In the time of a movie, see the lonely and warm sides of life

Ericka 2022-04-20 09:02:17

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If every film can describe the texture with a kind of food, then "Just the End of the World" (2016), which is about to meet with you in the 7th Beijing International Film Festival, is a good French foie gras. Fine red wine with extremely high concentration - delicate, mellow, and greasy, after a sip, it is a little overpowering.

"Just the End of the World", which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 69th Cannes Film Festival, came from the hands of Canadian "genius director" Xavier Dolan. This is his sixth work.

The film continues Dolan's previous colorful and full-bodied style, with Gaspard Ulliel, Natalie Bay, Lea Seydoux, Vincent Cassel and Marion Cotillard, five A French movie heavyweight was placed in a closed space, with a lot of close-up shots and several MV-style flashback clips, which made people drift between the real and the unreal. It's like the mood of the protagonist who has been away from home for 12 years returning to a family dinner. In addition to the whole situation, listening to the family's tearing on the same channel, he can't find a suitable incision to explain the reason for his sudden return. The blurred eyes of the protagonist show the anxiety in his heart.


The film of the French heavyweights

tells a very simple story. After 12 years of leaving home, the 34-year-old playwright suddenly returned to his hometown and wanted to tell his family that he was seriously ill and would die soon. However, at the family dinner back home, everyone asked him, "Why did you come back?" Ironically, no one really cared about the answer, and the conversation was quickly interrupted by other squabbles, resentment over the past and Anxiety about the future can be seen in the dialogue and silence of several people.


Gaspard Ulliel

's film is based on the play of the same name by the contemporary French playwright Jean-Luc Lacars. The original script actually has some autobiographical flavor. Lacars wrote it in Berlin in 1990. At the time of this work, he was just 34 years old. At that time, Larcas learned that he was suffering from AIDS and died 4 years later. It doesn't matter whether the broken thoughts in the script are real experiences of Larcas, what matters is that we seem to see the lonely, vulnerable and melancholy side of a poetic romantic.


"It's Just the End of the World" Stills

For Dolan, this is the first time he's told someone else's story so thoroughly. At the age of 20, "I Killed My Mother" (2009), which was written, directed and acted by oneself, stunned the audience as soon as it appeared at the top of the Cannes Film Festival, followed by "Fantasy Love" (2010), "Lawrence of Two Faces" (2012) , "Tom on the Farm" (2014) are all outstanding, and "Mummy" directed by 14 years has won the Grand Jury Prize at the 67th Cannes Film Festival together with film master Godard.


Doran Dolan in "Fantasy Love" never

shies away from his own life, and his films often discuss topics about homosexuality and mother-son relationships. Watching Dolan's films always reminds people of Almodóvar, another talented Spanish director. The brilliant and saturated colors, the ultimate expression, and the memory of his mother are all very post-modern aesthetics.

Coincidentally, both of them chose the return of "Quiet Narrative" last year. Almodovar's "Julietta" tells the relationship between a mother and daughter, exploring the relationship between separation and reunion, independence and growth. The topic is milder than his previous works, and Dolan's "It's Just the End of the World" also chose a story that is more inwardly expressed, without extreme plot conflicts, and explores people's inner loneliness and growth, as well as the relationship between family members. delicate relationship.

What would you do if you knew you were going to die soon? This is a topic that is often brought up.

Another Japanese film "Hot Love" (2016), another Japanese film in the screening section of this year's Beijing International Film Festival, is also a story of "knowing that I will be leaving soon". If "Just the End of the World" is foie gras and red wine, "Hot Love" is steaming hell gold ramen, the latter is much warmer and more touching than the former. "It's Just the End of the World" will make people feel lonely and have nowhere to solve, and "Hot Love" will make people cry, and just want to go back to their family immediately.

"Hot Love" tells the story of the gentle and strong Futaba that she learned that she would die soon, so she found her husband, reopened a bathhouse, tried to regroup the broken family, and weave a song of family love . This film is the new work of the Japanese director Nakano Rita, and also his first commercial work. The director is very good at handling the emotional details between family members. He once won praise for "Take a Photo for Dad" (2012).

The film's male and female protagonists are very famous and powerful actors in Japan. The heroine Futaba is played by Rie Miyazawa, who won the "Japan Oscar" Japan Film Academy Award for Best Actress for "Paper Moon" (2015). Eri Miyazawa became the goddess in the hearts of many fans after she starred in "A Dream in the Garden" (2001) directed by Yang Fan. At that time, she suddenly became the goddess in the hearts of many fans.

The 44-year-old Miyazawa Rie returned to the screen. In the film, she had a violent scene with her eldest daughter (Hana Sugisaki), from inability to communicate to the last hug, a touching mother-daughter scene created by powerful Japanese actresses of two eras. , do not believe do not urge your tears to fall.

The joining of Odagiri gave this film a must-see reason. With a wide range of dramas, he played an extremely unreliable useless man in the film this time. The image of Zhida's talents, laziness, cowardice, and irresponsibility was displayed by Odagiri in the limited scene.

What is family? Maybe it's the bond that can't be separated no matter how noisy it is. Family gives us our first sense of belonging in the world, and the important thing about that sense of belonging is that it gives us our original identity.

If you only had the last time left, how would you choose to spend it? I think the first reaction of most people is to find their family. Find your family and bring them to watch the heartwarming work presented by the Beijing International Film Festival.

Written by the Promotion Team of the 7th Beijing International Film Festival of China Film Archive
/ Edited by Yu Jiaolong
/ Guo Zhou

View more about It's Only the End of the World reviews

Extended Reading
  • Kylee 2022-03-28 09:01:09

    #LFF# To be honest, I really like it. Home is not home. It’s hard to return home. I almost cried when I saw the final explosion. , the soundtrack, the layout is small, but the content is sufficient, especially the handling of the actors, so it is also the reason for choosing these powerful groups. I don't know if Dolan, who switched to English-language films, will focus on family relationships in the future.

  • Hoyt 2022-03-24 09:03:17

    Possibly Dolan's worst. The emotional expression is very problematic, and the large number of facial close-ups and the drowsy dialogue make it difficult for people to substitute. Death isn't as good as Time Stops, and August: Osage County isn't as good as family. It shouldn't be watched on a Friday night and it's exhausting. . .

It's Only the End of the World quotes

  • Antoine Knipper: We think silent people are good listeners. But I shut up so people leave me alone.

  • Louis-Jean Knipper: There I was, after 10 years, well, 12, to be precise. So after 12 years of absence and in spite of my fear, I was going to visit them. In life there a number of motivations that are no one's business, that force you to leave without looking back. And there are just as many motivations that force you to return. So after all those years, I decided to retrace my steps. Take the journey... to announce my death. Announce it in person, and try to give the others and myself one last time, the illusion that I am, until its very end, the master of my life. Let's see how that goes.