In the face of stories that occur in "unusual" people, the performance of film shots is often powerful, especially when the conveying of this different experience is quite real and sensible, rather than vain or rhetoric.
A once prosperous and extravagant run-down Jinyuan Hotel, a "marginal" group of people with distinctive temperament, a bizarre murder that has been repeatedly explained, a simple love story of a mentally handicapped youth, a fierce and veteran federal agent, plus Above Desi’s director, bono’s heart-warming original music, this undoubtedly constitutes the various narrative factors that have won the attention of "Million Dollar Hotel"-the strange narrative factors constitute and promote the development of the plot, and the development of the strange plot is also enriched. The metaphorical power of narrative factors.
Director Wenders once said: "My film is like the Americanization phenomenon hidden in Germany now." No European director has such a rich and fascinating representation of American power like him. Similarly, it originated from Europe. The artistic background of this makes this film set in the United States also imply a speculative charm. I heard that this movie is also written by Bono, which makes me wonder: whether the old Bono, who has always been an iron shouldered morale, will also vent his saint feelings in the movie, and even stage a thorough performance. And what about straightforward moral probation dramas?
Just look at it.
Psychedelic music reverberates over the city in the early morning. Behind the simple orchestration is the signature magnetic sound of U2 lead singer Bono. The camera slowly pulled back from the distance of the skyscraper complex. Under the huge and broken billboard on the top of the million-dollar hotel, a young man with disheveled hair ran across the rooftop. During this slow-forward process, he was looking at the camera. He made a fascinating gesture and a childlike smile, and then jumped...
but with a self-sufficient and joyful smile, Tom’s surrealistic confession told the audience in the slowly falling poetic lens , "After I jumped off the building, I felt that life is better, better than anything, better than anyone. Because it is real...life is full of magic, opportunity and TV..."
The film’s narrative unfolds in Tom’s confession flashback, and an uncomplicated suicide case is gradually revealed: Tom’s friend Izzy fell from the roof two weeks ago. With the arrival of FBI agent Skinner, The tenants who lived here discovered that their former friend Izzy was actually the son of a media tycoon. The case became complicated by Skinner's fierce investigation and the pervasive TV media coverage. These people who have been neglected by society in the past are singers who claim to be members of the Beatles, outdated prostitutes, drunks wearing wigs, fallen aristocratic old women and Indian artists, etc., in order to avoid suspicion of themselves, and out of their own suspicion. In consideration of the interests of this group, various assumptions have been made in the face of the camera lens.
In this process, our protagonist, the underprivileged young Tom, found his love-he was crazy infatuated with the sleepwalking Ai Luyi in this crowd, but this is not the romantic love in the eyes of ordinary people. Tom is pure as water. In love, he is willing to give everything to the street warbler living in nothingness, and Ai Luyi is also facing this innocent chase, from being indifferent at the beginning to finally understanding. The tragedy factor arises from this. In order to protect his lover from any harm, Tom chose his friend’s path and also flew from the air. In the final scene, we also solved the mystery at the beginning of the film. Tom was waving goodbye to Ai Luyi who hurried over.
The time and space of the film is preset in Los Angeles at some time in the near future, but we can't see the flowers and modern objects. This decaying million-dollar hotel is filled with people who we regard as "vulnerable people". This is the cecum area of a civilized city. It is dark, humid, dirty, and dangerous. It seems that murders can happen all the time. This time, it was because of the "unsatisfied" son of the media tycoon that he was investigated by the FBI. The media attention of the tycoon’s competitors and the tycoon’s competitors.
The directors here undoubtedly imply their anxiety about reality. In the face of huge government organizations and pervasive media intrusion, where can they find their own space? The tragedy lies in the fact that people are deeply transplanted by TV media without noticing it. TV has penetrated into everyone’s bones. Even Tom, who is single-minded and self-sufficient, is muttering to himself, "Life is full of life." With magic, opportunity, and television..." Not to mention the excitement and desire to speak when the media interviewed these confused people who belonged to the "silent majority" judged by intellectuals. The previous performances all come from the "training" received on weekdays.
The spatial characteristics of the hotel’s three teachings, nine classes, dragons and snakes also make people feel heavy: the dead Izzy was mistaken for a genius artist, and the pitch used to cover up stolen oil paintings was hyped as a genius creation by art speculators, the real author. , The Indian was arrested and released after the truth was revealed. People tried to falsify the artist’s life and truth for their own benefit. These facts reveal the calm criticism of Bono's projection. The chaos and mess of the human world is still the same, the greed and alienation of human nature is still the same, and life is absurd and empty. It does not care about death. As the speculator said, it is meaningless and boring. "The work of genius" can only find the value of things under the operation of business.
Fortunately, Bono and Wenders are not completely world-weary despairers. In the sense of exploring life, they always need the existence of love. They chose a young man with imperfect intelligence to express their views on the meaning of mankind. Although this is a helpless irony, there is also a hint in it. In the face of the chaotic and vague desires, should they be kept as clear as a child? Perseverance and imagination; shouldn't the small and fragile life discover the beauty and brilliance of human nature that bursts when love comes?
Pious Christian, Amnesty International's art ambassador, and countless enthusiastic supporters of public welfare, the old Bono finally made his own explanation with conscience and divine love: friendship and love are the only hope of salvation, even the cruel senior The agent also discovered the true self in front of Tom's sincere heart. In the final shot, he and Ai Luyi embraced each other with his hands covered in Tom's blood. This scene is full of shocking beauty.
And Wenders’ superb photographic art makes the image of this symbolic million-dollar hotel deep and penetrating, especially the slow motion at the beginning and the end that is fresh in the memory. Tom jumped twice before and after, in the middle, Brings out a meaningful story.
And the story behind the story flies farther than love.
by Bono 2002.4.14
This article was first published in the May 2002 issue of "New Movie"
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