The use of close-up shots successfully gets rid of the dramatic flavor of the original work

If Dolan's anamorphic frame in "Mummy" brought a new revolution to the film's narrative, then this time the use of close-up in the new work can be regarded as another beneficial attempt to break away from the drama of the original. The taste adds a certain cinematic feel. In fact, just like the narrow square frame in the previous work, the close-up of the characters' faces in almost the whole film is nothing more than to create a feeling of depression that cannot be breathed and cannot escape, and this feeling is the core of this new work, and it is also Dolan A topic that has been discussed in many works: how to maintain family and love in a broken family relationship.

The film is filled with many seemingly pointless quarrels, and family members are full of time-honored conflicts that erupt in full force within a day of the hero's return home after 12 years. In fact, all the characters in the film can't make me like, more or less with a selfish mentality, including the male lead. In my impression, Westerners are the most concerned about being honest with each other, and I have always admired the advantages of speaking frankly without concealing it. For example, in the film, the mother, sister, and brother scolded frankly at the dinner table without any scruples. I expected it. On the contrary, it is the hero's character of keeping his thoughts forbearance and unwilling to confess to his family that puzzles me. I don’t know if this is the case in the original work. I think the director’s oriental portrayal of the male protagonist is a way of promoting the narrative and creating tension, so that in the end he didn’t disclose his illness to his family. This treatment changed my view of the film. Little, when I watched it before, I was worried that it would become the kind of chicken soup for the soul that deliberately creates family conflicts and finally ends happily.

The soundtrack and cinematography remain as precise and beautiful as ever. The songs at the beginning and end are quite intriguing, especially the song at the end where Moby pops up and suddenly made me cry. This is similar to the Born to die song at the end of "Mummy", and the photography is more Pay attention to, natural light, highlight and even backlight, all have become an indispensable and important means to set off the characters' psychology. In particular, the processing of the backlight in the climax part precisely fits the title of the film.

However, this work that won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes has many shortcomings. The most "eye-catching" is naturally the dialogue design. Maybe it's the director's loyalty to the original work. Many characters have long-winded and repeated dialogues, which are not natural enough. This annoying tendency has already appeared in "Mummy". If some of the dialogue is simplified and replaced with an aerial shot, the effect will definitely be better.

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