Ang Lee's personal light comedy

This is not the first time that Ang Lee has extended his lens to the private spiritual realm of the West. More than a decade ago, Sense and Emotion was the first time Ang Lee touched Jane Austen, a symbol of British traditional culture. Fortunately, the film did not lose its luster due to the director's birth in the East. However, this time, the god of luck did not favor Li Ang. For a Chinese director who is soaked in Chinese culture, raising the guide tube to dissect the Woodstock spirit, which belongs to the private spiritual realm of the West, is an extremely risky thing. After watching this movie about the "Woodstock Music Festival", Western film critics criticized Ang Lee in extremely harsh terms for avoiding the most important things and downplaying the much-anticipated "Woodstock Music Festival" into a Jewish boy. Footnote to growth; weakening the "spiritual totem" that could be shot with passion into the motif of "family and growth" that Ang Lee is good at. There is nothing wrong with Ang Lee's choice to make movies in his own way, but the fault was that he chose the most benchmarking Utopia event in the West in the last century. What happened on that remote farm in the summer of 1969 is of great significance to the entire West. It was not only a grand music festival, but also a concentrated expression of a generation's pursuit of freedom and rebellious spirit. "Woodstock" has long been sublimated into a totem of the Western world, a utopian myth.
Therefore, audiences who want to relive the shocking "Woodstock Spirit" 40 years ago from Ang Lee’s images are doomed to be disappointed. This film tells the Jewish boy Elliott from a very personal narrative perspective. Before and after the preparation of the music festival, Ang Lee still cared about the "family relationship and personal growth" he was good at. He tirelessly described the details of organizing the music festival, as gentle and delicate as ever, as if the spring breeze was blowing on his face. Therefore, the audience can see from the screen the "male and female naked bathing" similar to the music festival documentary, "the large troop winding thousands of miles on the pilgrimage road", "the hippie with a wandering corpse", "the sex without taboos", and the "Vietnam War". Veterans"...except that they did not sense music and freedom, utopian dreams, and the spiritual core of the beat generation. Some people attribute Ang Lee's understatement to the fact that middle-aged people look back on the calmness of their youth. Perhaps Ang Lee is not interested in elaborating the "Woodstock Spirit", or the old saying "No matter what Ang Lee makes, he is making a movie of his own." This movie is also. The hero, Elliott, casts the director's own shadow. The Jewish boy, who gave a meek impression in appearance, manner, and dress, was a far cry from the wandering hippie youth. It's exactly like Lee Ang's gentle and elegant appearance, but in fact, he is wild in his heart. The filming of this film is extremely relaxed, from the witty and lively supporting role image (stubborn and mean miser mother, conscientious transvestite), to the provocative "sliding in the mud", the transition of conflict caused by family conflicts, and everyone preparing for the music festival. The brisk pace, and the drama troupe frolicking and streaking freely. As Li Ang himself said: "The movies I made before are heavier than the other, so I just take this one to relax." He used such a brisk way to deconstruct a historical event. In the witty and brisk description, the individual, the family and the historical background are integrated. The hippie spirit in Li Ang’s understanding has nothing to do with passion and the solemnity of the pilgrimage. This is Li Ang’s personal interpretation of 1969.
The climax of the whole film is undoubtedly the illusion produced by Elliott and his companions after taking drugs. The radiant picture is extremely challenging to the vision. In Elliott’s eyes, the color and the picture gradually flow, producing indescribable beauty and illusion. . Such a bold and amazing visual imagination provides viewers with a rare visual experience. Elliott stood on the hillside overlooking the panorama of the music festival. The farm hillside of Renshan Renshan suddenly undulated like waves. The center of the music festival instantly rose up with shining stars comparable to the vast Milky Way. It was dreamlike and beautiful. This situation was so beautiful that the heart could not bear it, and Elliott burst into tears with excitement. I'm afraid this is the most inspiring and beautiful picture of the music festival in Li An's mind-the utopian dream picture. After waking up from the dream, we still have to face reality. This is the misfortune of those who have experienced the Woodstock Festival. Like the protagonist, those who participated in the music festival in the United States had to face growing away from home when they returned home. The three-day festival of love, peace and rock music is a miracle that cannot be replicated. What exactly is Woodstock? There are a hundred answers in a hundred people's minds. The summer of 1969 was gone forever.

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