It can be seen that many decisions are made in many cases. Mayor Xiaolin himself may not be voluntary, and he may have been overridden by the butler long ago. .
So is it possible that Atari's success was planned by Mayor Kobayashi? Also unknown.
Digging out the truth is difficult because no one is involved. We can only analyze cause and effect, we can only see from the appearance.
Many people were dissatisfied with Mayor Kobayashi's quick change of character. It seemed that his stance was too unstable, which was completely inconsistent with the original tough tactics. So what if everything before that was a performance? Turning his back, what if the radiance of humanity in Mayor Kobayashi's eyes was because of gratification? After all, Kobayashi Ding and Atari are family.
later
After watching the movie, I have almost finished what I wanted to say. I really like cartoons like this. Because I was excited the whole time I watched the movie.
After watching it, the fat man who was with him said, "I still like popcorn movies, I don't need to think about anything." This is probably why the box office of "Canis Island" is not so ideal, and the ratings are also on the downward trend.
"Isle of Dogs" is a stop-motion animation, which is difficult to produce and requires great patience and the spirit of excellence to complete. Of course, a movie should not be rated as high as it is difficult to make, because the key is the content. But for me the content is also satisfying.
In my opinion, this is a work of conscience, with a lot of careful thinking and pursuit of excellence by the director. Really recommend.
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