In the fog-filled countryside, at dawn, the lights in the windows were on. In a sense, the scenery of northern England in the movie is already a main character, both good and evil, pushing them towards each other while interacting with the two male protagonists. In the post-screening discussion salon, the brawny man who has lived in Yorkshire for many years said that what impressed him the most was that the film showed a real northern England. It is completely different from the gentle manor lined with trees. It is isolated, dilapidated, muddy, cold and dangerous. Just like the director Francis Lee said, what he wanted to show was the English country he was familiar with when he grew up. There is no countryside and freedom, but sometimes it makes people feel cruel and oppressive. This is another level of beauty.
The British Film Association has been committed to supporting local, recent filmmakers and independent works in recent years. "The Kingdom of God" is just the latest wave of this "new wave" in the English countryside. Last year, the female director Hope Dickson Leach's "The Leveling" described the heroine returning to the flood-stricken farm after the death of her brother, facing her family and childhood again. Earlier examples include the 2011 edition of Wuthering Heights by Andrea Arnold. This film is my big love and was also taken in Yorkshire. The unspoken figures in the handheld camera lens and the dark and cold northern England environment are exactly the same as in "The Kingdom of God". On the one hand, there must be practical considerations of saving transportation, accommodation, and venue rental. On the other hand, it is also an important means for the UK to strengthen the identity of historical traditions while promoting multiculturalism.
The countryside in the British hinterland accepts a Romanian. Under the current political environment, it is difficult not to interpret it from the perspective of opposing Brexit, especially considering the fact that Yorkshire voted for Brexit. At least as the only yellow skin in the theater, I followed Gheorghe's emotions the first time I watched it. I even felt that it was possible for the locals to appreciate the beauty here more deeply through my eyes. However, the director said that when writing the script, even the concept of a referendum did not exist, and only wanted to focus on immigrant labor. "Foreign labor is an important factor in maintaining the operation of these local communities... It is important for me to show that a foreign national worker with positive power and ideas becomes the one who saves the world."
Whether it is British "Brokeback Mountain" or not, the sex in the film The scene is quite remarkable. In this regard, a mother who watched the same movie said very well: "My son is gay. I can accept this fact, but I can't think about it, especially when he has sex with other men. But then again, even if I am very to good heterosexual friends, I do not want to see them make love. but today the film house paragraphs sex scene does not make me uncomfortable, I feel very natural. now think about it, I feel like I can better understand son. "
from the beast's Rough to gradually sensual physical interaction, the love between the two is born of sex, evolving slowly in the inactive and clear lens, and it is hot, but it does not feel that it has been deliberately constructed. Such a sex scene, if it is in a heterosexual film, can be hidden from the sky and not noticed. This is a compliment to the director. His habit of weakening words and strengthening the picture gives the character's body unlimited possibilities, especially in the performance of Johnny's transformation from abusing his sexual ability to learning to use part of the body to test and even express feelings. He is lonely and drunk, but he is not incomplete. Gheorghe guided him to look at his surroundings through a new perspective, so that he knew how to care for his body, and thus communicate with his family. Touching his father with his fingers in the hospital was the watershed of this transformation.
From the day cinema verite was born in France, filmmakers have been tirelessly consolidating the agenda setting of fictional stories in documentary methods, but the main means are nothing more than handheld cameras, non-professional actors and plot clues that confuse reality and reality. In recent years, there has been another new trend, which is to show the process of work in real time, which includes the skills mastered by the character. From the live singing of the movie "Les Miserables", the high commander of the "City of Philharmonic" playing the piano to the large number of modeling and carving passages in "Rodin", the filmmakers did not hesitate to invest money and time to train actors and make full props. In terms of avoiding the camera switch between the stand-in and the actors to make the tricky audience play, the more important thing is to enhance the appeal of the film through precise details and improvisational actions. In "The Kingdom of God", we see characters build stone walls, auction cows, and deliver babies to sheep. The two most moving moments came from the scene where Gheorghe took care of the lamb. One was the newly delivered, dying lamb suddenly jumping up and down after he kept rubbing it, and the other was when he peeled off the dead lamb and made it like a cotton jacket. Set on the thin lamb. The director's calm shots prevented the audience from sending out the "oh~~" in the melodrama, but the audience sighed quietly at each of these two episodes—their hearts had gone with Gheorghe.
Although the screenwriter guide of the day trip insisted that Yorkshire is called "the country of God" without any deep background meaning (he said naughty "because our place is beautiful!"), a search on the Internet can reveal more than one place. This title (including Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and New Zealand), but some religious metaphors are still revealed in the film. For example, Gheorghe brought the lamb back to life, and Johnny hurt his palm. Thinking further, the Romanians, as the "invaders" of this family, seem to echo the role of Terence Stamp in Pasolini's 1968 classic Theorem. Of course, the latter is a cynical angel/devil. In this work, outsiders are low-key, sincere, and perfect saviors. But in the end, both stories broke the barriers between class and race.
The South Bank screening made me feel touched to find the organization. I have never seen such a lovely and high-quality audience. There was no mobile phone light from start to finish, and everyone sat upright, without the slightest noise. The young man with glasses on my right has not moved his upper body from start to finish, only his arms have changed two positions, so focused that he wants to see through the screen. When the film was about to start, the exit was bright, and an elderly man was pushed in a wheelchair to settle on the edge of the first row. At every ingenious turning point of sorrow and joy, there will always be audiences sighing and empathizing. Even in the post-screening session with film critics, the truly successful and inspiring comments come from the audience. At the same time, Caspar Salmon, the film critic of Little White Lies, repeatedly expressed his passion for the filming at the end and for a better and more fairy tale.
As for the dissatisfaction with the film, I only have one, which is the soundtrack. In fact, there are two soundtracks in the whole film, which I think is completely superfluous. The emotional impact of the actors and scenery in the shot is enough, but the music is distracting. There is no suspense. After I expressed this point of view, the film critic thought about it in silence, and then said confusedly that he hadn't noticed the soundtrack... If I didn't realize it, the film would be perfect. Good for her.
For independent films, international box office is not the goal, and film festival awards are also unpredictable. "The Kingdom of God" uses a simple story to map many major themes. It has both awards and word-of-mouth, strong publicity, and a long-lasting release. It is a rare success story and it is enough to illuminate the future of independent film development on related themes. road.
My journey went to York in the middle of the month, and Patrick Wolf’s singing repeatedly consolidated the situation in the film, and there was more than enough meaning. So in the land where the film was filmed and the story happened, I revisited it again. The second time I watched the movie, the cold wind, fog, heather, low stone walls and undulating terrain of Yorkshire were already empathetic in memory.
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