[Tokyo Godfather] is a religious fairy tale written by Jin Min in a sober state. Sobriety here has a double meaning: the first is that fairy tales can only be fairy tales, and hope that fairy tale-like adventures will change real life overnight. Impossible; but the second one goes a step further in this meaning, even though fairy tales have thousands of falsehoods, they are still an important source of warmth in life, and their existence is necessary.
The religious element in [Tokyo Godfather] is straightforward. Corresponding to the priest's speech "Jesus was born in the stable to redeem the homeless" at the beginning, on Christmas Eve, the abandoned baby picked up by the three homeless people in the garbage heap is naturally the one in this movie. "Holy Son" pointing. Therefore, magical coincidences such as the wind at the end of the film cannot be simply regarded as mechanical seances. Because this "god" (Abandoned Infant Qingzi) appeared from the very beginning, the various plots after that were just the manifestation of her "magical power".
With the determination of Qingzi's identity in the film (born on Christmas Eve, the son who saved the homeless), the plot has naturally been further interpreted. On the surface, this is a warm story about a homeless man helping an abandoned son to find his relatives, but in essence it is a religious fairy tale in which the "Holy Son" takes the journey of looking for relatives as a guide and finally completes the salvation of the homeless. For the former, whether from the perspective of Qingzi's parents or children, it is the best choice to hand Qingzi to the police, which can avoid all the twists and turns. In fact, it was the police that finally found Qingzi's biological parents. . On the contrary, only giving up the most efficient method of looking for the police can provide the possibility for the final redemption of the trio.
The first person in the trio to usher in redemption is the transgender A Hua. As the person in the trio who lacks love the most and knows how to love the most, she faces the most direct and difficult situation: the female consciousness in the male body is an insurmountable barrier for her. But the appearance of Qingzi brought the possibility of filling the sky: the baby gave Ahua the identity of mother, thus indirectly realizing the gender leap. So at the beginning, Ah Hua's adoption of Qingzi was not completely without personal intentions, and she even regarded Qingzi as a gift. On the night she found Qingzi, Ah Hua actually completed a confrontation between morality and selfishness - from the beginning of "this child is a gift from God" and "Qingzi is not going anywhere" to later From "I will hand her over to the police station tomorrow" to "I will personally ask the parents of the child", it is a manifestation of her concession and persistence. Because she knew very well that handing over Qingzi to the police would give her the best arrangement. On the contrary, trying to raise the child with three homeless people was the most unrealistic choice. She made a compromise between the two. ——I plan to ask the parents of the child what they think. A Hua's not purely noble purpose contributed to this magical journey, which eventually led to the redemption of the three, which is an interesting twist.
The circumstances of Lao Jin and Miyuki are both similar but different. Both of them chose to escape to a certain extent after causing irreparable damage to their loved ones. The biggest difference lies in the stage of their life. Miyuki is a growing teenager who is in a stage of constant trial and error, which can be forgiven infinitely. She knows this well, so what prevents her from returning to the family is actually self-guilt. Judging from her "If I want, I will have a home to go back to", she knew from the beginning that her parents might have forgiven her. So later, even when she saw the news that her family forgave her, she did not immediately choose to return to the family. The predicament that Miyuki has to face is essentially her own concern, which is difficult to say, and easy to say.
Unlike Miyuki, Lao Jin is an adult who has already shouldered family responsibilities. So his weakness and evasion are all the more abominable. More or less people have moments when they can't be honest with themselves. When Lao Jin was talking with A Hua, he made up a lie about the death of his wife and daughter to cover up his cowardly nature, which is his inherent flaw. As the plot progresses step by step, his lies are exposed step by step. Of course, Lao Jin is not a useless person. He is warm-hearted and has tried to make some compensation for his family. These good qualities make it possible for him to return to the family. Coupled with the understanding of his daughter, it seems to him that redemption can be obtained. became a matter of course. But then Ah Hua's criticism of Lao Jin shattered such a whitewash. Lao Jin's redemption must be based on self-reflection, correcting his shortcomings, and re-taking his responsibilities before he can truly return. Buddhists say, "Going back is the shore." The journey of life is in the middle of the bitter sea, and you can look back to the shore at a glance, but you need to re-shore, and the distance cannot be calculated. For Lao Jin, if he wants to return to the shore, he can only rely on his own efforts to cross the river, and this distance across the river is probably the rest of his life. The lottery jackpot at the end of the film looks ideal, and can largely make up for Lao Jin's debt to his family, but isn't it a great irony that a gambler wants to rely on this method to obtain the ultimate redemption? The prodigal son does not exchange for gold, if Lao Jin can turn back, wouldn’t this wealth from heaven appear redundant? If Lao Jin does not turn back, what is the meaning of the existence of this money? Material things don't get to the heart of the problems Old Gold faces.
The abandoned baby Kiyoko was born as a "Holy Son" in the Tokyo Godfather, seemingly paving the way for redemption for the homeless trio, but in fact it only provided them with an opportunity for self-redemption. At the end of the film, Jin Min still left a suspense: How will Ah Hua treat herself as a woman in the future? Can Miyuki open her heart? Can Lao Jin change his mind and change his past? Everything stays at the waking moment before the end of the film, whether to continue the dream or accept the reality, the choice is in the hands of the viewer. However, no matter what the result is, you should always give yourself a chance to look back and make it possible to return to the shore in a real sense, and this is the real meaning of this fairy tale.
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