At Cannes this year, I watched the trailer for The Thief.
In just two minutes, my eyes got wet. A poor family relies on stealing as its main source of income. Out of compassion, they adopted another little girl who was victims of domestic violence. After they had a happy time, they were discovered by the society for a long time, so there was a scene in the trailer where everyone was questioned individually.
Seeing this, I thought I had roughly understood the plot of the whole movie. It must be the contradiction between the emotional fetters outside of ethics and morality and the connection between the worldly flesh and blood. A minor who does not have the right to choose cannot follow a family and a life that is truly good for him as his heart desires. The dilemma of being framed by the social legal concept and the contract, I think it is the most likely point to make people cry helpless.
So I was fooled by the trailer.
If it was just such a simple plot, it wouldn't be the well-received Palme d'Or.
From the beginning of the movie, it is very relieved: fortunately, I didn't go to the wrong room, it was Hirokazu Koreeda. Trivial daily dialogue, loose minutiae propel the plot silently, and even the background music is just an occasional embellishment like the budget is not enough. The director never let any element of the film, plot or scene, shake the viewer's nerves in a violent or conflicting way. Even the place where the family was arrested, which was supposed to be the climax of the movie, is as secure as a mirror.
Wearing the halo of the Palme d'Or, it is advertised as a tear-jerking blockbuster, but I think it's hard for people with low tears to cry even if they see the end. On the one hand, Hirokazu Kore-eda constantly regards the impermanence of life as the normal state of life, and does not vulgarly use dramatic rendering or violence to win the tears of the viewers. More importantly, I am afraid that I have realized another aspect. This is also the conclusion that I have pondered after watching the film, why this film and the promotional film have brought me such different feelings: "The Thief Family" is separated to a certain extent. It broke the paradigm of popular script and ripped apart the essence of the imperfect relationship so close to the reality around you. I, I believe that there are many other viewers and I will have similar ideas. I thought that at the end of the film, this group of rabble families can touch us and even the "society" in the film with the fetters beyond blood, making them qualified Escape the shackles of moral and legal frameworks, even if it is not a happy ending in the end, it can also arouse the empathy cells in our hearts. However, such a cliché trend is too illusory, where does this seeming harmony come from?
In the film, "Sister" asks "Dad" about the bed between him and "Mom". "Dad" said they were not doing much now. The idea of maintaining the relationship between the two without using the lower body but with the heart (and holding the wrong position and holding the forehead) makes "sister" laugh. "Money." Money is the link between contacts and people outside of blood. I think, when Aji said this, she must not have thought that she finally found out that her favorite grandmother extorted 30,000 yuan from her own father every month without telling everyone. Think about it, she ran away from home and entered the porn industry, and it was not so easy to live, but she might be used as a cash cow by the people closest to her. I think that's part of the reason why grandma protects Aji so much and doesn't let her pay for the family's life. I thought it was the purest "family relationship", but I didn't expect that it would still be inevitable to deal with money. Although I believe that grandma's silent "thank you" before her death was a heartfelt gratitude, thanks also to a group of helpless people who gave her the last warmth before her death, the so-called family she actually exchanged for her was nothing but harmony. Your pension, insurance and other money are related.
Similarly, the silent "father" is also a confession from Xiangtai's heart and a farewell to the past. Before the interest relationship, all father-son affection and memory fetters collapsed in an instant. Although the time imprinted in my mind, the confrontation with the swordfish and the jumping at the seaside, cannot be taken away. It's just that in front of the skinny reality, it's like a bellyband worn when I was a child, and it's no longer useful. I used to think that if I told a child from a young age that milk is black and the sun is purple, then he will have a new concept that is different from the world. I'm curious, what would be the result of such an existence that is against society? I'm afraid that I won't be able to defeat the firm social framework in the end, and I'll leap forward in submission to morality. It must be inevitable. Shota's betrayal of the family is also what I think is the highlight of the film.
Shota's rebellion and "mother"'s subordination were just the stars and raindrops falling from the sky, which made faint ripples on the calm plot, but they really hit my chest. That is a kind of dull pain from the inside out. It doesn't need such an extreme example, as long as it is the hard-to-read scriptures of every family, it can resonate with "The Thief's Family". We will always idealize in literary works and put them into reality, whitewash peace, weaken real contradictions, deceive ourselves with selfish thoughts, and maintain imaginary harmony. But where in the world can such a perfect relationship exist? We all hope that life can be like a soap opera, with a single sentence of apology and grievances, family reunion, each in their own place, and arranged clearly. But reality is always more dramatic than literature, and life is not a circle. The fact that a man and a woman are together does not mean that they will be blessed by everyone. Good people may not be able to receive preferential treatment in the world, and it is impossible for all questions left to be answered clearly and satisfactorily. Behind the smiling family portraits, everyone hides something in their minds that they can't say. It's the pain that others don't understand and will be misunderstood if they don't say it. The real sadness is the little bit that is pressing on the heart, it is indescribable. If you can pour out the bitter water, then you will be happy.
I think "The Thief Family" is also a corner of the fragile relationship between people's people exposed under the construction of artistic techniques. In real life, we may not experience such incredible things, but the annoyance and depression caused by the weight and distress of life will definitely be more subtle and pervasive than them.
We all know that happiness does not last forever. Just want to freeze her, don't forget this most beautiful appearance, just like that jumping high by the sea.
It is necessary to move forward.
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