It's a very special film that tells a story of multiple regrets.
This movie, which has been praised by my tutor many times in the narrative and mirror movement, is finally finished today. While the impression is still fresh, I quickly write a review.
In fact, although this movie is peculiar, I can't say that I like it. It feels bland and tasteless, but it may be remembered at some inadvertent moments. The point that the mentor highlights is really good, but I think it is too loose in the narrative as a movie. While presenting the director's overly obvious personal style, it no longer looks like a movie, although you can say it is a work of art. It may be that my level is not enough, and it is difficult to understand the meaning of some shots, but some understand the artistic aesthetics of the director. For the specific discussion of this film, let's start with the main part.
Let’s talk about the main features of this film first.
1 Camera movement and narrative
In fact, these two things should have been discussed separately, but due to my lack of skill, I simply and rudely mixed them together. Although the name of the movie is "Shouting and Whispering", there is a long section of silence at the beginning of the movie (so I think it's a bit boring hahaha), and the director will make some clips artistically muted ( more cattle). The peculiarity of the camera movement is that most of the shots in the film (really a lot) are close-ups, or super close-ups. Therefore, the laziness of the camera (or in other words, the ingenuity of the camera) corresponds to the superb acting (really awesome) of the actors. I have to praise the actor's acting skills here. There are so many close-ups, the camera is all on the face, the facial expressions are all too clear, and there is no body language assistance, but they have brought the character of each character to life. Each character is super three-dimensional, and I will analyze the three sisters (main characters) next to each other.
Back to the topic. So close-ups are really a major feature of this movie, so many that I sometimes get impatient, because the director just doesn't give you the information of the scene/environment, so he puts the camera on his face, and when you watch it, you will I really want to know what kind of environment the character is in and what she/he is doing. It can only be said that this kind of processing is very artistic, but (sorry for my lack of words). Another point is the transition of the movie. The director is not at all like the bbc (the bbc is mentioned only because I was watching the bbc recently) who put a lot of thought and skill in the transition, but cut it right away. The transition of the picture was too sudden and blunt, and there was no warning. The sense of deliberate piecing is really strong. This also creates fragmentation in the narrative. The previous shot is not related to the next one. You need to explore the relationship between the characters and the plot by yourself. It can only be said that after you watch the whole movie, you can get a complete story line by rearranging these scattered shots. Can I say that the director is showing off his skills with this kind of treatment? ?
Speaking of narrative, another feature of it is the narration. This narration is a bit strange, it rarely says the subject "I", but a series of poetic but unclear sentences, but by the end of the movie, you will find that the narration is actually the dead sister (the diary).
Here I want to mention what the instructor focused on, the end of the movie. The narrative goes back to the diary in the past tense, which records the eldest sister's nostalgia for the past. The camera cuts to the past. The three sisters are swinging, the two sisters are sitting on one side (far away), while the eldest sister is sitting alone on the opposite side, her face sticking out from the shoulders of the two, facing the camera. A strange sense of alienation is expressed in this scene, and the eldest sister is unaware. She happily wrote many years later that "those short minutes were the happiest time of my life". In fact, this "happy time" was false, and the elder sister's memory was deviated. She thought that the three sisters had always been in harmony and friendship. In fact, the three of them were too separated and could not be together at all. I am really touched by this scene (about the gap in memory, the desire for happiness and love, lack and make up, reality and imagination), and I will definitely say this is the best part of the whole movie, It is the finishing touch, revealing all the mysteries in the front, and also point the questions.
2 colors
Maybe 60-70% of the film was shot indoors, and the rest was outdoors. Therefore, it is very special for the interior set. The first is that the surrounding area is covered with red (wallpaper, carpet), and the costumes worn by the characters are all white/black. Let’s analyze the arrangement of these colors according to the content of the film. First of all, red is a very bright color. Generally, red can make people think of passion and other vivid, intense and even extreme emotions, and the interior environment that is used to decorate it is also full of unrealistic feelings (this is also what I want to discuss. , Regarding the director's aesthetic and style, maybe this is what the director wants? Otherwise it will be a drawback of over-stylization). Red can seem out of place with the characters in the movie, because no one's character is bright and fiery. However, in fact, this kind of red has always existed. For example, the eldest sister has been abnormally lacking and longing for maternal love since she was a child. Her longing is red, and then it burns more and more illusory, and then turns into white ashes. For example, although the second sister refuses to be thousands of miles away on the surface, her heart is actually full of red impulses (two shots of her accidentally knocking over red wine in the movie, suddenly laughing, nervous behavior, cloudy and sunny) character, that's the "out of control" that comes with impulse). For Sanmei, red may be understood as ambiguous sexual fantasies and uninhibited sexual impulses. Although she had a brief relationship with the doctor for a period of time, she was always rejected. That close-up lure shot, the background is red.
As for white, purity usually comes to mind, but at the same time it is illusory, fragile, and fragile, which foreshadows the unreality of what happened in the house. For the eldest sister (the heroine), the lack of maternal love in her childhood has always made her brooding. She keeps recalling and searching, hoping to go back to the past, that is, to make up for the missing part of her emotions. But she's an adult (or rather, getting old), and all this is doomed to never come back. Her imagination or desire is childish, innocent, and pure, but at the same time it is just a distant dream. As for other interpretations, such as some supernatural things (which will be mentioned later), as well as Sanmei's hypocritical mask and a feather-light Yinuo, it can also be understood as taking place in a white illusory space.
Black mainly refers to the second sister, because mainly she is wearing black. Black gives people the feeling of solemnity, dullness, and self-locking, stubbornness that refuses to communicate with the outside world. When the second sister wore a heavy black dress, she gave people such an impression (although black could not suppress her inner desire for love at all). At the same time, there is a scene in the movie where she and her husband have dinner. Both of them wear black, and they speak politely. I wonder if it is necessary for couples to be so formal at home? it's odd. So this probably reflects that her marriage may not be romantic at all, let alone whether there is love.
3 Surreal portrayal
Seeing the title of my film review, you should be able to guess one or two. This is part of the lines in the movie. I never imagined that the director would use surrealism in this film. Because from the beginning to the end, except for that part, everything else looks like a pure literary film (without derogatory meaning). At that time, the eldest sister had passed away, but she suddenly came back to life, hoping that the two younger sisters would go in and hug her. Both sisters refused, and only Anna, who was closest to her, hugged her. When I saw this part, I was completely stunned, are you kidding me? ! Although it is outrageous, I have to admit that this section is actually very artistic, especially the scene where Anna shows her body and puts her (or it?) on her lap with love and pity. It is really a very horrifying beauty. And it doesn't seem obtrusive throughout the film. Doesn't this just reflect the depth of eldest sister's obsession and the cruelty of reality? All in all I think it's a very good deal. Seeing this, I almost understand the director's unconventional personality.
In addition, regarding the theme of the film, I think it focuses on the two points of "missing" and "recovery", the illusory "reconciliation". It's a bit time-consuming to expand in detail. I'm too tired to expand and write. I'll make it up when I have time, or read it myself.
The following was originally intended to analyze the characters of the three sisters, but let's talk about it another day. Put a bunch of screenshots first.
The above is the self-report of the very tough second sister. She was used to being hard and resisting the touch of others, although she succumbed to the desire for love later.
The above is the dialogue between the second sister and the third sister. In fact, the irresponsible and selfish character of the third sister here is more obvious. I feel sorry for the second sister. She may know that the third sister is not worthy of her open heart at all, but she still believes in her, and finally broke the lie with her own hands.
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