Psychological Analysis of the Characters in "Saint"
Author: Xiao Zhu, who goes to university in Beijing
Foreword: Kim Ki-duk, like Akira Kurosawa, is a minority. Jin is an artist who speaks with pictures and always pays attention to marginalized people. Jin is calm and doesn't say a single extra sentence. He uses the camera and the picture to start the plot, and he tells it in a succinct way. He tells it softly. I don't tell you what I want to say at the beginning of the story. Let you see and think for yourself, like a story The hallway with no lights on, the entrance is dark, and the further you go, the brighter it becomes.
Jin's style is unique, and "Saint" won the highest gold Lion Award at the 69th Venice Film Festival. The first time I saw his film was in 2016, when I was a sophomore in high school. In addition to this film, he has seen films such as "Breathe", "Unknown Recipient", "Empty Room", "Arirang", "Time" and "Fengshan Dog" produced by his production company. His films have the depth of going straight to the bottom of the heart and torturing the soul.
The film explores a lot of things. Money, family affection, sex, life and death, the original sin of life and the redemption of the soul, the tragic fate of ordinary working people in the process of urban development...
The key words given to me by "Saint" are about thinking about human nature, money, sex, family affection and revenge, and the most important key words have been foreshadowed at the beginning of the film, the sign downstairs of Kang Dao's residence "Ha Lelujah forever" is similar to the original sin of life and the redemption of the soul in Christian doctrine.
The story takes place in Cheonggyecheon, Seoul, a poor settlement full of small industrial workshops, where director Kim Ki-duk grew up. In the dimly lit workshop, Lee Sang-joo hanged himself because he could not repay the high debt. Debt collector Kang Dao is an orphan who lives alone. In order to claim the debt, he does not hesitate to let the debtor lose his limbs to defraud the insurance money. Li Xiangjiu's mother Zhang Meixuan pretended to give birth to Kang Dao when she was young and abandoned his mother in revenge, gradually approached Kang Dao and gained his trust, and finally tortured Kang Dao with his own death, making him feel the pain of his relatives dying in front of him. And Kang Dao, after understanding all this, chose to use a tragic death to redeem his soul.
Kang Dao, the debt collector, Li Xiangjiu, who committed suicide in debt, and Zhang Meixuan, Li Xiangjiu's mother; Xunzhe, the debtor, and his wife Mingzi; Taisheng, who was finally stabbed to death by Kang Dao's knife, and his loving mother; Kangzhe and he only had a rabbit as savings his mother; a handsome young father-to-be; a man who spent fifty years in Cheonggyecheon but spent all his money madly and jumped from the seventh floor...
Analysis: Li Kangdao: An orphan, a cold-blooded and ruthless debt collector, who spends every day tediously before Zhang Meixuan enters her life. And this "mother" came into his life, and he became warm. In front of the man who wanted to deceive the insurance because of the child to be born, he changed his previous viciousness and put the guitar back in his hand. , "must play it to the baby". It was also the repeated disappearance of this "mother" that made him feel the anxiety and pain of losing his relatives. In the process of searching for "mother", he saw what kind of mentality the debtor he had hurt was living with. What kind of life, this scene is like a series of arrows, piercing the soul. In the end, he retrieved the kindness and warmth buried in his heart, realized the sin of life, and chose death to realize the redemption of his soul. And the way of his redemption, although it is the end of life, is also the new life of the soul.
Zhang Meixuan: A mother who has lost her son, walks into the life of a man who forced her son to death, acts as his mother, and uses her own death to achieve the purpose of revenge. Perhaps this role is very painful. As she stood on the abandoned floor and was about to jump off, she shed tears of mixed emotions: "This guy's soul will die too". "But, but why is it so sad? I'm sorry, Xiangjiu, I shouldn't think so, Kang Dao is also very pitiful, huh..."
Lee Sang-joo: He is a true portrayal of the poor people who are unable to repay their debts with a 1000% interest rate loan that is impossible to repay.
Xunzhe and Akiko: At the beginning of the film, the real "sex" is explored. Xunzhe is helpless and cowardly, while Mingzi is strong and dedicated. The two support each other, looking for a little sweetness in a painful life.
Tai Sheng and his loving mother: In the small workshop, Tai Sheng trimmed his mother's hair, "It's so beautiful". Mother bowed her head shyly and smiled. The ordinary happiness touched me very much. When Kang Dao came, Tai Sheng begged "don't let my mother see it". But at this time, Kang Dao, who was still cold-blooded, beat him in front of Tai Sheng's mother. When his mother saw this scene, the fear, timidity, helplessness, and distress on her face made me also feel heartbroken. Later, Tai Sheng saw Kang Dao and Zhang Meixuan on the street and followed them back home, trying to take Zhang Meixuan hostage to take revenge on Kang Dao, but was stabbed in the chest by Kang Dao's flying knife and took a taxi to escape. In the process of Kang Dao's search for the missing "mother", he found Tai Sheng who had a dagger stuck in his chest and his face ashen, who had died at home. His mother beside him raised her head, her eyes were full of resentment and terror. The scene is in stark contrast to the warmth of the mother and son at the beginning of the film.
Kang Zhe who committed suicide by taking medicine: Facing death calmly. Kang Dao slapped him after his death, found his mother according to the address on her suicide note, and said to the old man, "Auntie, do you have any jewelry at home?" "No." In the previous shot, there is only a rabbit in the small room, and in the latter shot, Kang Dao is walking home while pinching the rabbit's ears. Contrasted and ridiculed Kang Dao's cold-blooded and ruthless.
Kang Dao returned home that night, and after communicating with Zhang Meixuan, he gradually accepted her and gradually began to become humane.
A prospective father who can play guitar and self-mutilate his hands: a healthy and progressive father who loves life, loves music, and would rather mutilate his hands for the sake of his soon-to-be-born child. My kids are well-fed...can I play one last time? It might be worse if I keep playing music..." This is the most moving part of the whole film. The great fatherly love, he smiled calmly when facing the impending crippling life, when the camera suddenly advanced: "Hey, I'm ready". Kang Dao put the IOU on the table, "must play it for the baby", and left. In the small workshop, there were still screams.
The man who voluntarily fell from the seventh floor: a true portrayal of the tragic fate of ordinary working people in the process of urban development.
Summary: The film runs through the reflections on money, family affection, sex, life and death, the original sin of life and the redemption of the soul, and the tragic fate of ordinary working people in the process of urban development. This is a movie that tortures the soul deeply. The death of the protagonist Li Kangdao's last life is precisely the new life of his redeemed soul.
May 13, 2019 in Beijing
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