At the beginning of the story, the protagonist Ma Jia, dressed in red, began to recall the past in the curling cigarette. It was Tehran in 1979. Although the black and white painting style is a little depressing, the world of children is always full of laughter and laughter. Nine-year-old Ma Jia dreams of becoming a prophet. In her teachings, every poor man must eat beef, and every old man must not suffer. Grandma said that if this is the case, she is willing to become Margaret's first believer. But when asked how to make every old man no longer suffer, little Margaret thought about it and said that as long as it is stipulated that way. Children are so simple and innocent, full of childlike interest. Although the Islamic revolution is in full swing, for a child, perhaps it is not the demonstrations themselves that are really interesting, but the outside world and the dark crowd. As a child, Maja had two good friends, one was her grandmother and the other was Allah. Moreover, it was Allah who chose her to be the prophet. Maybe everyone thinks in childhood that they have come to this world with an important mission and that they are unique. However, as time went on, I realized that I was actually just one of the many living beings.
Like a revolution. Margaret's parents, the demonstrators who shouted "Down with the King", probably would not have imagined that after the victory of the revolution full of idealism, the overthrow of the autocratic king was exchanged for a more autocratic government. Political prisoners who had been imprisoned in the old dynasty were sent to the gallows after a brief release. Margaret's uncle, Anush, was one of them. He was the person who had the greatest influence on Maja after his grandmother and Allah. He was Marga's pride: a communist, had been to Moscow, had spent nine years in prison. He is also the person who loves Marga the most: the only thing he asked to see before his execution was Marga, and he gave her another swan with his own hands. "It is the uncle of the first swan." This idealistic young man, a communist The ideologue does not know whether he has ever regretted his pursuit. All beliefs shine with the light of humanity in the beginning, but once the ideal falls into reality, all the light turns into the most vicious mockery. You know, the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty, Reza Khan, also seized power with the ideal of a democratic republic, but he did not resist the temptation of power to himself, and eventually overthrew one dynasty, but established another dynasty. History is always so similar, and the Islamic Revolution repeated the same mistakes many years later. Or perhaps, this is not just the sorrow of the Persian nation, but the sorrow of idealists all over the world.
The Iranians have not been immersed in deja-vu for long when the Iran-Iraq war broke out. It is also a war that has been fought for eight years. In a scene in the movie, little Marga ran home, only to find that the neighbor's house had been bombed down, and there seemed to be corpses that had not been cleaned up in the rubble. The war intensified, and in desperation, little Margaret left her hometown and came to Vienna, far away. The art capital did not give her much solace. Nihilism, rebellion, lovelorn, wandering, and the deep inferiority of being an Iranian, finally, the melancholy of homesickness brought her back to her homeland. The Iran-Iraq war has ended. People began to reflect on the war, the Americans provided weapons for both sides, and the two brother states fought to the death, each costing millions of lives. And if there is anything to gain from it, there are only broken families. Religious restrictions are getting stricter. As an adult, Ma Jia is no longer as innocent and lovely as she was when she was a child. This is the most dreary phase of the film. In fact, it is also the confusion we have all encountered: the fear after the broken ideal, the unforgettable loss after the unforgettable lovelorn, the indifference of losing the innocence and kindness of childhood, and all the hesitation brought by growth.
For the first time, the kind grandmother reprimanded her granddaughter, the prophet she believed in. This little girl, who once stipulated that the poor must eat beef and the elderly should not have pain, has become a selfish person. Margaret suddenly remembered that Uncle Anush and the two swans had fierce revolutions and ideals in their youth. After an impulsive and failed marriage, she decided to go to France. Grandma died shortly after she left. But this wise woman has left her granddaughter the most valuable asset of her life: you will meet a lot of assholes in your life. They hurt you because of their stupidity, not having to respond to their malice, inferiority complex and vengeance at worst, remember to always be self-respect and honest.
The film is back in color again, and the black-and-white past is over. In France, when the taxi driver asked where you were from, Margaret said slowly: I grew up in Iran.
This film has all the elements I like: animation, biography, history, style. If "The Secret of the Book of Kells" is an animation with a bright style but a touch of sadness, then this one is undoubtedly solemn and deep with some joy and detachment. Ma Jia's half-life is narrated in black and white tones, one after another of wars, and an impermanent fate.
This is her story, but it also condenses everyone's life.
Life experience is ups and downs.
Ps: As a French film, the only line I understand is the German Ich liebe dich; the subtitles are too poorly translated, God is translated as God, Michael Jackson and Saddam are all inexplicably translated; the most important thing is, The sentence "This is the uncle of the first swan" that my uncle said before his execution was so touching that it was translated into "This is the first swan made by my uncle." Fortunately, I have read the comics.
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