Music and dance films were popular in the 1930s and 1940s, but now they are declining, occupying only a small share in the huge movie market. Although there are still some good song and dance films coming out in recent years, it seems difficult for this type of film to become a popular fashion in the society.
Most people who don't like musicals are because the sudden insertion of the song and dance will cut off the narrative, which makes people feel "out of a play." Compared with ordinary feature films, dialogue and action are usually direct imitations of reality. In song and dance films, music and dance occupies a lot of space, replacing daily dialogue and movements, and becoming the main way to express the emotions of the characters. In the eyes of audiences who love compact plots, the narratives of many musicals are a bit "scrawled".
In the eyes of musical lovers, this kind of "scrawl" has just become a major charm of musicals. In "Mamma Mia 2", Donna and three boys meet, and they all rely on one song to make love; after Donna loses love, it only takes one song to walk out of pain. The ambiguity and entanglement in love, the heartbreak and confusion after a broken relationship, do not need too many plots and details to portray, only a song, a dance, and the day will easily return to the excitement. The Greek islands are full of sunshine, sea and sky, and blue eyes. The story is set in such a heavenly environment. It seems that only simple stories that sing and dance can live up to such a beautiful day.
Whether it is Eisenstein, who is keen to break time in movies, or Bazin, who advocates natural and complete presentation of reality, in essence, they all agree that movies are based on real time and space, and transcend reality. Song and dance films are more likely to give people a sense of "time and space." The use of a large number of song and dance scenes gives the time and space in the story a completely different form from reality.
Compared with the ambiguity and ambiguity of language, singing and dancing are more explicit symbols to express emotions. It is often applied to moments when the character's mood changes intensely, allowing the audience to directly see into the character's psychology without hiding, restraining, or ambiguity. In just a few minutes of physical time, the audience can see the psychological changes of the character at a glance. It is a dynamic language that expresses the flow of consciousness with changes in the body and music. It is full of vitality and emphasizes the current experience of life.
The "time and space sense" of the song and dance film is also reflected in the fact that the song and dance scene can often jump beyond the boundary of time and space, in the current narrative reality, and then open up another completely free and reproducible reality. For example, in "Mamma Mia 2", after Sophie and Sky quarreled, although they were separated, they completed a male and female duet through cross-editing, thus diluting the separation of space and emphasizing that young men and women are still closely connected in their differences. Heart. For another example, Sophie's grandmother met her old love as soon as she appeared on the island. In their affectionate duet, Time and Space returned to Mexico, which was raged by war decades ago, and was able to reproduce a poignant relationship in troubled times without using flashback techniques.
Compared with the first simple and brisk story, this sequel has a little more narrative, allowing Donna and Sophie to advance in parallel and cross-editing. The mental journeys of the mother and daughter are mirror images of each other. The physical time is deliberately blurred. The same island, the same farmhouse, in a fixed space, time is constantly flowing, and the past and the present are superimposed and overlapped, which often makes people feel in a trance. If the first part is about the disagreement and reconciliation between mother and daughter, then this part is about after reconciliation, the relationship between mother and daughter transcends time and space, continuous fetters, and even full of fatalism.
When the story of the sequel began, Donna was no longer alive. But this parallel time-space narrative treatment has played down the sadness of her mother's death, as if she had just embarked on a long journey, and could suddenly return to Sophie's reality at any time. The length of the film is evenly divided into two. The story line of the mother and daughter runs in parallel. The repaired stairs and the mother’s old girlfriends become a medium, reminding the island where the scenery has not changed over the years, as if time has frozen. In the past, there are still several generations of people's lives flowing steadily.
There is almost no climax in the story, and there are no obvious ups and downs in the character's emotions, but the ending treatment is very touching. At the end of the film, two parallel lines meet at the small church on the island, as if after a long journey, the mother and daughter finally meet again at the end. At this time, the newborn is ready to be baptized, and Sophie has completed the transformation of her role from a girl to a mother, and this transformation process is also the process by which she thoroughly understands her mother's life. The elderly Donna, played by Meryl Streep, stood at the door of the church with love in her eyes. She sang a song and stepped back until the end of the song. She withdrew from the church and closed the door. This symbolizes that mothers will withdraw from the lives of their children one day, but they can exist in the lives of their children in a continuous, permanent, and transcending form. At this point in the film screening, in the Dolby Hall, many female audiences can already hear the sobbing-stories like this, especially for girls, are too easy to think of their mothers and grandmothers.
"Mamma Mia 2" used the original team, which is of course out of business considerations, to take care of the feelings of fans. But in addition, the introduction of the original crew, especially the changes in the appearance of these actors, has strengthened the theme of "time" in this sequel. The time span between the sequel and the predecessor is as long as ten years. Ten years later, the elf-like Amanda is no longer full, with a few lines on his forehead; Pierce Brosnan still has a masculine charm, but appears to be somewhat powerless; Dominic Cooper, who plays Sky Become mature, but also gloomy, unlike the teenager who was playing in the water ten years ago. Although Cher is a new big name, his face is too much plastic surgery, so stiff that he can’t make accurate expressions, it is inevitable that people will be embarrassed. . Only Colin Firth is still charming and shows no signs of getting old. The staff who has worked in the harbor for decades and likes to comment on the appearance of tourists praised him for "years did not leave a trace on your face" and became the biggest laugh in the film. point.
The small details in the sequel always echo the plot of the previous work, and the life of the daughter also echoes the life of the mother. In addition, the echoes of some supporting characters when they were young and old are also a knowing smile. Since "Falling Water Marriage" in 1987, "confession of true love in the water" has become a part of romantic light comedy reluctant to give up. Similar elements are also implanted in "Mamma Mia 2". Decades ago, Bill and Donna witnessed a young man jumping into the water to confess loudly to his girlfriend; Decades later, Bill met the supporting role again, and immediately remembered the past, but this time, someone (Harry) dropped Into the water.
At that moment, there was a feeling that time seemed to have taken nothing away on this island. The love of the diving man for his wife has never changed, and the friendship between Donna and his girlfriend has never changed. The farmhouse that was converted into a hotel has survived several storms and still stands on the island. The world is turbulent, this small island has been gently let go by time.
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