Face is something that the Chinese people have been holding for thousands of years. The Chinese people attach great importance to face and can even equate it with life. They would rather not die than lose face. It doesn't mean that face is something unique to Chinese people. Foreigners also care about face. In the Middle Ages, they had to duel for honor from time to time. However, foreigners seem to be more and more pragmatic as time passes. They will never put face over interests or interests. . The Chinese people's emphasis on face seems to be a kind of inheritance. Although it has been slightly weakened by the passage of time, it is always making waves in life.
Wu Siwei's "Face" should be regarded as a family ethics film. The film contains discussions on various viewpoints such as generation gap, family affection, love, cultural differences, and traditional values. If it is said that who is the most skilled director of ethics-themed films, I think it should be Ang Lee. He can analyze both Western and Eastern ethical films in depth, because his eyes are often unique. The story of the film "Face" is about the Chinese circle in the United States. Ang Lee has previously filmed "Pushing Hands" based on the cultural differences between the East and the West, but Wu Siwei is different from Ang Lee in that she will put the entire The violent conflict film is lightened, but it does not tell the story with a serious or heavy attitude like Ang Lee. It is not a bad thing to be able to comedy about ethical propositions. Westerners often say that Chinese people have no sense of humor. Wu Siwei's unique storytelling method may make Chinese movies less rigid.
In the film, Chinese people living in the United States always hold parties in Chinatown, and communicate in small circles, just like in the eyes of foreigners, Chinese people live in closed circles and do not like to communicate with the outside world. The Chinese may have a strong sense of national belonging, especially for the elderly. The 48-year-old widowed mother began to worry about her daughter Will's marriage, but her daughter didn't care, so her mother began to look for it in the Chinese circle, but her daughter met Vivian who was dancing on the PARTY, inexplicably He had a special affection for her. While this potential relationship was slowly happening, another big thing happened, the mother was actually pregnant. Whether at home or abroad, such "scandals" have spread to the local Chinese circles through the three aunts and six grandmothers in an instant. Even though they are overseas Chinese, they will still live in a certain state that we are familiar with. Live knowingly smile.
Her mother, who was swept away by her grandfather who was considered disgraceful, was forced to move into the house of her daughter Will, and her arrival disrupted the lives of a new generation of daughters who were used to living alone. There is some gap between the two generations of mother and daughter, the mother grows up accustomed to surrender to the patriarchy, thus sacrificing her independent choice, while the daughter becomes a doctor and lives alone, although not Rebellious but also dare to take control of his own direction. The film has always kept a suspense, that is, who is the child in the mother's womb? The development of Will and Vivian's love is quite interesting, and there are often unexpected humorous handlings that show Will's cowardice very vividly, making people feel that these humors seem to be inspired by American soap operas such as "Friends". The combination of Oriental restraint and Western humor is indeed a good attempt.
Who is mother's lover? The film keeps this suspense until the end, and finally leads to the real lover under Will's misunderstanding. As soon as the answer to the mystery was revealed, the audience couldn't help but exclaim, that the young man with a huge age gap with his mother was actually her lover. With the encouragement of her daughter, the mother finally took a brave step to fight for her own happiness. It was also the beginning of her independence, and it was also a subversion of traditional oriental values. For the first time, she went against her father's will and lived for herself. The problems faced by the mother and daughter are the same. How to muster the courage to face their own happiness, they need the courage to choose their own happiness, but also the courage to face the violation of traditional values.
People are often timid when they are the parties, but they are full of courage when they are bystanders on the same issue. This mother and daughter only managed to seize their own happiness under the mutual encouragement and help of each other. Face is for myself and others, and finally standing in front of happiness, face was finally thrown aside. The ending of the film is perfect, the mother and his lover are finally together, and Will and Vivian's love seems to have finally officially begun. But this is of course the inevitable end of a comedy movie, because the movie is destined to not go very far, or dig very deep. It can't be compared to a realist-style film that avoids all the sensitivities, as well as the intense contradictions that may arise. The film just hit the edge lightly, and then expressed the point of view in a relaxed way. The world has become very open-minded, and there is no right or wrong in any kind of happiness, and the key must be fought for by yourself.
Text: Between the eyebrows
View more about Saving Face reviews
