David Cronenberg’s films in the past few years are full of stars. "Dangerous Method" and "Metropolis" have been nominated for the three major film festivals. Unfortunately, the reputation is always mediocre. Many people think that Cronenberg has passed the peak of creation. It is difficult to have good works like "History of Violence" and "Express Desire".
"Star Map" is still star-studded, with literary icons such as Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowski, Sarah Gadon, as well as Julianne Moore, John Cusack, and Oliver. A middle-aged drama bone like Ya Williams. To some extent, this group drama has also become the arena for celebrities to radiate their personal charm.
Compared with previous classics, "Star Map" is more like Cronenberg's "Metropolis", which was shortlisted for the Cannes competition the year before last. The screen is clean and concise, the characters are chattering, and the sense of anarchism is blowing. The difference is "Star Map" The ideology is simpler and clearer, with more entertainment elements, and the style is also terrifying and magical. Obviously, Cronenberg has greater ambitions in this movie.
The title of "Star Map" refers to a group of stars, and can also refer to all humans in general, and can also be interpreted as looking down at the decaying humans from the perspective of a sky full of stars. The movie reflects the mental hysteria of modern people under the guidance of fame and wealth in an exaggerated and nearly real way. In such a world, violence and pornography appear so common, and the monster that people can't face is human itself.
On a superficial level, "Star Map" shows the ugliest side of Hollywood stars in private. Even teen idols are full of five poisons: they are vulgar and can shit in front of assistants without closing the door; they are sexually licentious and homosexual. People of the opposite sex always come at any time and place; they are dark, on the surface, they are exaggerated and friendly, and they can’t see the success of others behind their backs; they are hypocritical and hate reporters and fans in their hearts; they are obsessed with drugs, rely on various spiritual treatments, and believe in god stick lamas. But they don't believe in science... and the star assistants and cast members in the film reflect another group that is close to the life of celebrities. They are eager to get in touch with fame and fortune, so they need to endure the humiliation of celebrities. The screenwriter even kept the actors chanting the names of real stars, from Ryan Gosling, Nicole Kidman, Harry Berry to Paul Thomas Anderson, "Lila Princess" Kelly Fisher is even in the film Played himself in and made the audience burst into laughter. This is also the creator's mockery of himself and the teasing of the audience, let the audience know that Hollywood is not as good as they imagined, and Vanity Fair is often a group of monsters.
At a deeper level, the characters in "Star Map" account for almost all human mental illnesses: irritability, anxiety, vanity, sex addiction, incest, and schizophrenia. Both Havana and Benjah have symptoms of auditory and visual hallucinations. One is entangled in the ghost of his mother and can only resort to game-style strange treatments, but still loses his life because of his inner ugliness; the other is Fans’ nightmares are frightened, and fierce emotions often appear. Drugs and clubbing are nothing. This 13-year-old is not mature enough to resist the troubles that come after becoming famous. He just wants to find excitement. It is not playing with guns or strangulation. Weak.
The film also ridiculed the psychotherapist and the success teacher. Sanford Cheng has appeared in TV commercials, and he is no different from famous people. His treatment methods seem very ridiculous, but he still has celebrity clients, and he considers himself famous. He thinks that it is enough to have a star son, and that a tainted daughter can be thrown out of the house directly by him. The irony is that he, who has a mental illness in his family, could not heal himself, and finally watched his wife die of spontaneous combustion, and he couldn't help him.
The image of "fire" in the film has also become an important symbol for the interpretation of the film. As the central figure, Agatha once set fire and was burned by the fire, leaving deep scars on her face and neck. This mark is like a magnetic field that radiates perverted power. Havana felt affectionate towards Agatha at first, because this scar reminded her of her mother who died in the fire. Coincidentally, Agatha’s mother, Christina, felt entangled and annoyed by abandoning her daughter, while her extremely worried son fell into the abyss of drug-killing, causing her to become more and more anxious. After screaming and going crazy, she suddenly went by the pool. Spontaneously burned into a scorched corpse. The mothers of both families died in the fire, and when Agatha connected to the two abnormal families, she understood the director's suggestion-this kind of tragedy is still in reincarnation.
At the end of the film, the siblings use their parents’ rings to lay down for life, lying flat under the stars. This is a manifestation of this perversion. It is conceivable that if they have a next generation, what it will be like. monster.
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