Among the new generation of directors who emerged in Taiwan in the early 1980s, Yang Dechang's works are known for their strength of rational thinking. His "A Day at the Beach" (1983), "Childhood Friends" (1985), "Terrorist" (1986), made a profound and unique analysis of the distorted appearance of interpersonal relationships in contemporary Taiwanese cities, as well as people's mental depression and anxiety. Interpretation. After five years of silence, Yang Dechang, with his simple and quiet tragic brushstrokes, brought a real teenage murder in Taipei in the early 1960s to the screen, and analyzed the second generation of so-called "outsiders" who came to Taiwan from the mainland. The "historical complex", which is constantly cut and unreasonable, embodies the author's unforgettable reflection on that piece of history that has been almost forgotten by people. It can be said that this is another important work with the significance of "Taiwan epic" after Hou Hsiao-hsien's "City of Sadness".
As far as the narrative style and style of the film mirror language are concerned, Yang Dechang, who has returned from studying in the United States, is indeed quite different from Hou Hsiao-hsien, who grew up on the island of Taiwan. If we say that Hou Hsiao-hsien's composition of mirror language is more "heavy and rustic" of Taiwan's mainland, it is active with a characteristic of "checking things first" and tending to capture perceptually; while Yang Dechang's handling of mirror images has "sharp modernity" Sense", which is active with a characteristic of "knowledge comes first" and is biased towards rational analysis. In the excavation of the narrative connotation of "Guling Street Teenage Murder Incident", Yang Dechang still maintains his consistent sharpness of rational examination. Through the tragedies of the growth of Xiaosi, Xiaoming and other teenagers, it shows a dark and desperate age, reflecting the In the early 1960s, the social turmoil and crisis in Taipei under the high-pressure politics. However, in terms of narrative style, an extraordinary change has taken place. The tone is no longer calm and alienated. The whole film incorporates "Zhizhi" into "Gewu". In the vivid artistic images such as Xiao Si and Xiao Ming, the author is very Rich life experience and feelings. This is a very meaningful transformation of style—or can be named as "maturity of style", which reflects that Yang Dechang tends to be more plain and dignified when he reconstructs the aesthetics of reality, and there is no lack of master-like calmness.
The narrative creativity and profoundness of this film is that it takes a tragic love affair between two growing young men and women as the main axis, and it is deduced and spread layer by layer, reconstructing a whole suffocating tragic era. The juvenile homicide as a historical prototype happened in Taipei in the 1960s. A student named Mao Wu, in the second class of the night school of Jianguo Middle School, followed her to Guling Street when he returned from school because of his girlfriend's love affair. In the five lanes, instead of having a final sincere talk and breaking up, he was murdered and stabbed seven times in a row, and the girl was killed on the spot. At that time, the news media used the "bad juvenile murder case" for a while, which shocked the entire Taiwanese society at that time. That year, Yang Dechang was 14 years old and was studying in the second class of the night department of the same middle school. It can be said that this real juvenile homicide is precisely an inseparable part of his teenage life experience.
As Yang Dechang explained when answering the reporter's interview: "Actually, this murder case is not that important to me, the important thing is that I look at this era from this murder case. Things that need to be explained.” It is from this conscious sense of historical mission that the film is not limited to the curious description or dramatic romance of this murder, but is closely related to the specific politics of Taiwan in the early 1960s. , social atmosphere and humanistic outlook, interweaving the world of teenagers with the world of adults and started an artistic depiction. It was clearly seen that Xiao Si turned out to be a good student who studied diligently and worked hard. However, from family, school to society, they have not provided him with a healthy growth environment. Initially, he had been out of the gang disputes between teenagers, and he was not afraid of threats or violence against him by slickers and others - such as refusing to cheat in exams, refusing to give up his love for Xiao Ming, etc. However, his lonely, helpless and immature heart could not bear the pressure from the outside world.
The film depicts Xiao Si’s mentality three times in a detailed and emotional way, overlappingly revealing the third degree of disillusionment in Xiao Si’s spirit: ① The school has twice imposed rude and indiscriminate punishments on him (recording major demerits and ordering him to drop out of school), which caused him to become disillusioned. The disillusionment of the teacher’s idol in the middle school; ② his father’s mental apathy due to political persecution caused the disillusionment of his father’s idol; ③ Xiao Ming’s helplessness in his life situation caused him to empathize again and again, causing the disillusionment of his youth idol. In this absurd and suffocating social atmosphere, Xiao Si was on the verge of spiritual impasse, and turned to Hani, the gang leader, as a heroic idol. After Hani was killed, he was not only involved in the whirlpool of gang fights for Hani's revenge, but also re-named himself in the name of Hani. When he finally begged Xiao Ming to change his mind, he said: "I am your only hope now, just like Hani used to be. Same... Now, I'm Hani!" But Xiao Ming categorically refused, Xiao Si finally took a self-destructive murder action in emotional despair. It is also a bloody ritual for him to bury heroic idols and bury his desperate life.
In this film, the characters written by Yang Dechang are no longer some kind of cold life symbols, but artistic images full of palpable and tactile realistic vitality and reflecting multiple social connotations. The group of teenagers represented by Xiao Si, Xiao Ming, Hani, Slick, Xiao Ma, etc., all have unique personalities and flesh and blood, which vividly confirms such a turbulent, depressing and desperate historical era. Xiao Ming, who is loved by the fourth child, has a family with the lowest economic status in the military dependents’ village. Her father passed away and her mother worked as a servant. She often changes employers with her mother and moves again and again. Difficult situation. Constrained by this living situation, she subconsciously developed a kind of attachment to men, like duckweed, she wandered among Hong Mao, Hani, Slick, and then she fell in love with Xiao Si, Empathy Pony. She was filled with despair in her heart, and her final answer to Xiao Si was: "Want to change me? I'm just like this world, and this world will not change." Obviously, Yang Dechang did not attempt to make a difference to the characters in the play. A simple moral evaluation, but with a sympathetic brush, to give tolerance and understanding to these helpless and helpless young characters who died before they reached adulthood, thus triggering people to reflect on this historical period.
The adult world around Xiao Zhou seemed to be shrouded in a white nightmare. Xiao Si's father and mother were part of the millions of Chinese who moved to Taiwan with Chiang Kai-shek's government in 1949, and they followed him just to get a salary. One is a civil servant who is self-denying and serving the public, and the other is a teacher who serves as an example. Just because of this historical connection with the mainland, my father was arrested by the garrison headquarters for interrogation for no reason. When he returned home, his spirit was broken; because his mother did not bring the relevant education certificate to Taiwan, she can only serve as a "substitute teacher". Worry about the rice bowl. All of this has left a deep imprint on Xiao Si's mind. Through the fate of Xiao Si and his family, there are some autobiographical spiritual projections of Yang Dechang. As one of the screenwriters of the play, Yan Hongya once said: "In fact, the protagonist's family background, ups and downs in school, film experience, and even the impression of first love can be said to be the transformation of Director Yang's juvenile past." Compared with his previous works, his prominence and interest are not difficult to understand."
The modeling concept of this film can be described as original, either to exaggerate the atmosphere of the times, or to enhance the symbolic meaning, reflecting the consistent style and charm of Yang Dechang's works. It is based on Xiao Si’s study in the night club of Jianguo Middle School. Most of the plot of the play takes place at night. With the help of the long flashlight stolen by Xiao Si, it forms a restless light source, or a metaphor for Xiao Si’s self-enclosed spiritual space. (hiding in a bunk bed closed like a wardrobe to write a diary or meditate), or witness some kind of black historical blood (the gang fights of the teenage gangs on the night of the typhoon), or "peep" into the darkness that suffocates humanity and suppresses growth Unknown tragic era (overall symbol derived from the tragedy of Xiao Si). In contrast to this is the English song "Sunny Summer" sung by Elvis Presley. It appears many times, with a sincere love and a clear and lyrical melody, which entrusts the young protagonists to the future and the bright. eager. But the self-destructive murder finally happened before the light came. Between this theme music and the picture, a rather politically ironic counterpoint, a narrative inner tension, is formed.
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