That song in Flesh and Spirit is so good. More pure and peaceful than this song, however, is the film itself, with crisp photography and clean tones. Even though it has a little bit of heavy taste, it is still a delicate and romantic little freshness. The theme of the film is very straightforward and easy to understand, because it points out a dualistic world from the title "flesh" and "spirit", body and soul, reality and spirit, reason and emotion.
The two protagonists of the story are also based on duality. As a businessman, the male protagonist is heading towards loneliness trapped in "reality" and "emotion", while the female protagonist Maria is a new quality inspector. It is always stuck in the loneliness of "spirit" and "reason". In other words, one of them wanted to make themselves sublime, and the other wanted to make themselves more grounded. By coincidence, they fell in love slowly because of the "meeting in a dream", and finally realized the intercourse of the body to solve the problem of loneliness together. .
Through such a story, the creator sublimates this dualistic relationship to a philosophical level, and puts the ultimate human problem of "loneliness" on the table. Lighting, scenery, colors, and mirroring all become part of the expression, supplemented by appropriate plots and symbols such as bull-killing, deer, and dreams, as well as an ending that seems to have no surprises, making this ultimate question a possibility. A very feminine and very idealized answer: In order for the soul to break the prison of the body, the "intercourse" of the body and the spirit is the best weapon against loneliness.
The movie reminds me of Lanthimos' "The Lobster" two years ago. The two should belong to the same genre in terms of genre division. We don't see such works very often. Most of the film works on the market, most of the creators and film festivals, such as Ken Loach, "I Am Blake", Verhoeven, "Her" and "Graduation Exam", "La La Land", etc., such as the conservative Cannes Film Festival , still staying at the level of sublimating reality and turning art into concrete works. This level will still produce more than half of the world's outstanding new films, all of which are "modern" to reflect the current shortcomings.
On the other hand, "Flesh and Spirit" shows "contemporaneity" and contemporary meaning to a certain extent. Its creative concept is the opposite, turning an abstract philosophical concept into a light and concrete story. , but also what our contemporary people are/will experience but not yet historical (philosophical and spiritual).
At such a low stage of global art, the human spirit is increasingly lackluster, and human beings urgently need works of contemporary significance. Yet neither the Nobel nor the festival have found a truly contemporary expression. "Flesh and Spirit" is a pioneer, and the Golden Bear Awards are still very forward-looking.
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