"Shadow" is a stand-in image and the historical situation of the struggle for power, which always reminds people of Akira Kurosawa's "Shadow Warrior."
Zhang Yimou himself has stated many times that his style pursuit of ritual posture and visual beauty in film creation was influenced by the emperor. For example, "Hero" borrows from the narrative structure of "Rashomon", and imitates the use of color philosophy in "Chaos" and "Shadow Warrior".
However, when Zhang Yimou really put the core of his favorite "shadow" into a Chinese story and put it on the Chinese screen, I will find that this time he and the master have gone completely two ways.
This, of course, is not derogatory.
The same interesting philosophical thinking of "where there is no real shadow", "Shadow Warrior" writes "Samurai", while "Shadow" writes "Shadow" itself. Kurosawa Akira’s avatar story uses a avatar to present the illusion of life and the desolation of life, placing historical and spiritual tragedy above personal tragedy; while Zhang Yimou’s shadow story focuses on the sudden change of the character’s fate, using him In other words, it lies in the rebellion of human nature.
Therefore, "Shadow Warrior" is a performance of one person and one era. Shingen Takeda's "shadow" lost its value from the beginning. From the beginning to the end, the film uses the illusion produced by the combination of the substitute and the real body, expressing the tragic theme of the individual's disappearance, the ups and downs of mountains and rivers, and the loneliness of the times. In "Shadow", Ziyu and his "shadow" Jingzhou appear as two people from beginning to end, and the film ends with "shadow" acquiring self-worth. The subtle feelings of true and false, on the surface, come from the two deities and stand-ins played by Deng Chao separately, but in fact, it is reflected through the concealment and reverse disclosure of human nature. In Zhang Yimou's case, the "shadow" has become an individual, neither a real person nor a substitute. The plot of resistance of the enslaved makes the role popular, and its artistic effects are naturally equal in pros and cons.
The advantage lies in the performance of the "shadow" given to the soul, the contest between the heart-smoothed by profit, the loss of power, and the true body, and the conspiracy fight between the two of them and with a third party. For the film, there is no doubt Adding more complex antagonisms, and also being able to focus on the emotional scale of the characters-this is Zhang Yimou's strengths. Similarly, the dramatic effect caused by the intense collision of characters can constitute a complete silver screen attraction.
The downside is that the story of the film is based on the resistance of the enslaved and reflected in the counterattack experience of the poor and small people, and it will inevitably reveal stinginess and mediocrity. Attached to the plot and ended up in a more popular conspiracy confrontation, so that the film loses some grand style.
However, Guo Shi chose the right style of painting for "Shadow" this time.
The overhead background is again in the story of the Three Kingdoms, and that little-known conspiracy was all sealed by Zhang Yimou in this "red ink and ink" painting. There is a sense of national geomantic omen, a subtle and fluid beauty, and there is no shortage of murderous, alternating cold and warm crises.
The bamboo forest, the yin and yang of the landscape, the soft martial arts, the tough desire, and the unknown chess game, these elements that appear in "Shadow" are all the "shadows" brought out by the national masters.
Born out of "Shadow Warrior", but got rid of Kurosawa Akira's "shadow", Zhang Yimou, who is accustomed to expressing emotions with large color blocks, this time uses Chinese painting watercolor to color the "dark shadow" in his heart, which extends the "shadow" The multiple images of ".
The several assassinations and fights in the film were not positively shown. Instead, the plane of the figure and figure is overlapped on the screen. Which is true and false? Such vague and weak brushstrokes are showing the relationship between the substitute and the body. And what is the nature of the "frontal" challenge that the Ziyu faction meticulously conspired to challenge the Yang family's father and son?
The boundary between justice and despicableness is precisely the dust at the intersection of black and white. It can go towards the thick black ink, or it can fade out silently to become white.
Therefore, Zhang Yimou's "Shadow" is full of human sadness. He no longer expresses the magnificent mountains and rivers with colorful colors, but tries to describe the individual person with gloom. The ending of "Shadow Warrior" is a long and tragic ending. But the end of "Shadow" can be the beginning of an update competition. Kurosawa Akira's thick ink appears in the dream of the substitute, carrying the voice of life that his puppet has not yet arrived; Zhang Yimou's ink and wash blend in the rise and growth of the character, and are wetted by the real blood.
It's like a weapon soaked in the rain. The original umbrella and the compassionate rain, the strong strength of the iron blade along the umbrella and the sadness of continuous rain, combined with black and white mist, hardness and softness.
This time, Zhang Yimou used rain to express his compassion and sighed with light ink. Here, the emotions of the characters are recreated in the beating of blood and water, and the confrontation between the "shadow" and the real body is hidden in it, which can not be said clearly.
This ambiguous and unclear emotional state exerts its own strength in every part of the film, and there are many questions.
For example, Ziyu's substitute Jingzhou, when and under what circumstances did he fall in love with his real wife? For example, Ziyu's wife played by Sun Li, did she really fall in love with her husband's substitute? What kind of attitude does she have when she reverses one after another at the end? For example, Ziyu, who peeped at his double and had sex with his wife, did he murder Jingzhou's mother because of this or just because of this?
And, the most obvious is the secret speculation and psychological rivalry between Ziyu and Jingzhou.
At the end of the film, facing the sharp edge of Jingzhou, Ziyu sees two different scenes through the two eyes of the mask: one is Jingzhou coming from with a knife, and the other is a scene of affair he has seen.
Half death, half fear, humiliation and anger.
What is the most afraid of people who have a stand-in? They are most afraid of making fakes come true, and they are afraid of being replaced by "shadows". The replacement of the real body is often regarded as the boldest and darkest idea that a stand-in/"shadow"/clone, etc. can have. An idea that has been given the evil of human nature.
But is it evil to deal with the "shadow" fighting bloody battles and reap the rewards by himself, or is it evil to be unwilling to try to find his own Jingzhou?
Or, this is not an era in which "good and evil" can be simply concluded, nor is it a story in which right and wrong can be distinguished, and wins and losses can be distinguished.
Therefore, the film came to an abrupt end. This ending is an undecided chess game, an open space that is inseparable from reality and fiction for the audience. At this time, we can't help but wonder whether it is the real body or the "shadow" that is dead?
"Shadow" focuses not only on the separation and joys of life and death, but also the fear and desire in people's hearts. This sentiment was presented by Zhang Yimou's gentle ink washes between black and white, but the coldness was not weak at all. Compared with the past, this is indeed a big attempt by the national teacher to Fan Zhijian, and it is also his personal pursuit of the idol Akira Kurosawa.
Of course, regardless of the performance of the actors (especially the honeyed grin of Guan Xiaotong's eldest princess before she hangs) or the focus on perspective, "Shadow" has some problems. However, his rich emotional display and creative artistic conception have made "Shadow" break away from the old track of straightforward commercial blockbusters, and completed the "return" of the national teacher to the concrete Chinese culture and aesthetic rituals.
This article was first published on the WeChat public account [MOVIE Muwei], welcome to follow.
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