It is said that narrative has its own characteristics. In fact, there are not many films that are really honest and straightforward. Most of them like to play a little flashback, flashback, and insert a little suspense to whet their appetite, but overall it is still not bad. Seeing Mr. Despair, it’s a great deal, but that one is obviously in Kuso, and instead of treating it as a story, it’s better to read it as a spoof...
But the Wine of Eternal Life is different. I haven't read the original novel, but when I read the TV version, I think it is enough to be used as a textbook and demonstration of novel narratology. Rather than talking about the human face exposed under the eternal life wine in the film as the theme, it is better to say that this thing is the teacher's explanation of 2 apples + 3 apples = 5 apples. The theme is just a prop, just to show you. It is necessary to see how to show it. What is the real theme? I think it’s the two essentials of storytelling that were pointed out in the first chapter: first, the story has no beginning and end; second, every character can (may) be the protagonist.
Regarding the first point, the parallel narratives of 1711, 1930, and 1931 are proof. Each line can be established separately, but each line can be joined with the previous one. Even so, you can't say that any line only exists as a part. According to the above chronological order, the train section should be the most closed section, right? But even so, the director has never tried to show the full picture of what happened on the train. Even if we as the audience see it relatively clearly, there are still many details that can be extended to new branches, and the key is that no one knows in the film. Overall, there may still be new applications for this train incident. This is the sign that there is no beginning and no end. This reminds me of the Jack the Ripper case back then: Even if an eyewitness knew the truth of the case from beginning to end, the impact of the case over hundreds of years of conjecture was beyond his control and unpredictable. This is the absence of the beginning and the end. The new story at the end, as for the case itself, is just a core and an introduction to the original story. Some people say that this film has the narrative of "Pulp Fiction". Well, from the simple timeline, it is indeed a bit, but as a latecomer, its single plot is very dramatic and coherent, unlike "Pulp Fiction." Some accidental places are evaded to the subject's destiny or black humor.
Regarding the second point, it is even more interesting. In a 16-episode anime, there are so many characters with names, surnames and scenes. It really made the audience work a little bit-at least I was watching the film while dragging back to the opening to compare the characters... The key is the scene of each character. It's not light. Let us think about it for ourselves. If you were a director, after knowing the whole story, under traditional circumstances, who would you arrange to be the protagonist? Maiza is the most likely, after all, he is throughout, and a good person in the traditional sense. If you are similar in taste to Carole, you might also choose Firo, a bit evil, handsome and outstanding. Stupid couple? It’s also not bad, it’s just too stupid, it’s only suitable for on-screen roles, not for the protagonist, and it doesn’t match the atmosphere of the whole show. As for Ladd and the child with facial tattoos, the child who has been abused n times, it would be nice to be an important supporting role. But let's see what it is like in the film. Compared with the latter, the first few roles are even somewhat inadequate. If you look at traditional connotation films, such as watching the movie, when you give Ladd to Firo to the battered child in a large part of the scene, you will feel a little uncomfortable-it's like a big face The same perspective to re-shoot steelmaking. But from another perspective, from the perspective of the sentence: every character is (may) be the protagonist, it is much more normal. Shooting like this is just to tell you that from them, there will be scenes, and there may be more interesting scenes. Regarding this, there is a more extraordinary proof, that is, in Chapter 15, the penultimate episode of the whole series, a new role has actually appeared-the narcissistic man with a big wrench, and the director and screenwriter are quite equal to him. lovely. Haha, I'm afraid that the audience is too deep in the plot, so I deliberately use this character to remind me of the existence of the theme.
When it comes to roles, this is actually the reason why I said that this is not a connotation drama, because even the best script, 16 episodes can hardly support so many characters in all aspects. In the shaping of each role, it is mentioned above. The characters that are often overlooked are heavily colored, but the characters who are usually responsible for supporting the mainstay of the theme are relatively weak. In addition, if it is flawed, although Japanese comics have controlled the European and American style for a long time, the portrayal of the characters in the true depiction of the European and American background is sometimes a bit too "Japanese". It seems that some of the characters in this show are a bit exaggerated. This is not an example, but it doesn't matter, because the stuffing in the shell of the character is the same as the apple mentioned above.
In addition to the above two points, what I felt great from the first episode was that in a not-so-kuso film, meta-narrative was actually played. Although after I saw it, I knew what the deputy "director" belonged to, and that it turned out to be a period almost at the same time as the plot in the film took place, but this actually played the role of a novelist. I don’t watch many animations, and I can’t say that it’s innovative, but at least this one is really wonderful. It is even more appropriate to relate to the above two themes.
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