Three Monkeys | Peek into the dark side of human nature

Jasmin 2022-01-15 08:01:53

Original: Umaid

Speaking of Turkish movies, we have to mention a name: Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Nuri Bilge Ceylan).

Nuri Big Ceylon, Turkey’s "national treasure" director, one of the most watched art film directors in the world of the 21st century, is also one of the directors with the most personal image style in the art film industry today. We are familiar with works such as "The Far Place", "Hibernation", "Wild Pear Tree" and so on.

At first, Ceylon entered the art circle as a photographer. Every frame he took was a poetic picture. "He uses deep and long lenses to depict the trajectory of life, and uses poetic dialogue writing and literary narrative to accurately express his philosophical thinking, allowing the audience to see the truth of life in silence."

"Hibernation" (Kış Uykusu) stills

Stills from Uzak

Stills of "Wild Pear Tree" (Ahlat Ağacı)

This time I want to share with you "Three Monkeys" (Üç Maymun), which won the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival. [Includes a small part of spoilers]

The story is actually very simple, nothing more than a dispute between a poor family of three and politicians. The film begins with a car accident on a rainy night. The politician Servet killed a passerby. In order not to affect his election, he promised to give the driver Eyüp a large sum of money, so that the driver would commit the crime. In order to make up for the family's material vacancy, the driver was imprisoned for his boss. However, while serving his sentence, his wife Hacer had an affair with a politician in order to buy a car for his son Ismail. The son discovered that his mother was cheating. Even though he was angry and even questioned his mother, he chose to remain silent in front of his father and concealed the incident. After the father was released from prison, he discovered that his wife had derailed. The conflict gradually broke out in secret, and the story gradually reached a climax.

The name "Three Monkeys" is derived from the three apes statues in Japan. The monkeys covering their mouths, covering their eyes, and covering their ears are projected in the film to imply that the characters turn a blind eye to the truth. Director Ceylon said in describing the film: "In life, people are often used to turning a blind eye to hearing and not hearing. And this is how we protect ourselves from being too painful."

It can be said that the three protagonists in the film are holding "tacit" secrets. The son sees through the keyhole the mother and the politician have an affair but keeps it secret. The mother hides the secret that will destroy the whole family, and the father is here. When in prison, I occasionally noticed abnormalities but knew nothing about it. In the face of things that might destroy their lives, they all cowardly chose to escape, pretending to be deaf and dumb, knowing that blindly avoiding will not stop them, but will continue to catalyze the disintegration of their lives. Finally the secret was revealed, leading the family to tragedy.

This family is impoverished. Poverty prompts the father to accept the temptation of politicians and stimulates the mother to fall into the politician’s erotic desires; this family is fragile, and the family of three is full of barriers: the father was in prison for nine months, and the mother did not visit the son once. I have only been there three times; my father was released from prison and returned home, and my mother always turned her back to her father. In this story, Ceylon focuses on the contradictions in a family, using silent or seemingly meaningless conversations about family trivial matters, dull and slow to portray the contradictory relationships between characters, the estrangement and communication between people. The failure was revealed to the extreme.

Even if a family sits together, they have their own thoughts

This movie continues the usual style of Ceylon, using a large number of fixed-position long lenses and the combination of light and shadow, placing the whole story in a dark and cramped environment, even if it is a car accident or the death of a politician. The bloody scenes were all turned around. He placed the characters in the vast world, under the gloomy sky, making the whole picture even more depressing, making people desperately want to break free. In this quiet depression, the isolation of the characters is once again magnified.

Bleak environment

Words are better than words. Someone said: "The pain of the character in the Ceylon lens is obvious." Rather than expressing conflict through violence or loud yelling, this film uses dialogue and subtle movement expressions to express the inner struggle of the characters. The son found his mother’s angry eyes through the keyhole, the mother’s frightened face when the son confronted the mother, and the father imagined that his wife jumped off the building without stopping his sweaty hair. Even if there was no words, the emotions of the characters surged locally. The close-up has already appeared vividly and vividly.

"Three Monkeys" stills

Many films in Ceylon have a strong sense of alienation, which is what people often call big boring films. But big stuffy movies are really suitable for presenting the truth of life. (Phoenix Review)

Ceylon movies are mostly long, silent, and repressive. He uses the lens to express vaguely, and uses the voice to strengthen the guidance. The evaluation of this style of film is often polarized. The more you like it, the more you like it, and the dislike may be "persuaded" in the middle. The editor himself still likes this film very much. When I first watch it, I feel a little boring, but when I watch it again, I am attracted by its tone and sound processing. When I watch it again, I am completely immersed in it.

"Three Monkeys" stills

The most exciting climax and epilogue of this film are not mentioned by the editor. The meaning of the film can only be realized by the audience at the end. This literary film is suitable for one person to watch. It is recommended that you close the barrage when watching it and fully immerse yourself in the film. Friends must see the end! (Ps: a little bit of horror)


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