Banning and Anti-Catholic
The director did not want to make a film about anti-Catholicism.
Although he did not believe in religion when he grew up, he grew up in a Catholic family and went to a Catholic school. He received Catholic education during his growth. His experience and surrounding atmosphere are religious, so all movies are related to religion, but he grew up. He has his own views on Catholicism, and this is exactly what he wants to express.
He wants to make a movie with a sense of humor.
Surrealism
The director had been in France, and the painter Dali was his friend and was influenced by surrealism.
The spirit of surrealism and the Catholic faith is the opposite-Catholicism requires everyone to abide by religious rules and curb desires; while surrealism encourages everyone to express their desires and let them not be restricted.
This film embodies the conflict between religion and surrealism.
Because the heroine Wei is a Catholic nun, she is extremely restrained from desire, but she has to face the reality of desire from other characters. But they are also victims of reality, letting desire control themselves.
Wei's uncle has a unique sexual habit. He wanted to recreate the scene of his newly-married wife, which was also widely criticized at the time.
(At that time, there was a popular trend of sexual addiction in surrealism, similar to corpses, that is, having sex with people lying still in bed, lethargic or dead. We saw Wei's uncle giving Wei sleeping pills.)
Uncle Wei’s son is a typical representative of surrealism. He hopes to be loved by all the women around him and wants to conquer all the women around him.
At the end, the poor people saved by Chu Wei want to "overthrow" Wei. They want to get their own freedom in a certain sense.
Director's problem
Is there really pure kindness, pure good people in this world? ——The director has been thinking about such issues all his life.
In this world, there is really no perfection. This is also the missing part of the world that we want to express to everyone through this movie.
Critics think that the director is pessimistic, and the film is full of black and darkness.
"These idiots say that this movie is a noir. Don't they think there is no real bad guy in this movie?"
This is the society, and the knowledge of this film reflects the current situation of the society at that time.
Approval and modification
Spanish films at the time were also subject to approval, so the ending of the film was changed.
The director’s initial script was that Wei finally went to his cousin’s room, slept on the bed, and had sex with his cousin.
The director said that he was very grateful for the review, because the review felt inappropriate at the time, so it changed to a situation where three people are playing cards together. Finally, a love triangle is presented, which also leaves more room for the audience to imagine.
Famous paintings
"The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci-Poor people taking a group photo at the dinner table. This part of the bridge was a part that Catholics didn't like very much at that time. They thought it was a blasphemous religion.
"Evening Bell" Miller-the original painting is two people praying after working in the field. In the film, everyone kneels in the field and prays with Wei. In the film, the work noise and house repairs are cut into the prayer. The pictures, they break the picture of prayer, and want to show the audience the status quo in this way: religious voices have not completely spread to people's ears, and they are usually scattered in the process of arrival.
music
Two songs in the film: 1. When an uncle attempts to rape; 2. When a dinner party is dancing.
These were also a kind of blasphemy for the Catholic Church at the time and became one of the reasons for the ban.
Audience question
Q-The little girl repeatedly mentioned what the black cow in her dream represents?
A-I didn't deliberately want to symbolize anything. Surrealists hope to let their thoughts, desires, dreams, etc....give everyone room for imagination.
In addition, when Black Bull is mentioned, it is Wei's uncle who wants to rape and commit suicide, so it can also be a sign of representation and death.
The black bull may also be something else, such as the bear that appeared in the director's other films.
The director has a very free way when creating. Sometimes he will take a piece of paper and write down the first picture that appears in his mind. That is the content that may appear in the work, so there is no special symbol.
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