Turn complexity into one

Beth 2022-04-20 09:02:12

Yang Dechang has always been one of my favorite Taiwanese directors. From "Childhood" in 1985 to "Terrorist" in 1986, he has always used a special narrative style to deeply record and show the psychological changes of modern urban men and women during the social transition period in Taiwan. His calm, introspective and realistic film style has won him numerous film awards all over the world. Now he has become a banner of Taiwanese films, and I am familiar with him from "Guling Street Teenage Murder" start.

In the movie, times have changed, people's hearts have changed, but Xiao Si has not changed. He has an almost crazy stubbornness and persistence in the truth and justice he believes. Until he stabbed Xiao Ming with a knife, he insisted on his own. Principles, faithfulness to his heart, this idealized character, eventually dragged him to destruction. I still remember the scene of watching "Guling Street Teenage Murder Incident", when several people in the dormitory gathered together. It was extremely hot that summer. Some people were holding fans, and some people were eating shaved ice. Compared with the painful struggle in the movie, it was real. The horror of society is more like a far-off stage play. Later, we graduated and we separated. We were like dandelion seeds scattered all over the place. After a few years, I rented a CD and watched "One One" in my apartment.

What does the title "One One" mean? an independent individual? All over again? In any case, the tragicomedy of life is something you experience alone as an individual. No matter what family you are in, no matter what stage or environment you are in, maybe in the end, you will find that everything can be so simple. Everything can start over.

The story of Yiyi is actually quite simple, well-structured and well-organized. Just like father NJ, facing emotional hesitation in life, no matter who you are or where you live, you may meet someone like NJ. It is not an accident. After years of disappointment in life, you will meet the first love of your school days like NJ, you will meet again in Japan or the United States, and then you will find that your children are also experiencing first love. , So, all the tastes of the past and present come to your heart, you will smell the bitter and sweet taste of fate, and of course you will also feel the deep helplessness after reminiscing about the past, and you will still be with NJ I also understand that there are many things in life that cannot be turned back, and even if they turn back, it may be the same ending.

The story of "Yiyi" is also quite complicated. Its complexity lies in that Yang Dechang takes all the stories around a family as the center, and takes the respective stories of the family members as the radius, so that everyone's experiences are connected in series, and then the stories of their respective lives are unfolded. Self-discovery and pursuit. In fact, from the beginning to the end, several family members have not been able to solve their actual problems. They just comprehended the bits and pieces of their respective lives through various groping attempts, because they all know that although the problems are not solved , but some things can never escape. Just like the mother in the film, even though she doubts the meaning of her own existence, even though she thinks that she might get some enlightenment by going up the mountain, even if she finds out after going up the mountain, the problem still cannot be solved. It turns out that the mountain is the same as the family, but Just the role has changed. As for my father, the same is true for my father. He was originally a manager of a computer company. After meeting his first love in Japan, he wanted to regain the taste of his past love. He even thought that everything could start over, but reality is reality after all. When he arrives in Taiwan, he will find that the problem is still a problem. If you only think that everything can be done all over again and that you can escape from reality, then the problems will not only increase, but also become more complicated. Isn't life like this, we often find some reasons to convince ourselves because the problem cannot be solved, and in the end, we realize that we are just escaping.

In the film, Tingting and Yangyang, both of them are growing up, their life experience is still shallow, and neither of them knows what life is all about. Tingting is very nice and simple. She feels guilty for forgetting to take out the trash and causing her mother-in-law to fall into a coma. She looks forward to seeing the sweet life of the girl next door, but when she really falls in love, she realizes that love is not as beautiful as she thought. . It turned out that she had to face the struggle between friends and lovers. It turned out that she had to face the bitterness and helplessness after losing her love. It turned out that she had to face many things and completely lose her expectations and control. In the end, she finally cried to her mother-in-law, she didn't know why the world was different from what she thought, and at this moment, we also saw a Tingting who was moving towards adulthood, a little bit of what life should taste like. Tingting.

And Yangyang, I think, is the easiest person in the film from beginning to end. Because he is not deeply involved in the world, and because he does not understand the world, the questions he raises are puzzling and unsolvable at the same time. All kinds of questions, in the world of Yangyang, are extremely direct and simple. His revenge on teachers and girls, his stubbornness to 'can't see his back', his desire and curiosity for swimming, everything, he always does what he thinks, without any scruples. Maybe we can't find any solution to the problem from his experience, but at least we can learn the attitude to solve the problem. You see Yangyang, because he always knows what problem he has to face, so when he decides he has to solve it, he takes action. When adults are looking for excuses for their own problems, they forget the basic attitude they should have when facing problems. Fortunately, we still have Yangyang, such an innocent child, who can always make people angry.

In the end, the director didn't solve everything completely, and he didn't deliberately create a tragic ending. He just described the way the family, including their friends and colleagues, showed how to solve problems when they encountered problems. , he just gave everyone in the play a life direction. As for whether this direction is right or wrong, positive or negative, pessimistic or optimistic, we have to understand and experience it individually. Just like the end of the film, during a funeral, everyone still has their own problems, but when faced with these problems, they seem to have found their own solutions.

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Extended Reading

Yi Yi: A One and a Two... quotes

  • Ota: Why are we afraid of the first time? Every day in life is a first time. Every morning is new. We never live the same day twice. We're never afraid of getting up every morning. Why?

  • Yang-Yang: I'm sorry, Grandma. It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to you. I think all the stuff I could tell you... You must already know. Otherwise, you wouldn't always tell me to 'Listen!' They all say you've gone away. But you didn't tell me where you went. I guess it's someplace you think I should know. But, Grandma, I know so little. Do you know what I want to do when I grow up? I want to tell people things they don't know. Show them stuff they haven't seen. It'll be so much fun. Perhaps one day... I'll find out where you've gone. If I do, can I tell everyone, and bring them to visit you? Grandma, I miss you. Especially when I see my newborn cousin who still doesn't have a name. He reminds me that you always said you felt old. I want to tell him that I feel I am old, too.