From the beginning of this movie, Gilliam became part of Hollywood's industrialization assembly line, but he still had to fight against this "assembly line" in his heart. He claimed to enter Hollywood as "the beginning of the destruction of my virginity." The reason why he chose to go to Hollywood to develop is inseparable from the serious difficulties he has caused in the funding chain of the European film industry. In the 1980s, his two major productions, "Brazil" and "Ultimate Heaven General", had achieved great reputation, but due to the serious overspending of funds in the production process, serious disagreements with the producers and even court battles, He was caught in the quagmire of his film career in Europe. Going to Hollywood is not only the inevitable development of his film career, but there are also some difficulties. On the premise that there is a distance between his heart and the mainstream Hollywood business, he is very cautious in his choice of script. At that time, he was eager to prove his ability to direct by shooting a film, but also had to reject many unpalatable scripts delivered to hand. The final choice of "Fish King" is because the script is highly consistent with his spiritual world. "Fisher King" is not just a script written for "selling money". The screenwriter Gravens claimed that this is a book written for himself, and it is the crystallization of his sincere feelings. This film successfully created a crazy image-Parry, "Don Quixote in Manhattan, New York". Parry believes that he is Parsifal who lost his kingdom in ancient legends, and he can only restore his kingdom by retrieving the Holy Grail. Parry is a typical paranoid patient, but the person who caused his paranoia is the radio host Jack. Jack is a direct creation and a direct victim of modern indifferent urban civilization. He started as a radio host, and he created his own unique hosting style by humiliating and hurting the audience who entered the hotline. The film begins with a close-up of his host's mouth, and then a wide-angle pan of Gilliam's signature style, showing the towering state of Jack's studio. This is the reproduction of the Gothic style in modern civilization. We will see this composition repeatedly in "Brazil" and "Twelve Monkeys". This exaggerated expression of the closed state of the space in which the characters are located is very worth mentioning. Jack ridiculed the audience. The overhead and shaking of the camera showed the towering walls around him, without any embellishment, and the light was very cold. Then Jack was just as cold in his skyscraper home. Whether in the studio or at home, he was like a prisoner imprisoned in a tower. "Jack is imprisoned in a cage. His daily work is carried out in this state of imprisonment. His life is minimal and communication is isolated." He didn't have real emotional communication with his girlfriend at home. Instead, he chattered about himself. The upcoming transition to television and his girlfriend's indifferent face all show that he is a "prisoner of his own desire for success." In addition, Jack's environment is all high-rise buildings, skyscrapers. After he got into the car from the studio building, he dismissed the beggar who knocked on the car window. His life was between one tall building and another tall building. Conversion. And the next encounter with Parry, the direct victim of his indifference, was in a riverside depression in the suburbs of New York-this is another theme of Gilliam: walking down from a height, it is Jack who is saved The right way. Parry's madness is certainly the result of stimulation, but on the one hand, it is a mental defense mechanism for him to escape pain, and on the other hand, it can also be seen as a way of salvation given by God to the indifferent world. Parry entered a parallel world. But Parry's redemption can only be completed with Jack's help. Parry's appearance is the same as Jack, he is also in prison. He was ragged and wore red earmuffs that symbolized suffering. The moment he and Jack met, it showed that they were both victims of this age of indifference. This is consistent with the ancient legend of Parsifal: the legendary Parsifal's first appearance is in ragged clothes, and only the acquisition of the final Holy Grail can restore him to his gorgeous clothes. They are no longer the people who can control their own kingdom, but have become the control of the fallen kingdom. Their mission in this movie is to gain control of this land again through the Holy Grail. In other words, these two people are in a state of imprisonment, which is also a situation in modern society: the community ceases to exist, and everyone is imprisoned by his own career and temperament, and this imprisonment is not external. But what lies in their hearts, they have lost a kind of power to become one with the heavens, the earth, the people and the gods. The way modern people treat "modern" is to escape the sensibility of "integrating into the whole": in the Middle Ages, at least conceptually, the sacred world is mixed with daily life, which means that we are experiencing the moment as an eternal link at every moment. Holistic feeling; but what modern humans do all the time is to stifle the sense of existence. People no longer regard the moment as an unchanging and eternal link, but as how to change reality and create a different tomorrow An opportunity. The disappearance of "eternity" has caused people to commit suicide to the "present me" every day, but if the new self cannot be reborn from the fire from suicidal behavior, then physical suicide is inevitable— —This is Jack’s situation. Parry's imprisonment is a kind of internal struggle. He wants to obtain the "Holy Grail", that is, the ability to "integrate into the whole", but the disenchanted world has no place for him. The film's narrative strategy is to use a story to twist two people together, let Parry use spiritual power to lead Jack, and allow Jack to use rational ability to help Parry, and finally achieve the common redemption of the two people. Here might as well quote a concept in the field of art to describe the tension between Parry and Jack: that is, "perspective." The term "perspective" originated from the Latin "perspclre" (see through). It is a painting concept and technique that emerged from the Renaissance in the history of Western art. Humanism in the Renaissance shifted its foothold from religious authority to "human"-this is the conceptual prerequisite for the rise of perspective. Individuals no longer obey a highest religious authority, but must be transformed through individual individuals. When you stand on different footholds, the picture of the world in your eyes is different-so that is an era of rebellion. The essence of "perspective" is that no matter whether it is religion, rationality or social habitual force, they have no right to deprive people of the difference of perspective. This is also the critical significance of the Renaissance worldview to today's homogenized world. Parry's madness is just that he fell into the sight of the holy grail knight to examine the world. Jack's inability to get rid of Parry is actually a metaphor that our unbalanced world needs a classical perspective to regain balance. In fact, the concept of perspective can be traced back to a well-known saying by Archimedes in ancient Greece: "Give me a fulcrum, and I can move the earth." This sentence expresses the powerful power of individual viewpoints in the universe. Pali, who went crazy in the film, is precisely a hero who stands on his fulcrum and moves everyone's closed world view. Moreover, although the perspective method is a kind of resistance to religious authority, the concept of perspective has a fundamental connection with Christianity: that is, people's knowledge is limited. If one does not recognize the limitations of human creativity, then it is also a misunderstanding of perspective. Parry is undoubtedly a lunatic, and only with the help of a rational Jack can the two regain the occupied land. Limitations represent doubts about the authenticity of the perspective picture. This means that we must affirm the great power of "moving the earth", but also realize that "moving the earth" is probably a dream given to you by God, a mirage. But the important thing is that through this dream, we realize many things that we didn't realize before. This is a bit similar to the realm of "seeing a mountain is not a mountain, seeing a mountain or a mountain"-the story of "The Fisher King", and even the art form of film itself, isn't it true? Jack fell from a higher social status to the bottom of society, and gradually entered Parry's life, which was a retreat from the elite ranks to the mass ranks. We can use Nietzsche's theory of power to explain. Nietzsche was deeply dissatisfied with the democratization of the spiritual world brought about by modernism. He hoped that by emphasizing the self, gaining power, and drawing a line from the mediocrity. The tension between the ranks of great men and the ranks of the masses is used the other way around in Gilliam. Nietzsche gained the pleasure of power in this elitist theory, but power itself is also a prison for self, and even once the power of the spiritual world is combined with political power, there will be a Nazi-the connection between Nietzsche and Nazi thought. It cannot be denied. The imprisoning power of the spirit is precisely the object of criticism of this film. It can be said that this film touches the potential Nazism of our current era-if we "isolate", "mental autism", "contempt for mediocrity", etc. It is regarded as a characteristic of Nazi ideology. In Jack, materialism and individualism created an illusion of power for him. He enjoyed it like Nietzsche, and his fall from a height to a lower place was what God wanted to destroy in his heart through this matter. This layer of illusion. And what connects Jack at the top with Parry at the bottom is a small detail that Gilliam did not have in the original script: the Pinocchio doll. This detail is very interesting: before meeting Pinocchio, Jack was either trapped in the illusory self of power and unable to extricate himself, or he was indulged and perished after being mercilessly mocked by the illusory self. Only when a child gave Pinocchio to Jack, This is the first time that Jack can calmly communicate with his true self. It is the dialogue between Jack and Pinocchio. This is the effect of Pinocchio on the plot. In addition, Pinocchio is a well-known big liar. It's a story about how a liar child grows into an adult who doesn't lie, is healthy, and bravely faces life and self. This is consistent with Jack and Parry. This movie is how these two people get rid of power The fantasy with monsters and learning to face the story of self-growth sincerely are the symbolic meaning of Pinocchio. Pinocchio became the amulet for two people. He appeared three times in the film: the first time Jack met Pinocchio for the first time, and then Jack was rescued from danger; the second time Parry was beaten by a ruffian. Being a vegetable, Jack put Pinocchio on Parry’s bed, and Parry finally came to an end; the third time is the end, naked Jack and Parry look up at the starry sky, Pinocchio is between the two-he was sent by God The angels beside them guarded them and led them to liberation. The two female characters in the film are also the salvation of two men in trouble. As mentioned above, Jack continues to "down" under Parry's guidance, and even returns to the original. Robin Williams, who plays Parry, is a very strong and hairy brawny. In his delusional world, he is a romantic knight who wins the love of women by strength. To some extent this is exactly what Annie expects of Jack. Annie is the image of a gypsy woman. In the prototype of Parsifal's story, her video store is a farmhouse in the forest, a refuge for the kings and knights who have fallen in trouble. She wants to stimulate the power of men with her own sensuality-exuding wild sensuality. Parsifal's story is naturally a product of the patriarchal era. Women can only be appendages of men, stimulating men to fight bravely for themselves. "Knight's Love" is embodied in the film as Annie devotes everything herself to Jack who is in trouble, and saves Jack with love without turning back, but Jack does not realize his knighthood-this is the break between Anne and Jack. Parry persuaded Jack to take the Holy Grail several times, the purpose is to awaken Jack's knight consciousness. Gilliam's values are obvious: it is not Parry that is really abnormal, but Jack, Jack in a deep sleep state. Jack, who is selfish and imprisoned by the desire to succeed, must transform into a noble knight who can sacrifice everything for women and ideals. This is the mission God has given Jack! Jack must learn to "love" desperately! Lydia, another female figure in the film, is also an indispensable part of Parry's restoration of the country. Lydia is the princess imprisoned in the tower in the fairy tale. When Gilliam chose a shooting location for Lydia’s working environment, he deliberately selected a building very similar to a medieval castle. The layout of Lydia’s office is very close to the criss-cross pattern inside the castle. And what imprisons Lydia is the indifference and alienation of interpersonal communication in this modern life. Lydia, who neglects emotional communication, becomes a complete fool. She is a woman completely destroyed by modern life. All elements related to sex and the body are cut off by her. Her clothes are wrapped around her body like a cocoon, and she does not show any gender characteristics at all. Cupid shot Parry and Lydia, intending to rescue the princess from the imprisoned tower through Parry, the Holy Grail knight and Don Quixote. This is also the mission that Parry must complete. Lydia longs for freedom. This can be seen from the first time she came to the video store and wanted to paint her nails when she saw Annie's colorful nails: she wanted to change herself. Parry and Lydia had their first date arranged by Anne and Jack. After the end, Parry sent Lydia home. On the way, Lydia invited Parry to her home for coffee, and then talked to herself again. Said: "Then we will go to bed... the next morning you will leave, everything is as usual... Just like when I first started working with expectations, but then I became more and more impatient..." Lydia was shown here. Emotional trauma. In this individualistic society, emotions turn into a flood of one-night stands. After daybreak, they leave after dawn and no one knows anyone. In this relationship, women who have more hope for love are more traumatized and traumatized. It comes from the selfishness of men-here again Gilliam's call for the medieval "knight's love" is shown. In our time, “women who should have melted men with selfless love, failed to soften those rough men, but were hardened by selfish men.” But this Parry was not the case. He refused the one-night stand. At the invitation of Parry, he clearly stated that he would not drink coffee twice, and expressed to Lydia at the door of his lonely effort for love silently these days. Parry's noble knight love deeply moved Lydia. As a result, Lydia begins to transform into her own female identity. Later, when Parry was beaten as a vegetable, Lydia came to change the sheets for Parry every day. We found that Lydia had taken off the hat that covered her long hair, and her dress had become very feminine. This shows that Lydia The tower was rescued by Parry. Go back to the "Knightly Love" of the Middle Ages again. These two women are the incarnations of noble ladies in the Middle Ages. The difference between the "knight's love" in the Middle Ages and the current concept of love is that today's love is more of a personal relationship. They belong to people's private life and have nothing to do with the public sphere. Even when the public sphere tries to interfere in private love, they have power over the public. Rebellion is usually a positive behavior; but the love between a knight and a lady in the Middle Ages must be linked to social honor. Love is not only love, it is a way of growing up. Its ultimate goal is not to point to love itself, but to make contributions at the social level and achieve salvation at the religious level. First of all, "Knight's Love" focuses on cultivating an elegant morality rather than pure lust. There is often no or almost no skin-to-skin contact between the knight and the woman, but only a hug or even a token can make both parties feel dizzy and passionate. This kind of ritualized love is often a positive, positive, public sphere by the knight. The catalyst for constructive action; secondly, "knight's love" is often stimulated by the woman, and the knight devotes himself to the political cause of protecting his homeland and going out on expedition. And this often means that the knight and the woman can never see each other for a considerable period of time, so this kind of love is often associated with parting, death rather than physical intimacy; third, "knight's love" is for women The worship of the Virgin Mary is inseparable from the worship of the Virgin Mary in the Middle Ages, so women often appear in love with cold faces, and religious respect and physical passion are entangled. In the film, both Anne and Parry and Lydia have returned to the medieval "knightly love" to some extent. However, Jack and Lydia have long been victimized by the lack of religious passion in modern society, using medieval love Viewing the indifference of liberating modern society is the theme of the film. The break between Anne and Jack, the friendship between Parry and Jack, and the blow Parry suffered, all of which urge Jack to devote himself to the great operation of capturing the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail is the ultimate healing power for all these rifts. In Jack's heart, Annie's "Chalet" is just an item of the debt he owes Parry. Once he is used up, he can abandon Annie. When Jack and Annie talked about breaking up, they didn't mention it straightforwardly, but rather covertly said, "Give me some time I want to be alone." This is a typical breakup strategy for selfish men in modern society. Anne hates this "Pinocchio". "Lying", "Hurt if you want to hurt." Whether Jack abandons Annie, returns to the studio "building", or struggles with himself in front of Parry's bed, it shows that Jack is still ill, and the power self and the true self are still fighting fiercely. The hypothetical idea of the media company producing the tramp movie made Jack feel disgusted. Parry's blow shocked Jack, and God pressed him step by step to take the holy grail step by step. The detail design of the scene of stealing the "Holy Grail" from the rich man's house in the middle of the night is also very clever: First of all, Jack wore Parry's set of tattered medieval clothes and dressed as a medieval thief, which means Jack He finally accepted the knighthood granted by God; secondly, after Jack entered the rich man's house with great difficulty, he found that the rich man fell into a coma due to extreme loneliness and taking overdose to commit suicide. Jack deliberately walked from the front door and touched the anti-theft infrared, which rang the alarm bell and saved the rich man's life. Jack's Holy Grail once again saved the victims of an indifferent and selfish modern society. This movie has an important space, which is Central Park in New York. This location appears three times in the film. This is an important place where Parry and Jack’s different worlds, classical archetypes and modern civilization collide. The first time was when Jack revealed his true identity to Parry. Parry was scared to run wild by the red dragon (the red dragon was played by Gilliam himself) transformed by the nightmare of the past, and finally ran to Central Park. On the top of a hill. Jack thought Parry was going crazy. When they went down the mountain, they found a mentally traumatized lunatic in the park clamoring for the heavens and the earth. Two horseback riders ran past-all this is true and illusion, as if the ancient legend really has some kind of wonderful The form exists in our world. The second time, Jack was hauled to Central Park by Parry at night, and Parry got rid of himself, and persuaded Jack to do the same, instilling the beauty of primitive wildness in Jack. The third time is the end of the story. Jack completely accepts the embrace of this prototype force from the past. Two reborn people are lying naked on the grass in Central Park and looking at the sky, symbolizing that the two people have finally gained The power of the "holistic feeling" that has long been lost in modern society and is integrated with the heavens, the earth, the people and the supernatural. Central Park is not only a design product of modern civilization, but also hides the original madness. It is a place of tension in two forms. In the second Central Park scene, the naked Parry told Jack the ancient prototype story: This passage is undoubtedly the title of the whole film. "The Fisher King" is a masterpiece of Gilliam's medieval complex. It expresses in the most direct way the fundamental reason why he is still praising medieval myths and legends in such an era. The extreme of individualism in modern society is a kind of very negative arrogance and indifference. Our age no longer believes in the possibility of miracles, so in order to cater to miracles, truths and other abstract ideas and the emotional needs of others. There is no sacrifice. The true religion has become a cultural relic, because it is no longer alive in people's daily life like the Middle Ages. If the daily form of religion ceases to exist, or the most fundamental miracle spirit of religion has been vulgarized into a belief and motivation for our pursuit of personal success, then the "incarnation" of Jesus Christ would have no meaning-because The purpose of "Incarnation" is that God, through the incarnation of Jesus, allows God to intervene in the human world and bear human sins. From then on, human life and sin will no longer be separated from God. If all people who can't distinguish the boundary between the sacred world and the real world are defined as lunatics, then God is the general boss of this mad world. And it was Parry's madness that led all the characters who betrayed God in the film closer to God. Gilliam’s belief in the medieval way of life is just such a way of going from madness. In Gilliam's eyes, the United States is a country with indifferent human sentiments and lack of communication among different classes. The United States is "a wasteland without the Holy Grail"! The ancient romantic fairy tale is not outdated. It is rooted in our inner needs. This kind of romance is indispensable. It is an important prescription for curing our modern diseases-this is the biggest statement of this film.
View more about The Fisher King reviews
