This gas bomb is like tear gas, it can be used for aphrodisiac, and it can even make the audience willing, and even want to jump into the movie to be hanged for Selma, so it is no wonder that Lars wants to show the last part of the death process so long and long. Suffering, he knew that no one could ignore the fear of death, but he was eager to overcome it, just like Thelma ended her life with music and smiles. Therefore, although classmate Lars did not give you the analgesic effect of aspirin, but in the end, it made you feel the enjoyment of "euthanasia".
And this arsenic is scattered all over the corners of the film. My friend Linda cherished Selma, but she was like the lawyer in court and did not defend Selma; Bill's politeness and compassionate selfishness and hypocrisy allowed him to steal Selma out of his conscience. Erma's hard-earned money; the aggressive prosecution lawyer in the courtroom (this guy was lingering with Sophie Marceau in "Days on the Cloud", gnashing his teeth...) self-righteously praising American democracy and superiority, mocking communism Doctrine, scolding Selma for being ungrateful. But these are also the victims of arsenic, and they are just tools used by the scumbag of the United States to maintain its gentle image. Instead of fighting against the system and ending up with an unhappy death, it is better to keep your duty, humiliate or deceive yourself, and the big deal is just to eat some arsenic, so as not to be whipped by the system.
Thelma from the Czech Republic was her "American friend" and kept tight-lipped until her death. In the end, she had to suffer humiliation and leave with grievances. This is the greatest irony of the hypocrisy of American society. But in fact, Selma, who seems to be easy to bully, also more or less revolted against this society, although this revolt was based on the selfless love of her son and the plea of Bill, who is better than death. This kind of well-intentioned, helpless, and revolting at the expense of her own sacrifice, another Selma had also made a similar contribution, but it was more direct and more free and easy. In "The End of the World", the virtuous American housewife Selma loses confidence in the whole society and finally chooses to self-destruct because of her husband's oppression, the attempted rape of a bar man, the liar's robbery, and the lewd seduction of a truck driver. way to fight against the system and maintain their remaining dignity. However, Selma in "Black" was destroyed by the society and the system in humiliation, only because of the love for her son and the desire for light in her heart, so that she could not be free and easy. But it is precisely because of the humiliation that it appears great and emotional. Or rather, sensational. This, Lars did, and did it well and powerfully:
1. Hope in the night. Many scenes in this film were shot with digital cameras. In many scenes where Selma walks in the night, the high sensitivity of digital cameras creates a mood that film cameras cannot achieve: black is Diluted, the outlines of the trees, the railway, the clouds and the moon are clearly visible, and the picture shines brightly from a distance and is very soft. In addition to this sensationalism, it seems to emphasize that there is still a little hope in the dark, and this hope is probably love and kindness.
2. Music is nothing but an aspirin. Lars used high-brightness and high-purity colors in every song and dance scene. Obviously, he wanted to use this to contrast the gloom and dullness of reality. Of course, for Selma, there is no fear in the musical, just like eating aspirin, and the audience has long since integrated into the play and agreed with Selma. Resonate with the audience, to experience and even share Selma's pain. But this sensational trick is useless to me. I have seen the world and I have been invincible. Of course, the more important reason is that I can't help being alienated when I see Björk: Damn, this is not the one who often sticks out his tongue and licks in reality. Lip fashion pioneer Bjork?
3. Incredible details, such as sticking out your tongue and licking your lips. Yes, Björk's habit of sticking out his tongue was brought into the play, which was quite difficult for me to accept. But when I saw the female prison guard who seemed to be an audience representative who ran into the scene to comfort Selma for us (Lars is very smart) and couldn't help sticking out her tongue, I felt like I was about to vomit blood and die. . This detail is obviously given a certain meaning by Lars, otherwise I guess no actor would be willing to perform such a disgusting action. Is it a desire to lick your lips? Craving music? Longing for light? Longing for a world without fear and without ugliness? Or... just like Bjork, she's thirsty? ...
Of course, other details like measuring the water depth by hand can also have a sensational effect, but unfortunately, the details of the whole film do not seem to be much.
4. Express the emotions of ordinary people. Lars did not describe Thelma as a heroic character that was so resolute and brave that it was useless to live and die. This is where he is the most funny, even a little bit. One is the conversation between Selma and Linda and Shef in prison. Selma's inner mother's love for her son can't be understood by anyone. This conflict elevates Selma's tall image, places Selma in an environment where she cannot understand and communicate, and makes the audience sigh. The second is to directly show the vulnerable side of Selma, which is where Lars' classmates are brilliant. Selma said, "I thought I was strong, but I couldn't take it anymore." The distance between Selma and the audience was narrowed at once. She is indeed great, but she is just an ordinary person, and fear is swallowing following her. In order to express this fear, Thelma kept crying and crying (I admit, if she wasn't Bjork, I would have cried too). The third is the super close-up that allows us to see the helpless, hopeless, fearful but brave, optimistic, calm side of Selma, and of course, the freckles on Bjork's face.
Of course, there are still many ways for Lars to stir emotions, such as constantly cutting and shaking the camera to express the tense drama space and the complicated and tangled emotions of the characters, although this makes me dizzy. Also, his ability to write such a playful and dramatic script has paved the way for his sensationalism. This is what I admire very much. To be able to describe the tragedy so powerfully, or to say sensational (of course, sensationalism does not mean power), it is shocking anyway, and it is impossible to do without two brushes. For example, for Bill, classmate Russ did not make a single symbolic drawing, but through several scenes such as "Talking in the Night" and "Kill Bill", let the audience love, hate, and hate him. Poor and disgusting. He is even portrayed as a tragic figure, bringing the two victims into conflict to stage a tragedy within a tragedy. Russ also seems to know a truth: in all the plots, the tragedy is the most shocking.
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