a blind man's symphony

Burdette 2022-04-20 09:01:56


There is a word that keeps coming back and forth in your ears, and it is only when you really understand what it means that you begin to pay attention to it. Regardless of the senses, it is never possible to concentrate fully on something. And the least reliable of all the senses is vision.

Scientists have seriously studied human vision, and the results are embarrassing. It turns out that our vision can only last for three seconds at most. So a group of newspapers and magazines started the policy of "five steps, three seconds and one turn". The front page or cover should have a big picture, be seen within five steps, and caught the attention of viewers within three seconds. Take out your pockets. That's why Neil Postman is crying out for TV entertainment to death. It is the succession of images that numbs the vision, which in turn numbs the brain. So TV makes people stupid.

Postman can say that technology is not neutral, but the benefits of technology are absolutely irresistible. The invention of photography and the development of video technology did create a hotbed for the popularity of television, but it also brought another form. Such as the vision of Takeshi Kitano. The quiet laughter and tears never need attractive gimmicks. The real thing is always like this, like sincere affection, it is never flamboyant.

According to my limited knowledge of Japanese history, the movie "Zatoichi" took place during the shogunate period in Japan. The samurai class has risen in society, and the government stipulates that only samurai have the right to use the sword, so with the sword around their waist, they make trouble and oppress the people. This is called "regular hooligan". When the people are bullied, that's when the hero appears. Thus, Zatoichi City came into being.

This is a swordsman (if that kind of weapon can be called a sword).

This is a blind swordsman.

His knife is the essence of martial arts: fast, hate, accuracy. The knife splattered blood, clean and neat. Whether it's the sets, props, makeup, photography, and editing, all of them are in place. It wasn't until you unconsciously covered your half-open mouth that you realized that a piece had already fallen. And for this blind man, because he can't see, he is even more fearless. Because he is fearless, his knife is more crisp.

Practice has proved that only the most straightforward knife can be stained with the blood of the enemy. So the ronin is dead. Ronin is an awkward character in Japanese history. They also have knives and skills, but they are not regular troops, so they can only wander. Just like our desolate literati, when their ambitions are not fulfilled, they can only be used to kill incompetent warriors. However, ronin is also human, more human than samurai. He has a sick wife, so his heart is worried, so his knife is slow.

Killing is not about being ruthless. People who are ruthless are often greedy for profit and are often afraid of death. Killing requires a pure heart. I don't need to play the sword and say I'm a hero, I don't need to carry a broken flag and beg for defeat. Killing is killing, and it circulates quietly and quietly.

Zatoichi's heart is pure enough, and he does it for unspoken justice. This is justice, not fairness. There are many people who don't deserve to die, but for justice he must die. The knife never judges, the knife only gives the result, and the result is death.

I've always felt that Kitano Takeshi looks a lot like Gulong. The character of Zatoichi most likes the swordsman in the world of Gulong martial arts. Such as the three young masters. Of course, the third young master is not a bad old man, but the third young master also has a precise sword.

I don't know what a hero is. Read Gu Long's martial arts and you won't find the answer. Unlike the old man Jin Yong, he swiped a big pen: the great chivalrous person serves the country and the people. So heroes are like traditional literati who have to make a painful choice between loyalty and filial piety, and the decisions made by heroes will always focus on the overall situation, and will always be so touching and tearful. The protagonist of Gu Long is often a down-and-out swordsman, with a broken sword and a thin horse. nation? Not as important as Bamboo Leaf Green.

Zatoichi won't say that I'm here to avenge you, don't worry, he will only say: Women, go away. A real hero does not know benevolence, righteousness and morality, he only believes in his pure heart. And, of course, his knife. His knife went ahead of his words. Just as his ears replaced his eyes.

In the film, Kitano takes full advantage of his voice. There are three paragraphs that combine sound and picture perfectly. The villagers farming, the people in the mud in the heavy rain, the villagers who built the house. The percussion brings a rhythm that intersects with the rhythm produced by the characters in the picture, coupled with the cut of the shot montage, a natural sense of movement that harmonizes the various senses, although the production of this rhythm is not seen. It's so fresh, but it's not easy to make such a smooth effect. In a group of pictures of villagers building houses, the sounds of nailing nails, sawing wood, planing wood, scraping bark, and musical instruments, this is a symphony of natural labor. Blind people cannot see, but their hearing is better than all who see. So, when many people were dazed by vision, the blind heard these sounds of nature. And many actions are vivid in my eyes. Even richer than you can see. Heroes can't hear these, because heroes always see something bigger, so big that maybe he doesn't know what it is.

Some people say that the world lacks logic in your opinion, but it has its own set of precise logic. The same can be said of this, the world seems to you to grasp as much as possible, in fact, you are its plaything.

Those who despise everything, those who are lawless, those who are arrogant, will eventually be destroyed by nature. When you laugh, nature is there. When you fall, nature is playing a cheerful symphony. This symphony is dedicated to the blind swordsman, and he left behind one by one walking alone, which has the same long-lasting meaning as the symphony.

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Extended Reading

The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi quotes

  • Shinkichi: I have to say, it's incredible. You really look like a woman! Does make-up make men beautiful?

    Geisha Seitaro 'Osei' Naruto: It doesn't work on everyone. It depends on the face!

  • Zatôichi: [Last lines: Zatoichi trips on a rock while walking down a road] Even with my eyes wide open, I can't see anything.