1. Executor
The protagonist of the film, Li Jiangdao (hereinafter referred to as Li), is a heinous usurer who pays door-to-door debts. He has no family, lovers or any other relatives and friends. His daily task is to collect debts at his door. The objects of debt collection are basically workers living at the bottom of society. The group concerned in the film is the production workers of small steel parts workshops. Li knew that these workers were not paid, so he thought about how to "help" them pay off their debts in advance. That is to make them disabled, but not let them die, so that high insurance claims can be used to pay off those loan sharks. The places where workers live and work are dilapidated and disorganized. Houses are built in disorder, and alleys are dirty and crowded. Most workers do not have independent families or living environments. The small workshop is both their factory and their only residence. In each ruthless machine, workers try to reserve a space for themselves to survive (in such a scenario, the word survival is more appropriate than life).
The first debt collector (hereafter referred to as A) and his wife got through the phone after a hard night's work. Not for other things, but to borrow money to get through the difficulties that will be faced today - to collect debts at your door. After borrowing money to no avail, A was so absurd that he had to close the shutter door and have sex with his wife. (I didn't quite understand this at first, but after reading Honey's "The Neurotic Personality of Our Time", I got it. Paralyzing oneself when faced with great, powerless anxiety or fear A very common method . There are many ways to numb myself, such as alcohol, sleep, XX, etc. Just like when I didn't finish my homework when I was a child, I would always use my head to sleep with my head covered. Haha, I wasn't a good student when I was young.) Of course, the problem is impossible to escape like this. Li still came in to collect the debt. After seeing that this difficulty was impossible to escape anyway, A's wife pushed A out and decided to exchange her dedication for a little respite. What's even more hateful is that A, who was pushed out the door, didn't mean to go in and resist, and even smoked a cigarette outside. He is so cowardly! He even traded his wife for a chance to breathe. But he was helpless, how could he make the situation better? (I look down on him! But I really can't do anything about it.) However, Li, who has never experienced love, emotion and women, doesn't eat this set at all. After Li pushed A's wife out, he pulled A in and took his arm with a machine. A and A's wife struggled all the way, breaking free, resisting, begging, fearing, crying, but to no avail. In the face of ruthless fate and society, begging for nothing will change. Common to these scenarios, Lee is nothing more than an enforcer of it. And just like that, another mission accomplished.
The second debt collector (hereafter referred to as B) lives in a dilapidated small workshop with his lame mother. Without the slightest way, B's lame mother's pleas could not exchange for Lee's sympathy or concession. B was pushed by Li to a dilapidated building. After making sure that B would not die by jumping and could be disabled, B finally negotiated with Li, begging for mercy, arguing, and giving in. The result is naturally self-evident. B was pushed down by Li, but it seemed that B's disability was not enough, so Li went up and kicked him twice. As before, during the whole process, Li was cold-faced and ruthless, without any emotional changes. After being kicked by Li Meng, B finally broke out his last and most helpless roar. Cursing and scolding Li, but also scolding the dirty world and the helpless fate. But it seems that it's too late and everything doesn't make sense. Li didn't turn his head back and let him scold, because his task had been completed.
After opening the shutter door and walking through the hills of countless steel pipes, the third debt collector (hereafter referred to as C) appeared, a corpse who had committed suicide by taking a lot of sleeping pills. Before committing suicide, C received a phone call from a friend. On the phone, C said something like this, there is no order, only debt is left . It may be an escape, or it can be understood as a relief. Because C really has no choice. Li saw the letter C left his mother before committing suicide, and came to C's mother's house with the address. Mother C had to live in a small bedroom with a rabbit for company. After making sure there was nothing of value at home, Li had to take the rabbit. His mission failed.
But the appearance of the pseudo-mother Jiang Meishan (hereinafter referred to as Jiang) made Li understand that he is not only a ruthless executor, but also a real person who can experience love, need and be needed. After that, after a very special verification method, Li no longer rejected his pseudo-mother Jiang. Jiang cooks for Li and cleans up the family, but Li does not accept Jiang's cooking. It's like he hasn't fully accepted the existence of such a pseudo-mother.
And just like that, the fourth debt collector (D) came out. A young man with a guitar and a musical dream who has been working hard in front of the machine. D got a phone call that made him very happy, he was going to be a dad next month. When Li sat in front of D, D did not beg for mercy, quarrel or give in like the previous ones. D said, can I borrow some more money? It doesn't matter if you become disabled. When Li put D's hand on the machine, D did not resist, regret, etc. like the previous ones. Instead, he said calmly, that he has been using this machine to make a living, and now it is time to make some sacrifices. Perhaps it was because Li began to experience the love of family, or Li also longed to experience such love, so Li was moved by D's love for his children. Li gave D the insurance policy and abandoned the assignment. Li let D, but D did not let himself. D started the machine and exchanged his body for money, money for children, money for life. His mission failed.
The last debt collector (E) appears. An elder who has worked in Cheonggyecheon for 50 years. Like C, the elder chose suicide to end his problems. But unlike C, E is more calm. C's departure seems like a forced choice. And E seems to understand that he should leave after he has penetrated life and society. E asked, have you ever overlooked Cheonggyecheon from the sky? From the subsequent shots, we can see that Cheonggyecheon is a messy urban village. Dirty steel parts workshops, steel machines that work non-stop, faceless workers (because they will never be remembered.). Yes, as the city expands and develops. Such urban villages will inevitably be pushed down, replaced, and rebuilt. But what about those who used to live there? Should those who once contributed to the development of this society, but are now abandoned by the social trend, should compromise, be driven out, be abandoned, or even be driven out ? Elder E chose to follow the laws of social development and made concessions and compromises by suicide. And this time, Lee did not stop the elder from committing suicide. So his mission failed.
After completing this last task, Li finally fully accepted the pseudo-mother Jiang. Li and Jiang go shopping together, eat, feed each other, buy children's toys, and play with children's toys. Jiang knitted a sweater for Li to celebrate his birthday. (Actually, it wasn't for Li's sweater, but for his own son. That day was not Li's birthday, but his own son's birthday.) Li finally realized what love is and what warmth is. So, Li fell, fell into this kind of love. So, the film gives such a scene. After the disabled B came to the door and hijacked Jiang, Li tried his best to recapture Jiang from B and protect him. Li was completely lost. Following Jiang's disappearance (to be precise, after Jiang pretended to be maimed and disappeared), Li went crazy. It was hard to get such a love, which made Li a real person. Lee didn't know how to lose it, or how to live without it. So, Li frantically went to those debtors he had hurt, hoping to get back his mother and the love that should belong to him!
2. Poor man
At this time, the camera showed such a scene, a small workshop worker in a wheelchair (presumably Li's debt collection caused his disability, hereinafter referred to as F) was negotiating with the person on the phone in the small workshop, but Eventually lost the order. This kind of scene happens every day in the bottom society. Workers are struggling with poor money. When they hope to get higher compensation, the ruthless society of steel machinery will only tell them that you are worth it. this price! Either take this money and continue to linger, or you can't even get this money! So, after F hung up the phone, he tapped the machine again and again and frantically cursed the person on the other side of the phone. When Li entered the workshop hoping to find his mother here, F stopped cursing and beating, and was even scared to pee his pants. During the whole process, neither side said a word. After that, Li walked out of F's small workshop. F continued to beat, curse, and even more angry and humble than before! Although it is useless, F can only vent himself like this. Just like life raped you, and you can only watch yourself being raped by life, cursing can only be in your heart, because you still have to live.
Immediately afterwards, Lee set out to find the next possible Avengers. The reality tells Li that this (hereafter referred to as G) is even less likely to be the one who kidnapped his mother. Because G has been buried. Li came to G's hometown. There was no G in the dilapidated rural yard, only G's elderly mother. She thought Li was G's friend and came to see G. As everyone knows, the person in front of him is the one who drove his son to a dead end. Mother's mad pain at G's grave, cursing! Curse G, why don't you struggle for a while, so how can the white-haired person send the black-haired person to let the old mother survive!
When he came to the next house (hereinafter referred to as H), Li thought that he had found the Avengers and could find his mother. But in exchange, it was a ruthless stroke from H's child (strictly speaking, it should be called a ruthless stroke.). H is not as cowardly as the previous ones, he boldly expressed his anger, his hatred of Li, and his desire for revenge! However, H is powerless, because he has already become a lame man who can hardly take care of himself in life. He has no ability at all to insult Li and take revenge on Li! He could only use his mouth to accuse Li and vent his dissatisfaction. However, this desire for anger, hatred and revenge was inherited by H's children. So the child picked up the only weapon in his hand, stabbed Li angrily, and beat Li with his weak fist.
The next family was a monk who practiced in a temple and was already in a wheelchair (it goes without saying that this monk must also be disabled by Li Zhi). The monk tried his best to stand up and see the scenery farther away. Li helped the monk and lifted the wheelchair. The monk said, because my life is very ignorant, I cannot see what others see. (The Buddha and the specific direction of this sentence, the author did not analyze it very thoroughly. However, Jin Ji-de is really willing to put the thoughts of religion, especially Buddhism, into his works, as is the case with the movie "Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring". Some viewpoints believe that , Kim Ki-deok believes that human suffering is inextricable, and only Buddhism can save people themselves.) After helping the monks, Lee turned and left. Because Li knew that the monk couldn't be that person. As Li was leaving, the monk turned and glanced at Li, but there was no hatred, anger or dissatisfaction in his eyes. It seems that monks do see something that mortals cannot.
The camera came to the part where I felt the most powerless and struggling. A's wife appeared on the screen, beside the dilapidated "Shifeng" agricultural truck, selling cheap agricultural products to passersby. After a day of wind and sun, with wine and popcorn, I returned to the "residential area" with the "Shifeng". Is this a "residential area"? of course not. It is a plastic greenhouse that appears in the rural fields. The so-called "home" is a living space separated by wooden boards and plastics in the greenhouse. Why call it a "residential area"? Because A is not the only one who survives like this. In the rows and pieces of plastic greenhouses, there are such poor and helpless "families" surviving. When A's wife returned to the "home", A seemed very domineering and arrogant, complaining that his wife only bought him popcorn, and when his wife didn't want to have sex with him, he began to suspect that his wife was messing around outside, The wife yelled and threw things. But when A saw Li, he was blind, just like his son, and began to curl up and hide. But in such a small space, coupled with such a disabled body, where could he hide? After being insulted and beaten by Li. A is still shamelessly asking Li for wine money. After getting the wine money, A is still showing off to his wife. A's wife did not suppress her inner anger, holding a broken wine bottle and said, if there is no law, I want to kill you thousands of times! (Here, the author needs to explain that through this sentence, the author believes that the wives of A and A are also people who know the law and understand the law, so is it not illegal for Li to mutilate their bodies? Why didn’t they say that they should use it? What about legal weapons to defend yourself? So I insist that in this work, Lee is the embodiment of a ruthless society. Society cannot be materialized, and Kim Ki-duk borrowed a character like Lee to materialize a ruthless society.) Finally, Reason made her put down the weapon in her hand, but she still took a few big ear stickers from Li!
The next one is even more unlikely to be the Avengers. Because the next family is B, and B is already a gray corpse (should have been dead for several days.). His lame and elderly mother sat beside the corpse, not saying a word. Why not bury B? Does a lame mother have the strength to bury her son? How can you ask someone to bury your son if you have no financial ability?
Finally, Li came to the last house. Although Li has been here many times, this one has kept the door locked. After excluding everyone, Li could only use a pair of pliers to knock on the door of the last house to confirm. There was no one here, only old machines, photos of the deceased (hereinafter referred to as I), photos of Li, a notebook of the deceased, as well as the tools before the execution of the deceased - a wheelchair and a hook with the deceased's hair. Li was in a wheelchair, and in his sleep, Jiang came over. Because I's mother is Jiang, all Jiang's actions are just revenge for his son! In the end, Jiang jumped down from the upstairs and went to find his son to be reunited. Before jumping off, Jiang said, now this guy's soul will also die. When Li arrived, he knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, hoping that "that person" would let his mother go and that he would die instead of his mother. Yes, Lee fell and Lee went crazy because everything was meaningless.
3. Salvation
Li obeyed the agreement and buried Jiang under that tree. At this time, Li Cai discovered that Jiang was not his mother, but I's mother. Because the sweater Jiang had been knitting was on the corpse under the tree, I. But Li still obeyed the agreement, let Jiang lie down beside I, and took off the sweater from I and put it on himself. Li lay down beside Jiang. Li, Jiang, and I lay together. Why would Lee do this? Because Li too needs love and mother too much. Even if this mother is fake, it is for revenge, and it is short-lived. Li also fell into it. Just like a person who is about to starve to death, a steamed bun and a bowl of old man's soup are all delicious in the world. Rather than being an emotionless machine, Li would rather live in the illusion that Jiang was her mother, and the mother who loved her died. And all of this is his own fault. It was all because he had killed too many people and too many families that the enemy had revenge on him. So, Lee embarked on the road of redemption.
One morning before dawn, in the plastic greenhouse that could not be called a family at all, A and A's wife got up. The wife brought breakfast for A, and A hugged his wife fiercely. Because A is afraid, afraid that his wife will leave him because of his disability and incompetence. Li took the hook and hung himself under the "Shifeng". A's wife drove the "Shi Feng" and went into the city to continue struggling. The dilapidated plastic sheds and the bustling Seoul are in stark contrast, and on a bloody road composed of Li, he has completed his redemption.
The author's thinking
Why are they so cowardly, incompetent, and humble? Whether it is C, I and others who chose to commit suicide, or A, B and others who did not dare to resist in the face of Li. They are undoubtedly very cowardly. Because even if they choose to resist and continue to struggle, life will not change in the slightest, but it is still so difficult, painful, tortured and incompetent. H chose to resist and to vent, but is this useful? The mutilated body, the feeble cry, and the child's feeble weapons and fists. Resisting and venting will only allow the hatred to be passed on to one's own children. How can a weak child resist this society? How should children with these hatreds grow, develop, and face this ruthless society? The author does not know, nor dare to imagine. Although A is cowardly, A chooses to continue to struggle. But the burden of life is all on A's wife. A is desperate, because he doesn't know how to live in the future, so he can only rely on alcohol to numb himself. A is also very scared, he is afraid that his wife will leave him, then all he can do is death. The author has always adhered to this view. Li is not a heinous villain, Li is just the enforcer of this ruthless society. Those debts, even if Li doesn't collect them, others will be sent to collect them. Even if those borrowers are not under the pressure of debt, other survival pressures (such as rising raw material costs, no orders, need to support the elderly, need to take care of children, etc.) are pressing them and they have no room to breathe. In such an environment, living humbly seems to be their only option.
Their cowardice and humility also suggest that women are under more pressure and responsibility. If you look closely, you will find that Jiang has no husband, and B and C have only elderly mothers and no fathers. The author believes that this is deliberately done by Kim Ki-duk. Because Kim Ki-duk has long realized that Korean society is putting more pressure and responsibility on women. With the general increase in social pressure, the men in the family have begun to be overwhelmed. Whether out of helplessness or out of life needs, the pressure and responsibility can only be shared with women. Of course, this is not only a problem that Korean society needs to face, but also a problem that our society needs to face.
Faced with this predicament, who should we blame? Are you blaming them for not trying hard enough? Those workers are working day and night, making parts, isn't that hard enough? Blame the society? However, the development of society will inevitably eliminate some backward things. Excess production capacity cannot be eaten by the market and society. Advanced production models and methods will inevitably replace these small workshops. I don't know who to blame, and I think Kim Ki-duk probably doesn't know who to blame either. So it chose Buddhism to get rid of it all. But for a society, this is clearly not desirable. No matter who to blame, such real problems are common in Korean society. Because Kim Ki-duk came out of Cheonggyecheon, he knew the hardships and humility of those workers. People with knowledge and technology can exchange knowledge and technology for money. Ordinary workers without knowledge and skills can only exchange physical strength and time for money. When physical strength and time are no longer valuable, what can they exchange for money? You can only exchange your body for money. Similarly, how to solve this problem is not only what Korean society needs to face, but also our society needs to face.
Society is not as bad as it thinks, but it is not as good as the news media reports. So, work hard together, try to find a solution, and let it get better gradually.
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