"I want the movie to look real, like a flowing river."
The director said. Watching the movie, you can really feel the weight of this sentence on the screen.
Chinese audiences should be more familiar with Richard Linklater's "Love Before Dawn". His first feature film "Urban Ronin" made him an instant hit in the United States, and this low-cost independent film not only encouraged many young directors to try low-cost movies, but also let the "Urban Ronin" Nouns have entered mainstream American culture. From "Urban Ronin" to the trilogy of "Love Is in" that we know later, to "Boyhood", what he has been doing is sticking to himself. As the director himself said, "In fact, we can't do anything else except ourselves." In recent years, the entire Chinese market has been smashed everywhere, asking for "storytelling." Marketing people say they want to "tell stories." Those who do literary work out this story plan and that story plan, not to mention those who do movies. The three, five, and seven acts have been combined and praised in such a bombastic way. It is estimated that many people will become "professionals". person". Thinking of this movie one day, I decided to write something for it. I don’t know if it is possible to make "story" admirers jump out of the "story frame" and see how the world can be presented in a variety of ways. "Pretty cool" is the word that comes to my mind to describe this movie when I saw it halfway through. Because this movie didn't! have! Therefore! thing! . Moreover, there is no love! Festival! And lord! Horn! The director once said frankly: "I didn't intend to tell a story at all."
If you have seen Linklater's "Trilogy of Love," then he should be no stranger to his characteristic: a large number of lines. The two talked as they walked, and they collided with love sparks as they chatted. (Think about it carefully, the love trilogy basically has no story, no plot, only the two protagonists are identified, and the chat is still a mess). At the beginning of the movie "Urban Ronin", a young man talked about his dreams in a taxi and made a 4-minute monologue. After getting out of the car, he encountered a car accident: another young man drove into his mother. . The camera followed the young man driving, going home, lighting candles, burning cards, and being taken away by the police. Perhaps this will give people the illusion that this may be the beginning of the story, and the next story should be about why a young man hit his mother by car. not at all. The next shot followed the young people on the street and listened to the communication between them. "Urban Ronin" presents the director's personal characteristics and the prototype of his style, which is "chat" . Almost the whole movie is talking. Talking to yourself, peddling, neurotic, etc. Unlike the "Trilogy of Love" that we liked later, the footage of this movie follows the wandering people in the city, from A to B to C to DE... They will say hello when they meet, and they will take the initiative to chat. Some are Talking to yourself, some are not expressing the meaning, some are talking with ducks, and some are paying attention. These "chats" took place in the streets and alleys, in group rented houses, in couples' beds, and in bookstores.
From these people who seem to be in a hurry and have their own thoughts, whether young or old, whether men or women, together they construct the appearance of this city, and together they form the sum of such a group of people, namely "Slacker" (Title: Urban ronin, English translated as: people who evade work or duties; or young people who are dissatisfied, indifferent, cynical, or lacking in ambition). They talk about life or the current situation, talk about art or real dreams, they communicate and sell themselves. They talked about topics or news that they care about or inexplicable: when will they land on Mars, the life they have just returned from the drug rehabilitation center, Madonna pap smears, how couples get along, stepfathers of alcoholics and domestic violence mothers, attitudes towards voting and work ...This movie is like a "urban group portrait", with no shortage of idle and idle young people, as well as problematic youths, weird people, and angry youths. With the existence of young people in these states, it is not difficult to imagine that this movie is reflecting the state of the times: during the US economic recession from 1990 to 1991, these people who "don't know why" have become real experiencers. Everyone has empty pockets, drinking Coke and beer, and walking and talking while holding glasses.
Going back to the movie itself, judging from the intensity of the lines, it is understandable to suspect that the director is talking about tuberculosis or autism. Of course, he is not the kind of disorganized, unnourished one. So, this movie is not only the best choice for movie lovers who like to "watch people and chat", but also for those who learn English! (I'm serious, haha) Listening to what they are saying seriously seems to be saying that it is closely related to life, and it seems very absurd. For example, on TV (voice-over), the police asked a man: "You deny that you killed your girlfriend, but you cut her open, did you?" The man replied, "I didn't cut her open, I just washed her. The bones... because the bones are already stinky." The girl turned off the TV and leaned on the bed and said to her boyfriend, "The weather is so good, let's go out and play by the lake!" The boyfriend replied, "This kind of weather is really depressing. , You have to prepare sunscreen and pesticides when you go out. This is like premeditated joy. And it's very hot outside now..." said a serious chicken and duck.
This movie has no story, only the characters and their living conditions, just as the director said:
Want to make the movie look real.
The most real thing is life itself. There is no protagonist, no main story, no ups and downs of emotions, and no contradictions that make people blush. The dense lines construct their life content, and the seemingly ordinary actions (wandering on the bed at home, or repairing the car) construct their living conditions. Their sum is a group and a reflection of an era. It seems that the director follows, records, and reacts with a camera. You will see freaks: people who talk to themselves for more than 4 minutes in a taxi, people who hit their mother in a car, people who live in the TV world with a TV on their back, people who sell Madonna’s uterus slices , A person who does radio programs while driving. It shuttles between different characters and leads the audience into different worlds quickly. It allows you to understand the existence of some alternative people. You will see the poetry and absurdity of real life through these people .
Linklater's view is: "Movies have no stories, they are purely structural designs." Even if this counter-mainstream approach is extremely risky, it may cause the film to lose money, or even be spurned, but he insists on his way of presentation. He wrote the "script" of this movie in 24 hours, presenting a 24-hour portrayal of life in a town. With an investment of US$23,000 for the entire film, he maxed out his credit card and made a crazy bet. Many things should only be obeyed by oneself. Hope these can inspire you who are creating.
Finish.
Text丨Photo of Yuetong丨Video Screenshot
This article was originally published on the official account of "Sugar Cinema" (WeChat ID: BrilliantFilms), and you are eagerly welcome your attention.
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