From the subject matter, it is easy to think of Harnik’s "funny games", but Chabrol is obviously more responsible than Harnik, not only calmly showing the poor people’s hatred of the middle class, leaving the reason to the audience’s imagination. Instead, it tells a complete story in detail. The director's stance is quite neutral and does not lean towards either side. Unlike "funny games", when I watched it, I really wanted to rush to the TV to choke the two rascals alive.
The biggest contradiction in the story is actually the low-level poor Hu Bell and that middle-class family. The maid Bernier is just a passive role. The director gave a considerable positive portrayal of the two contradictions, but the positive portrayal deeply contained the inevitability of tragedy.
Huber has her own stand and point of view. She participates in charity clubs outside of work and collects donated clothes and daily necessities from middle-class families. However, she clearly sees the hypocrisy of certain families. In the name of caring for the poor, In essence, it is just cleaning up waste products. What they donated is either expired or moldy, or it has no use value at all. She also used her work to open other people's letters privately. In her opinion, this illegal act was only to expose their ulterior privacy. Only after seeing the wealthy and hypocritical middle class, Hubert will continue to win over Bernaire in an attempt to draw a line between her and her master.
However, that middle-class family is actually very good and tolerant. The hostess kept defending Bernell, the maid, saying that she did a good job of cooking, and hoped that her husband and family could see more of her advantages. Accept her. Her daughter is a woman full of fraternity and tolerance. She saw Huberdi's car broke down on the road, and she offered to help. When the daughter found out that Bernell was not literate, she did not accuse her of deceiving, but actively willing to teach her. But she didn't know that in Bernal's heart, guarding this secret is not only to keep the job, but to keep the dignity! So Bernals didn't appreciate it, and instead stabbed his daughter's secret as a threat.
The progress of civilization has changed the educated people, but has not entered the world of the poor at all. Instead, it has made them more inferior, full of prejudice and resentment to view the nourished middle class of life-from the beginning, even to any possible ending. , Bernaire can’t really accept the owner emotionally-even if she receives the best treatment, in her heart, these are two worlds that are completely disjoint, and there is no need to intersect: they can hold a party happily. , You can pretend to enjoy Mozart’s operas, and she only needs to watch gossip entertainment every night and participate in charity clubs that care for the poor. It’s best to get along with each other in peace. Once you feel upset, Then the ending is out of control. So in the end, after she picked up the gun and killed someone, she had to blast the books in the bookshelf fiercely. All the harmony that had been hidden in her heart was completely overturned. This scene was quite profound.
When the two women found out that they had committed an irreparable crime, Hubert left the mess and went away, "forcing" Bernaire to resort to the last resort (this is revised after discussion). The world is so realistic and real. People of different classes have their own rules of survival. Some rely on official positions and status, and some strive for money and status. Most people can only rely on the law, and those who are on the margins of the status quo and psychology may only have the short-term principle of self-interest. Although Huber was poor, he was at least literate, and he still had ideas and positions. In comparison, Bernal was a complete fool. The more foolish the person, the more irrational, so in the end when two people took up guns at the same time. Hubert may have just played it as a fright, but Bernal really pressed the trigger.
In the end, the director still had to express a fair stance, so that most of the audiences protected by the law felt that they were safe. The crimes of the two women were recorded by a tape recorder. One was dead and the other was hiding in darkness. In the forest, the movie ended with a close-up of her face. It was an expressionless face, no fear, no confession, no resentment, nothing.
But I really want to know--but it's hard to guess--what is this woman thinking in her heart at this moment.
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