Female director Clio Barnard is well-known in the documentary world. "The Selfish Giant" is an independent feature film written and directed by her, which is about the British society at the bottom The images of the film appear to have a documentary effect, as if reproduced the most real side of the bottom society in the most primitive way, and the solemnity of the film picture, the suppression of the atmosphere, the abruptness of the narrative in the second half, and the cruelty of the story all make This film does not look like it was made by a woman.
If you look at this world from the perspective of a child with a rebellious consciousness from the bottom, you will find that the world is very unpleasant. The UK in the film, a country that once promoted the development of industrialization due to the appearance of the steam engine, appears to be depressed and unpopular in the post-industrial era. The sky is low and gloomy, the streets are bleak and dilapidated, and the family is fragmented. The people around (except for a few) are not friendly, and the nature of wanting to be free is likely to gradually evolve into a tragedy in such a stagnant environment. Tragedies that happen to children often have a particularly strong shocking effect. If a sudden vicious incident occurs to a relatively meek child, its lethality will be doubled.
In the film, the 13-year-old bottom boy Arbor has the label of all the bad students that make school teachers headaches. However, don’t be too busy to judge Arbor like the teacher. The world of this boy’s life is already riddled with holes, not to mention that he still suffers from uncontrollable emotions. The terrible disease that broke out, when he was sick, only his good friend Swifty could wake him up. Swifty is a honest and kind-hearted child and Arbor’s only friend. Swifty was born in a poor family where the children were frustrated. His father had the image and temperament of men at the bottom, while the weak mother hoped that Swifty’s knowledge would change destiny. ".
Two teenagers, a single parent, a tired family, their appearance and temperament also seem to be two extremes, a thin and short temper, a relatively fat tall man is gentle, violent personality Arbor only has the friendship of Swifty, so he especially cherishes. It's just that the low-level school can't be a calm place. This exceptional cherishment has caused them to be suspended...
The film uses metaphors in many places to express the main creative’s expressive intentions. For example, the title "Selfish Giant" is a metaphor. In the name of Wilde's fairy tale masterpiece, the audience is always thinking about who is talented. It’s a selfish giant. Perhaps some people think it’s Arbor, who thinks that his selfishness and bad temper have ruined everything. Some people think it’s Kitten, the boss of the junkyard, who thinks that his exploitation of children directly caused the tragedy. In fact, he will be "selfish. "The Giant" is set as this increasingly decayed social system, and it seems that it would be more appropriate. Unfortunately, this "giant" in reality will not be changed by being inspired, except for one or two lucky ones. In addition, the people at the bottom can never change their destiny. They are squeezed out when they are educated, they are disadvantaged in the streets and lanes, and they will not get a decent job when they grow up. In the fairy tale, the tall place like the "Giant's Garden" has never been with them. . In today's world where the gap between the rich and the poor is growing, the slums are like a forgotten corner, and the banished areas, the police have only come out symbolically and formulaically twice.
The horses in the film also have a certain metaphorical effect. They are hardworking while being lashed out. In the era of the popularization of automobiles, their status is no longer in the past, and the power of being reduced to scrap cars seems to be a good way out. The kind-hearted Swifty is an expert in horse training. He is a person who treats horses as friends and knows their temperament, but in a despicable neighborhood, he doesn’t need too many emotional people. When there is a picture of a horse being electrocuted by high voltage in the film, The audience has faintly foreseeing the future direction of the story, but when it is cruelly presented, they are still abused to the point that they can't breathe.
Regarding Arbor's future, one can foresee that he may be the next Kitten. Kitten took the initiative and was detained by the police. It seemed that he saved the young Arbor, but as a child in a slum, a child who was expelled from school, he did not have many options. It is already an ideal for him to become Kitten. It turned out.
Once, little friend Swifty said to Arbor when burning the cable: "You sound like Kitten." After reading this, recalling this sentence, it felt as if a helpless fatalism was at work.
(Magazine manuscript)
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