It is more appropriate to classify "Mi He" as a fantasy thriller. There are no strict boundaries, and a multiple and complex story is told in a way that blends with each other. Of course, in order to create a cursed illusion, an orderly cut out space that can be imagined in the realistic lens, the sense of dissociation in the film's appearance in the editing does not accurately and sharply render the thrilling rhythm. This is somewhat of a pity. In addition, what the high commander wanted to express was well presented in the finished product.
Of course, he has a higher and far-reaching exploration, which needs to be recognized. Indeed, people saw the shadow of David Lynch in this movie, and the psychedelic style of critical reality exuded everywhere. It is not surprising that he is called Xiao Lynch. What I saw was the same. High Commander put on a non-mainstream image shell and talked with ghosts and gods, seemingly chaotic, and the center of his story was wrapped in serious humanistic feelings. He explored the existential crisis, trying to reveal some of the truths he saw.
In order to pursue the maximum benefit, to promote the return of economic development, economic aggression, and economic expansion, to bet on the life of the whole people is nothing more than to satisfy the selfish desires of a few people. However, the earth does not buy it. Its headache and brain fever directly affect the creatures living on it. There is no privilege here.
When disasters are unavoidable, resource owners and powerful allies have already withdrawn from danger, unscathed. It is the individual ordinary people who pay the bill, and the ordinary people who are still displaced. In addition, with the help of the natural environment, we are warned that when we violate nature through self-righteous arrogance, we will inevitably receive special gifts from nature, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, avalanches, smog, desertification, etc. Can make mankind suffer the ultimate calamity.
Specific to the movie story, it needs to be divided into three ways. But before telling the story of the movie, you need to explain the background. The town where the protagonist lives is in decline, with dilapidated and abandoned houses everywhere, abandoned factories, and vacant schools. This is an empty ghost town. Those who were able to leave basically left, and the ordinary people who remained had their own unspeakable concealment. In fact, this place has already been "cursed", so the only way for people to survive is to "break the curse." It needs to be clarified that the "curse" in the movie contains two meanings. One is a fictitious and mysterious curse, which points to the environmental destruction of the predecessors; the other is the reality of survival dilemma, which directly points to economic oppression. But the two lines eventually converge on "karma" and complete the salvation of the word "human".
It's too complicated to say, the following is a list of the steps of "catching the beast" one by one. In layman terms, the movie "Lost River" is about fighting monsters. Single mom Billy takes his eldest son Bones to fight with him. The mother defeats the polite exploiter "The Wealthy Wolf" Dave, and the son kills the primitive and savage exploiter "Bullish". The neighbor girl, Rat, is an elf who can bring good luck. An immigrant taxi driver is a drifter who can empathize, Rat's grandma is a sacrifice, Cat is a cunning survivor, and the bully's attendant Face is a "puppet" with no right to speak.
And the old man who first sang for Bones was the prophet of this movie, and every one of his 1-minute scenes was spoiled. "Leave this place, and will not come back again." Billy's youngest son Franky represents hope. There is a close-up shot of the big words "where no child will be left behind" on the wall. This is a US federal law, which means to take care of Good all the children, don't let one child fall behind. Children are the future and hope!
Let me talk about how the town looked when it was not swallowed up by the flood. At that time, the small town stood in happiness and hope, and Commander Gao called it a "utopian" world. How to express life as beautiful as a flower, using lively and cheerful weddings, playgrounds, and cartoon people seems to be the most appropriate. The video of the movie begins to show the wedding of a newlywed couple. The bride is the grandmother of Rat (played by Saoirse Ronan) and the groom is the grandfather of Rat.
Then the government released a new blueprint for a "better". They wanted to store water in the valley and turn the valley into a huge artificial lake. It might destroy the "prehistoric theme park" or destroy the residents of the small town. Home, but with huge economic benefits as bait, coupled with blind self-confidence and optimism, this cruel way of transforming nature is imperative. As a result, Rat's grandfather died during the construction process. Since then, Rat's grandmother was lost and speechless, living like a walking dead, only living in the wedding moments on the videotape.
So speaking of Rat’s grandmother, when she was young, she and her husband were participants in the lake building project. It’s hard to say whether the old lady was at fault, but her living is a kind of punishment, which can also be regarded as a punishment. "Self Punishment". In the end, using soaring fireworks to supersede her body and soul is a relief for her, and for others, it may also be an inevitable sacrifice in "catching the beast".
The worst result was that the dream artificial lake disappeared, and the town was swallowed and turned into ruins, lying underwater. Standing on the land, I saw a lake covered with green grass. Only the street lamp inserted in the lake water, because it is weird, can feel the story it is telling. So, who will be in charge of the underwater ghost town? Commander Gao gave the answer with the "Prehistoric Dinosaur Sculpture" in the video, that's right! It is the devil who casts spells. Because its home was destroyed by the mankind's plan to build a lake, it has also become a homeless soul. For this reason, it became angry and made the community residents living around the small lake never happy, just like living in a world of groundwater. This is Rat’s message to Bones.
Bones didn't believe it at first, but later he completed the task of slaying the dragon and also completed the mission of breaking the spell. Obviously, this is a surreal way of expression, returning to a life that can be touched. I guess Commander High’s intention is to use this to show that the "boy" Bones has grown up. He has found the courage to face the difficulties, and initially because of cowardice he threw down the red bag alone. Fleeing forms a contrast. Cut off the dinosaur head to fight, and hold it in the hand and turn it into a weapon to eliminate evil, which expresses justice and the power that evil does not suppress righteousness.
Corresponding to Bones must be the negative character "Bully", a mental patient suffering from paranoia. His character implies brutal violence that cannot be rationally dialogued. His philosophy of life is what we call "fighting cruelty", unscrupulously, at the cost of death, proud of his insight into human nature, because humans are afraid of blood and fear of death, so viciousness is the law of survival he advertised. Back to real life again, "bully" is still a symbol. He is a symbol of the violent plunder of social resources.
The bully and the bank manager Dave appear to be of different types. One is direct possession in a barbarous manner, and the other is wearing a civilized mask. The two have the same characteristics, both of which are exploitative. The gap between the rich and the poor and the injustice that exist in the society are caused by the two types of demons who are in the same situation and get what they need. Because of the violent lust in front of him, the scraps of copper and iron found by Bones himself can only be offered unconditionally to the bully. And because all the rules only open the way for power, the bank owes money, and the house needs to be repossessed. In order to protect his son and home, Billy can only obey the bank manager's mercy, walk into the magic cave, and accept the fate of betraying his body and soul. The plot needs, and Billy's difference is that it needs to be reversed, so this transaction cannot be reached.
Ben Mendelson, who played the bank manager Dave in "The Lost River," performed really enchanting, a song and a solo dance, and a single person fully expressed the scene of a group of demons dancing and carnival. Continuing the gloomy temperament in "Father and Son in Deep Prison", there are all kinds of "hunger and thirst" in "The Lost River". For money, look at the cup with money printed on his desk. For desire, the deformed red light district under the night belongs to him. For sex, only plundering and perverted possession can satisfy him. In short, what he interprets is hypocrisy, an unseen activity. Seeing the nightclub run by Dave, I was still in a daze, thinking that "American Horror Story Malformed Show" had moved here.
In fact, nightclubs have the same functions as hospitals, and they contain human flaws. The bully's definition of "blood" was overturned in nightclubs. People who come here to watch the show are not afraid of blood and death, but are excited about it. Yes, killing makes people find the pleasure of paralyzing reality. As long as it is not themselves who die, the blood flowing on the stage will only make them scream in excitement. Of course, people can justify the violence hidden in their hearts, it is just a show, no one really died. But this is the machine that Dave symbolizes, its method of exploiting ordinary people. Bit by bit take away everything you have, and then give you constant numbness of your own happiness and hope. During the day, a person can be a cow to pay back the credit; at night, he can pretend to be a ghost and temporarily surrender to the world.
The script of High Commander is quite innovative. He has created two tenses, one is the past tense and the other is the present tense. It is not difficult to understand that both eras are telling a story-"disappearance". The "utopia" of the past has been buried in the underground water world, and the small town where Billy and the others lived is equivalent to disappearing, and has become an empty city. The final ending is also worth pondering. Billy took the children and successfully escaped from their homes, but Bones' car had burned down, and they had to take a taxi to leave. This can still be interpreted. Rootless drifting is their unchangeable destiny. When they leave, they have nothing, and they are still empty when they go to another place.
Speaking of cars, "Mi He" also put some thought into props. Let’s talk about Bones’ cars. At the very beginning of the movie, the cars represent "mobility." Bones told the old man that he couldn't leave the town right away because the car hadn't been repaired. Billy's note to his son also said "Don't worry." The car is repaired and ready to go on the road, which is defined as the road in two senses, defeating the monster and leaving completely.
In addition, Billy's dagger, before using it to kill Dave, the knife appeared in front of three people. In the taxi, Billy took a knife and said to the driver, "I'm fine." This is a spoiler. This knife is used for self-defense, and one day it may plunge into the body of the bad guy. Bones took the red wallet left by Billy and walked into the nightclub. This is the rhythm of mother and child entering Fumo. Finally, Cat put the red wallet properly there. The answer is basically revealed. Fumo's plan is almost seamless, almost There is no chance of a miss.
In addition to props, "The Lost River" also does language games. Thinking back, the old man who left at the beginning, the little girl Rat, the bully, the bank manager, and the nightclub pillar Cat, as long as they speak, they will definitely reveal the next story. Commander Gao’s lines are all set up in this way. What’s interesting is that the method is so obvious, but there are jumbled editing, which does not cause deliberate feeling. Coupled with the stunning and charming camera lens, the picture feel is too strong to make up for the shortcomings in the editing.
The most eye-catching thing is the picture, the unforgettable thing in the picture is red and fire. The message of the burning bicycle is intimidation, the homeland is buried in the sea of fire, and the fire is an accomplice of the devil. Billy's red hair, red lips, red handbag, red high heels, red skirt, red blood plasma, skinned bloody face, red fire, this is the color of life, the color of violence. The middle is dotted with the "purple color" in the corridor, which symbolizes the power of the Holy Spirit. The high commander's symbols and metaphors are basically complete.
Of course, I won’t say much about the other highlight of the soundtrack. In line with the plot, it is full of affectionateness. Finally, I want to mention the cast of casts that cannot be ignored. This film has done a lot of "face saving". The two faces of the bully and the face are still in my memory. Christina Hendricks is a veritable angel face and devil figure, and her plumpness seems to me quite flavorful. The beautiful Saoirse Ronan would definitely want to cut off the first few shots. The oily light and the small spots in the dark light contrasted with each other. It was only later that she caught her beauty, like a frightened rabbit in the cold tone. Long black hair floated on his shoulders, reflecting the blue sunflower eyes. The horror film queen Barbara Steele is very aggressive, can attract the eye without moving, a photo can scare the camera. High Commander’s child, Eva Mendes, is here to make soy sauce, yes! It's not salty or weak. Ben Mendelson was in the limelight, but he was glamorous and coquettish.
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