For movie fans, predicting the annual Oscars is the most exciting thing.
After watching the live broadcast, it has become a self-cultivation for every fan of this year's award-winning list.
But there are always one or two films. Although I did not get the Golden Man "as I wish", it is still a existence that I can't give up. For example, last year's "Nocturnal Animals", I wrote an article specifically for it: "Night Walk" Animals: The biggest loser of this year's Oscars is also worth seeing .
For this year’s Oscar nominations, there is a movie shortlisted with Muslim elements, an animated film about the Taliban era in Afghanistan, "The Breadwinner" (the Breadwinner).
The Oscars of the past two years are really a grand anti-Trump demonstration in the literary and artistic circles. For example, last year's best foreign language was given to "Salesman", and the director Asha Fahati was from Iran. Not long ago, Trump issued an executive order prohibiting the issuance of visas to Muslim citizens of seven countries, including Iran. Ashar became the only Golden Man winner last year-due to "objective reasons"-who could not go to the scene to accept the award.
As we all know, Trump has constantly proposed various harsh policies against Muslims from campaigning to taking office. "Restricted entry" is the climax of his anti-Muslim movement. However, the Oscar judges insisted on the premise that they knew that the director could not enter the country. Give the little golden man to Asha...it's a slap in the face.
So this movie caught my attention as soon as it appeared in the nomination.
What attracted me to know about it was the movie poster, the fantasy exotic background, a girl, wearing a monochrome shirt, staring at the front with big eyes, a loose headscarf, high nose and deep eyes, wide eyes and thin eyebrows, the depressed color matching, and the innocence of vicissitudes of life. Formed a kind of eye-catching contrast.
Compared to other major productions in the animation nominations, "the Breadwinner" is still a niche art film. Although unfortunately it failed, it is still my favorite in the heart of this Oscar that I want to recommend to my friends. .
In Afghanistan under the Taliban, women are not allowed to go to the streets, buy any goods, or communicate with outsiders. The movie started in this atmosphere. Parvana took to the street and was found to be a girl. The owner of the rice shop shouted in anger-"Get out, let your father or brother come", and was almost caught by a group of gangsters. After several struggles, he fled home in a hurry.
It turned out that Pawana’s father was suddenly arrested and imprisoned. Only the groaning mother, the grown-up sister and the ignorant younger brother were left in the family. The food stocks were decreasing day by day, and hunger forced Pawana to venture out to buy food. The scene at the beginning of the movie.
For the survival of the whole family, Pawana finally decided to cut off her long hair, put on a white hat, and pretended to be a little boy for the survival of the whole family, because only in this way can she buy food from the rice shop and cover her eyes and earn money. He even searched around for news to rescue his father.
In many movie symbols, long hair represents an inherent role traditionally set for women. In the movie "Wrestling Dad", the cut hair represents the father's determination to let his daughter practice wrestling to get out of the small place, and in "the Breadwinner", Parvana voluntarily asks to cut her long hair, which represents that she will take responsibility for herself. Determination.
The most ingenious is that besides the main line of realist narrative, there is a side line of romanticism that goes on at the same time. In order to appease the younger brother, Pawana told him a fairy tale before going to bed: a boy who didn't know the height of the sky, decided to save the village and chose to fight the elephant demon who stole the food alone. The boy met the mysterious old woman and directed him to find three things, but he was chased by a monster. A little girl, disguised as a man, could not be without fear in her heart when she might be caught and taken away at any time.
And the most advanced part of the movie is to use this story told by Pawana herself to carry all the inner world that cannot be expressed through the external plot. This method of expression directly allowed that movie to rise from a qualified cartoon to an outstanding artistic cartoon that can match the Little Golden Man.
Every time the side-line paper-cut style appears, it is a time when desperation spreads. The fear of the little boy in the story is Pawana's inner fear. Parvana used her brother's name as the boy's name. This means that when her elder brother died, Pawana had already placed herself in the position of replacing her elder brother and assumed the responsibility of taking care of her family.
The narrative of this kind of film is like a magnificent symphony. The two branches in the early stage meander each other, and at the end, all the instruments play the most breathtaking chords, which are summarized on the final theme: the story. The boy found the mirror and defeated the elephant; while Pawana faced the fear in her heart and rescued her father.
Director Tomei said in an interview: "The sense of responsibility of Afghan children to family and friends is completely different from our culture based on individualism. This story is new to me, but it is common in that environment. My mission or The biggest challenge is to make this special story ordinary in the movie."
In Afghanistan, where the film is located, in the Taliban-ruled area, Muslim fundamentalism has recovered. Under the tide of feminism in the 21st century, Afghan women are treated as men’s accessories.
All the plots in the movie are happening in reality. A Spanish journalist once went to Afghanistan and wrote a report after returning, which detailed that they did not have the right to education, and all girls’ schools were closed; they were not allowed to go out to work and shop, and were not allowed to interact with society in any way; there was no marriage. , Because their marriage is nothing but the business of father and brother.
The reporter also talked about some sensational things. For example, they had to wear soft-soled shoes without heels and they had to walk quietly, because the sound of footsteps was regarded as "sexual provocation"; if they were accused of "adultery", they would be beaten. Paralyzed or even killed directly; if you want to prove that you were raped, you must find at least four witnesses, or you will be flogged.
Their clothes only exposed some net-like holes in the eyes, and the light was only enough to see things, and their hands could not show the robes.
How do we imagine the lives of these women? Think they are pitiful?
Women in the Islamic world have always been a forbidden zone. People who don't understand rely on news to imagine them, and the veil covers the cultural gap that cannot be crossed. From the Middle East, to China, to Europe and the United States, Muslim women in every place are facing varying degrees of political and religious repression.
Sometimes, I feel that it is precisely because of the self-tame of Muslim women that, in the eyes of others, they carry a kind of "self-willing and depravity", so the attention to them not only arouses empathy, but also brings a kind of empathy. A kind of condescending contempt that the bystander cannot detect. The Western world still has a subtle fear of heterogeneous culture towards Muslims.
This complex unknown mixed with contempt and fear is exactly the stereotype that many people project on the injustice suffered by Muslim women. The exaggeration of the media has naturally caused many Western citizens to reject Muslims. This is why Trump's anti-Muslim policies have been supported by many people.
But this movie shows us the other side under the veil.
Every woman inside is an individual who makes me feel real: a gentle sister who strongly opposes her sister’s adventures, but in the end cut her long hair with her own hands; sees through the tricks of relatives, and finally fights to protect her children. Strong mother, and unruly Pawana.
Pawana represents the most vigorous new individual in Afghanistan. She is a special Afghan girl. She was educated briefly before the war completely broke out. Her father who was arrested was a teacher. At the same time, the extreme pressure brought by the food shortage and famine broke through the traditional ethics. Her last bondage.
When she met her old classmate who was also dressed as a man, we found out that Pawana was not special. In a world where wars are raging and the Taliban are cruelly suppressed, Muslim girls have a desire for freedom and a sense of responsibility for their family. And the extraordinary courage, are admirable.
Through "the Breadwinner", many people will learn for the first time that even in Afghanistan, not all women are willing to be masked as vassals, but also have family members who remain open-minded; it turns out that the religious society that is faintly rejected by us, There are internal informants who are supervising and hostile to each other, and there are also strangers who are full of human touch; it turns out that in the darkest places, as long as people have seen the light, they will desperately pursue the direction of the light.
The film seems to send a vague signal: The Islamic world is not unchangeable, and sufficient education and social changes can help Muslim women to walk out of a new future.
As Director Tomei said, although the movie "the Breadwinner" is based on a seemingly special story and uses the Taliban to render a special background, the story is actually very ordinary. The restraint of narration strips right-wing prejudice and white-left sympathy, giving the audience an objective and comprehensive presentation.
To understand is always a lot harder than keeping the guard out of the door.
The Trump administration can set a ban, but it cannot stop people who are willing to learn the truth.
The world is big, and some places are far away from us. We can see the world through the eyes of others.
And the movie is the best eye.
As a person outside the cultural field, perhaps the greatest good thing we can do is to understand them sincerely through such eyes.
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