I really like the ending of "Love and Death", which caused me to sit up in shock on the dying bed, and I must write something.
"Love and Death" is an early comedy by Woody Allen, which tells a series of stories about Boris' experience in Russia in the early nineteenth century. I believe that friends who like Bergman and Russian literature and movies can get a lot of fun from it. Woody Allen has meticulously designed all the details including the plot, characters, and environment. It can be said that two minutes is a small one, five minutes is a big one. Some places (such as the lion of the montage school) make people laugh. Can't stop. But as I said before, my favorite is the end of the movie. Strangely speaking, I love the ending of many Woody films, such as the classic "Anne Hall", and also the recent "A Rainy Day in New York", which is of course a later story.
In my opinion, the ending of "Love and Death" is a reconstruction of the entire film after the deconstruction of the two classics, all of which are put into that dance, and presented to the audience in real time as "The End" is played. , Give me enough time to think about it.
One of them couldn't be more obvious-Bergman's "The Seventh Seal." In the early part of the film, there was the appearance of the god of death, and Boris who accompanied us until the end, the final ending corresponds to the dance of death at the end of "The Seventh Seal", but Bergman's dignity and sacredness are not seen, and it is replaced by Boris's dance. Graceful and lovely. Friends who know Woody must know how much he admires and admires Bergman, and can play with idols like this in the film (there is also a ridicule of death taking a couple away in the middle of the film. "Seven Seals", the last circus couple’s unpredictable dialogue added), I guess how fun it will be.
Another thing Woody likes very much is the writer Tolstoy. In his movie "Husband, Wife and Lover", he once described Tolstoy as a feast (maybe the description of Tolstoy is even more wonderful and can’t be remembered. Up). Friends who are familiar with "War and Peace" are not difficult to see that the film is derived from Tolstoy's masterpiece, from the background of the times to the names of the characters, but why is the ending also related to it? This goes back to the previous scene, the Natasha who suddenly appeared. Woody arranging Natasha to appear on the stage at this time is not just about making a golden sentence or putting up a composition of "Mask", but more importantly, the interpretation of the final dance, which is one of the most exciting sections in "War and Peace." The Dance of Natasha". Looking back at Boris’s dancing now, is it a bit of the passion and elegance of a Russian aristocratic lady? It’s very interesting that although Boris is just a trick in the original book, he and Natasha who is only thirteen years old at the beginning of the book privately booked for life. This may explain why the protagonist is not called Pierre or Andre. Got it (a joke).
After figuring out the origin of Boris’ dance, let’s look at it in conjunction with the title. Yes, the dance of death corresponds to the death of "Love and Death", and the dance of Natasha corresponds to the love of "Love and Death". What is the point question? This is the best point. But if you think of Woody Allen as a director who only pursues neatness, he is too underestimated. This dance can be extended from the text.
The text content of "The Seventh Seal" is relatively limited. At the end, those who dance with the god of death have experienced endless struggles in the movie, and finally follow the god of death. This is very similar to the Boris in the film, especially when he suddenly appeared before the execution. The revelation of the gods is also consistent with the theme that Bergman’s movies have always discussed. Of course Woody's approach is joking, or deconstructive. There are so many things in "War and Peace". The one I want to diverge most is the dance partner of Natasha's Dance Bridge-Andrei Bolkonski. If you are looking for the most tragic, most Reaper-like person in the original work, it must be Prince Andrey. His thinking about life and death, his awkward fate, and even his reaction in front of death, were as calm and hopeless as death. Here is an excerpt from Tolstoy's dying description of Duke Andrey:
He was full of unbearable fear. This fear is the fear of death: it stands outside the door. But just as he crawled towards the door feebly and awkwardly, the terrible thing had already pushed the door on the other side, trying to force in. An inhuman thing—the god of death—is about to break in, and the door must be blocked. He tried his best to push the door. It was impossible to lock the door, even if he could block it; but he was weak and moved awkwardly. Under the push of that terrible thing, the door opened and closed. It pushed again from there. The last supernatural effort was in vain, and the two doors opened silently. It comes in, it is death. So Prince Andrey died.
——"War and Peace" Lou Ziliang's translation
I have to admire Tolstoy's brushwork here, this kind of tension is like putting death in front of us. And our Woody Allen, directly borrowing this last Natasha dance, naturally labeled his death as Duke Andre, and has a more concise and effective deconstruction and reconstruction than this. ? This is also the best part of the ending of the movie in my eyes.
"Love and Death" discusses many dimensions, and the whole film's philosophical speculation is also extremely exciting, but due to my preference (and limited level), I only discuss the final outcome. I think Woody Allen is a person who likes to deconstruct classics. He deconstructed Buñuel’s "Annihilation Angels" in "The Purple Rose of Cairo" and Shakespeare’s "Mike" in "Encounter with Strangers". "White" deconstructed, and even deconstructed himself in "Deconstructing Love Madness".
Finally, I would like to point a question (although I made up this question). I think "tribute" and "deconstruction" are two different concepts. Woody Allen also likes to play tribute. The "Angel of Annihilation" just mentioned appeared in the dialogue of his "Midnight Paris", but that This simple mention is completely different from the interpretation of the characters trapped on the screen in "The Purple Rose of Cairo". We can also see Woody’s own attitude towards paying tribute. Take the recent "A Rainy Day in New York" as an example. At the end Fanning asked Sweet Tea if that sentence was said by Shakespeare. Sweet Tea didn’t even explain, so he chose to stay. In his own class. Perhaps I heard that Shakespeare (and even said it wrong) is at best arty, but if you can see that the two couples in "Encountering Strangers" were deconstructed and re-set according to the Macbeths, they might be considered invincible. The old man's appetite.
At the end (the more you write, the more energetic you are), I also want to give an example to compare tribute and deconstruction. I really like James Joyce's last short story in "Dubliners", "The Dead", and I also found that many classic movies are related to this work. In my opinion, An Zhe's "Dust of Time" is a tribute to "The Dead". At the end of the film, the protagonist even reads the description of the ending of the novel directly in the snow; and Rossellini's "Visit Italy" It is the deconstruction of "The Dead", the latter's subtle relationship between husband and wife is used in the travels of Ingrid Bergman and her husband, and even the volcanic ash of Italy is used to compare the snow in Ireland, which is really ingenious. This may also be the gap between Anzhe and Rossellini.
Late at night, ridicule, the ending is off the topic, if there is something wrong, please forgive me and correct me.
Written in the early morning of December 21, 2019
A profound movie to be released on the official account
View more about Love and Death reviews
