In fact, Hirokazu Kee is not that cold. His movies are very good-looking, delicate, gentle and full of human power. They are also realistic silhouettes of modern Japanese families, but he always feels that he has found and stayed in a "comfort zone", screenwriting skills Proficiency, first-rate reality observation ability, stable style, with this "routine" can be unlimited shooting, just like Woody Allen found the comfort zone of "life absurdity and moral dilemma", there is never risk, no challenge.
——After watching "The Thief Family", the author has to admit that there is a deviation in the understanding of Shiede Hirokazu. After briefly reviewing his past works, he suddenly realized that he did not stay in the "comfort zone" by virtue of his familiar drama skills. On the contrary, in his superficial inheritance and repetition, he constantly reveals his deep observations of the world, life, and family. Each time it is new, each time it is cold and deep.
I don’t agree with the statement that "The Thief Family" is a masterpiece of the director’s work. The intuitive feeling to the author is that it was Hirokazu Edema who said goodbye to the past with this work. It is not a denial of the break with innovation, but a spiritual farewell. : His attention to "evil" has surpassed his nostalgia for humanity.
Because of the performance of Japanese family life, people always involuntarily associate him with Ozu Yasujiro to discuss their style inheritance relationship. The author also had such a misunderstanding before, but now I look into it carefully and find that there is a big difference between them. The difference: It is also the subject of family, it is Hirokazu Ke, who is fascinated by the daily dangers (including the selfishness and cruelty of human nature), while Ozu pays more attention to the faint changes in order and human relations.
"The Thief Family" continues the writing skills of Yu Zhizhi and his delicate and harmonious writing. Various details and references abound, ranging from grandma's nails and glass balls to the theme of "the sea". The whole story is natural and vivid. This kind of writing skills are wonderful, but they have not surpassed the standards of "Nobody Knows", "Non-stop", "Deeper Than the Sea", and "Hai Street Diary". It really makes "The Thief Family" become "not so much Hirokazu Kee." "It is a manifestation of the evil of human nature and a suspicion of modern moral order.
The family in the movie, on the surface, is an ordinary and real family order, but in fact it is a group of marginalized people who hug each other for warmth. The family relationship has been in the stage of nurturing, and the relationship between each group of characters is not stable, and subtle changes are constantly undergoing.
Sakura Ando left the laundry, but was coerced by her colleagues: If she didn't leave, she would disclose the secrets of her friends to the public. Ando Sakura has made a choice-her feelings for her friends have evolved from the initial dislike and sympathy to the mutual attachment of mother and child. And then, she again exposed her inertial vices, she was lazy, hoping to make a living through fraud.
Privately thought that it was Zhi Yuhe who set up a bureau. Through the continuous performance of Nakagawa Masaya and Ando Sakura's "warm and affectionate people" scenes, the audience gradually fell into the "comfort zone" in their hearts: acknowledging and admiring the true feelings of these hard-working parents for their "children".
And the other truth is: this couple never fulfilled their parental responsibilities, they are lazy (Shibata played by Nakagawa is obviously not a hardworking father, Shindai played by Sakura Ando after working in the laundry room, "will go back "Old business"), good profit (after grandma died in order to save money to bury on the spot, count the money happily), there is no sense of good and evil, accustomed to theft, and is not ashamed, proudly teaches his children the skills of stealing, And nonchalantly thinking about "Let Yuri join the line".
They didn't let Xiangta go to school, and told him that "only those who can't study at home go to school". There are scenes in the movie that show Xiangta's desire for knowledge, reading with a headlamp, and curiosity about all kinds of small things. Xiangtai said that he was "deliberately caught by the police" because he wanted to change this messy, dirty and futureless situation. The commissary boss's phrase "don't let your sister do this in the future" was an opportunity for him to change his mind.
The good of this family is the appearance, the evil of this family is the inside. It's a pity that many of us subconsciously choose to believe in and be touched by the "good watch" instead of facing the "evil". Including Shibata and Shindai’s old case of killing Shindai’s ex-husband in a legitimate defense, it is difficult to tell what the truth is. It is the more warm details that Hirokazu arranges, the more the audience will fall into the mist of "good watch". We watch Ando Sakura embrace her friend and say "if you like you will hold you tight", and watch her compare the scars on her arms with her friends. Will automatically forget the "irresponsibility and selfishness" of her.
The policewoman said, "Children must be with their mother", Ando Sakura wryly said (to the effect) "This is what the child's mother said, no one has asked the child". It was Hirokazu Kee who set the game again. Ando Sakura was unparalleled in this scene. Acting skills make the audience empathize and sympathize with Sakura Ando's role instantly, but will forget a hidden fact: this is also her wishful thinking, and friends who come to this family are not autonomous. This pair of new parents takes care and care of her. It may not be a good thing-if this continues, her future will be Xiangta: there is no chance to go to school, and stealing is normal.
I don't know if it is appropriate to say so, but "The Thief Family" is more like a story of human suspense.
In Shigee Hiroka's previous works, this is "pessimism and ambiguity" that has never appeared before. Where is the boundary between human good and evil, and whose hand is the judging standard. I personally think that the film’s reversal has two levels. The first one is the big exposure of the family relationship in the film. It turns out that there is no kinship (the relationship between grandma and granddaughter Aki is relatively close, but there is no blood relationship). On the other level, after the movie is over, the audience is allowed to reflect in the aftertaste, until they understand the "evil" of the family and see through the warm "good watch" before completing the second reversal.
The reversal here does not negate the previous truth, but only reminds us to see the other side of the truth.
In contrast, Shibata said to Xiangta, "I really wanted to leave you alone at the time", but it was not so cruel. The crueler is always behind the warmth, joy, and true feelings.
And the great thing about this movie is that goodness is also true good, and evil is also true evil. Nakagawa and Shindai's feelings for the children are undoubtedly sincere, and the evil of the two is irrefutable. There is no clear division, because they are all natural, gentle comfort is natural, and it is natural to teach them to steal.
Note that the parents hardly complained about the unfairness of their lives, and the film did not show the oppression of their family by social external forces (the public servants' visits to their homes are not bullying at all. A little bit of it is that Shibata's work injury insurance is not implemented), choose This way of life is closer to personal choice. They are just such a person-this is not a traditional criticism of social reality, but focuses on the subtle and unpredictable of human nature itself. If you change the background of time and space, the meaning of this story can also be Established.
There is an easy but possibly incorrect analytical convention: we are always willing to associate individual behavior with social reality, looking for traces of historical materialism in the middle. But there are also situations where personal behavior is irrational, improvised, and unanalyzable, just like this family in "The Thief Family". Of course, on this point, it is easy to lift the bar.
Following the above, "The Thief Family" is not in the style of Imamura Shohei. Although it is dirty, chaotic and sexually evil, it has almost nothing to do with the ironic depiction of the social mental state. It is purely "there is such a person." possible. They live and die naturally, living a closed life in isolation from the social order, and even their houses are incompatible with the surrounding apartments-the overhead shot of that night is very meaningful.
It is Hirokazu Kee who has never been worried about showing the hidden dangers in the family and the despicableness of human nature. In his movies, parents are often absent or selfish, while children are innocent and kind. In previous works, the light of warmth is always To overcome the darkness of despicability, but in the "Thief Family" there is a deviation: good and evil are equal, indistinguishable, and vague.
It is dusk, or it can be dawn.
Through this story of setting up the game, Yuhe Ke showed more pessimism, and the reason for setting up the game was because of his compassion. We can still say: Among the evil truth, the good truth becomes more shining.
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