In 1962, Yang Dechang enrolled in Taipei Jianguo Middle School. The year before, the "Kuling Street Juvenile Murder Incident" that shocked the whole of Taiwan happened near the school, which became a trace of the bustling era of the depressed and depressed era. Decades later, director Yang Dechang remembered this past event, gave the murder a completely different motive, created a lonely and stubborn teenager Xiao Si, arranged a mirror world for him, and expressed the whole picture of that turbulent era as he wished. There is irony and dissatisfaction with the authoritarian society, there is warmth for ordinary families struggling to move forward in the big era, and there is staring and reflection on the cruel youth of teenagers. What connects everything is a tragedy of ideal disillusionment.
The film mainly reflects the formation and collapse of Xiao Si's ideal world from different angles through three characters.
1. Father - the egg laid by authority
His father was the original source of Xiao Si’s idealism. This intellectual who moved to Taiwan with the Kuomintang, raised three daughters and two sons with a meager salary from the public. His wife was a classmate in Shanghai, and now he teaches in Taipei. The third and fourth daughters were both in high school, and the youngest daughter was still in elementary school, which was a common civil servant family at that time.
He has a stubborn temperament and adheres to principles. He has been conscientious in Taiwan for 12 years and has never been able to get promoted. He doesn't care about this, and is more concerned about creating a good example and environment for the children. Therefore, when the fourth grader's examination "abnormal" and entered the night department, he finally asked a very good old classmate Wang Gou to help the fourth grader transfer to the conditions. In the daytime department, where the environment is better, he felt uneasy, and he didn't even have the embarrassment to talk about his wife's replacement of the teacher's qualification certificate. However, Wang Gou not only agreed, but also promoted his promotion. "They are old friends and should help each other."
Soon Wanggou came to him, hoping to benefit from the purchase of office desks and chairs he handled. He refused, "How dare you tell me such a thing?" Soon, he was taken away by the garrison headquarters. At that time, the garrison headquarters had the power to take anyone away at any time, any place, and it became the most common and profound memory scar for all Taiwanese in that era. The film vividly shows the politeness on the surface of the state machine and the cold and toughness behind it through two comparisons. One is the embarrassed and humble expression when he came to invite Xiao Si’s father to the garrison headquarters in the rain and the condescending gesture when he asked him to explain the situation. One is the contempt of the art department juniors who are in charge of the interrogation at will, and the intoxication of playing the piano and singing "A Dream of Red Mansions".
Here, Xiao Si’s father has completely lost his right to freedom and autonomy. He must explain what he asks to explain, and he must write it when he asks to finish it. Writing, scolding, and revising again and again has made him feel that everything is reasonable and unreasonable. The instructions demanded conditioned obedience, and for a while it seemed like this life would never stop. One early morning, just as he was writing another review report all night, a word came from his ear, "You can go." He turned around in astonishment, only to see the empty door outside, a green beauty. view.
He walked home in a trance, stood there for a long time, didn't dare to open the door, as if there was a world hidden there that he had forgotten and couldn't understand, so he turned around and went to the store to drink porridge, trying to calm down. When he got home, his wife stared at him for a long time. This is one of the most moving scenes in the whole film, vividly showing a person, when his principles are shattered, there is nowhere to go, panic and panic, like a broken bow, although Once repaired, as long as you apply force, you can hear the crack creaking.
Father's collapse is not only because of his suffocating authoritarian style, but also because of his friendship with Wang Gou. Through his wife's mouth, we know that he has just arrived from Guangdong to Shanghai. It was Wang Gou who took him everywhere to see the world. As one of the important props of the film, the radio is the testimony of that period. His wife suspected that it was Wang Gou that caused him to be taken away by the garrison headquarters. He angrily scolded women for not understanding the friendship between men. He could not accept this fact. He hugged his wife and cried, saying, I only have you and a few children left. Don't scare me anymore.
Xiao Si witnessed his father's transformation before and after. At first, when Xiao Si was punished at the same time because the test paper was stolen by the slick and plagiarized, the father went to the Disciplinary Office to be unfair to him. He was righteous and scolded the teacher for being bureaucratic and unfair to the children. On the way home, he told Xiao Si loudly. , a person's future can be determined by his own efforts: "If someone wants to apologize for the mistakes he has not made to please, then this kind of person can't do anything". After returning from the garrison headquarters, my father was restless and irritable. He felt persecuted from time to time. He had hallucinations in the middle of the night and vented his anger on the child. , but also shameless. Obviously, this sentence is also said to himself. Considering the meaning of the second child in the Chinese dialect, Yang Dechang may have done it on purpose.
Xiao Si couldn't accept his father's change, so when he challenged the authority again and was taken to the Discipline Office, he saw that his father had completely lost his spirit, so he only pleaded for mercy, and in turn was reprimanded and ridiculed by the bright-faced teacher. Unable to bear the indignation in his heart, he pulled out a baseball bat and smashed the light bulb.
At this time, in Xiao Si's heart, Haney has replaced the idealistic hero image of his father.
2. Haney - A Ranger's Elegy
Haney's actual appearance is very short, but his figure covers the entire film from beginning to end. He is the boss of the Little Park Gang, one of the two major youth gangs near Jianguo Middle School. The main base is an ice shop called Little Park. The main members have no accents, and it is impossible to tell whether they are aborigines or descendants of immigrants from mainland China. Another gang, 217, has It has a distinct provincial symbol, and its main base is a billiard room near the military dependents’ village. The dialects of various provinces are mixed inside. It respects the authority of the government very much. It is obviously a descendant of the army who came to Taiwan with the Kuomintang. Xiao Ming lived here for the first time.
Hani is Xiao Ming's recognized boyfriend. It is said that Xiao Ming fought with the boss of the 217 Gang, Hong Mao, and killed someone and ran to Tainan. From the very beginning, the film shows the changes in the depths of the rivers and lakes after Hani left. Every change reminds us of Hani's existence. First, the small park gang began to strife, and Slick and Hani's younger brother competed to be the boss. Zhongshan Hall near the park holds a concert to make money. 217 takes a fancy to this piece of fat and coerces and induces an alliance with Slick. Finally, it is a coincidence in the infirmary. Xiao Si escorts Xiao Ming, who has a sprained foot, back to the classroom. The two begin to communicate. Xiao Ming tries to Find the sense of security that Hani lost after he left on Xiao Si.
So when Hani came back, the first thing he faced was the double betrayal of gangs and love. In this group scene where Hani, Xiao Si, Xiao Ming, and Slick were present at the same time, Xiao Ming rushed up to meet Hani, and then ran away crying. On the other side, the slicker is gathering a crowd to bully Xiao Si to protect Hani's "face". Hani came over to make a relief, scolding the slick people for bullying others and being too humiliated, and let Xiao Si leave, "I don't think you are a jerk." Next, the slicker proposed to Hani semi-provocatively not to let personal grievances affect the gang's cooperation and make money together and leave. Facing the remaining members, Hani said that he would make a long-organized large-scale concert in Zhongshan Hall in a few days "a little more lively." ".
Hani's plan failed. Gang 217 had already made careful arrangements for the concert. Hani asked Xiao Si to find the second child who was in contact with Gang 217. , and then let Xiao Si stay alone, "Xiao Ming told me that he liked you very much." He blamed Xiao Ming's change of heart on his escape, accepted this fact generously, and talked about his ideals, saying that he was in Tainan. When I read a lot of martial arts novels, I was very envious of the world inside, "Actually, the people from the past are really similar to us now, there is an old bag, everyone thought he took the wrong medicine, and the whole city ran away. , was set on fire everywhere, he wanted to block Napoleon alone, and finally he was picked on the acupuncture point, "War and Peace", I don't remember the title of other martial arts books, only this one." (namely, after Napoleon's occupation of Moscow in the fourth volume, Pierre felt inspired and obliged to end everything, took a gun to assassinate Napoleon and was arrested). On this drizzly night, under the dim yellow light, Hani's infinitely longing smile when he speaks can be called the most tender and bright color in the whole film.
Soon the bright color went out. The next night, when the Zhongshan Hall was crowded with people and the singing was flying, Hani, like Pierre, went to talk to Shandong, the current boss of 217, and the 217 gang gathered Hani to the dark corner. Hani was fearless. In his concept, using more to fight less and using the strong to bully the weak should not and will not happen, but Shandong was pushed under the speeding wheel in the dark and heavy night. In fact, the several fights between gangs that are constantly shown in the film are all dominated by the crowd. Slick was blocked in the school by the 217 gang. Passing slippery and Xiaosi; and 217 going to block Xiaohu and Xiaosi, they are also a group of people, indicating that this kind of behavior has become the norm of gang conflict, Hani has long been outdated, just like when he came back and asked why Taipei is now fishing everywhere Qian, this river and lake is no longer his river and lake, so he died for it with the spirit of thousands of people who have gone to me.
3. Xiao Ming - rootless duckweed
Every adolescent boy has a little Ming in his heart. She may not be the most beautiful, but she must be the most seductive. Yang Dechang endows this image with a richer and more pitiful connotation. She is not only the most direct driving force of this tragedy, but also the most enticing one. become a victim.
Xiao Ming grew up in a poor single-parent family. His mother came to Taiwan with his brother who was in the army. The brother’s salaries could not support the family. Although his mother was not in good health, he could only make ends meet by helping others and moving around with the change of employers. , this living state of being dependent on others is also a vivid display and metaphor for the real situation of countless people who came to Taiwan and other provinces in those days. The heavy pressure made her lose hope in life prematurely, creating a sense of wandering that she could never settle down.
The mother pinned all her hopes on Xiao Ming. As a young girl who has just entered puberty, what can she rely on? When she started dating Hani, this idealistic ranger must have given her a lot of stability and happiness, but she was still afraid and often advised Hani not to run rampant all the time, "The world will not be changed by you. "And when Haney left, she was eager to find a sense of security in other people, and at the same time enjoyed the pleasure of using beauty and words to attract and control strangers, and her fluency in switching between crying and laughing during the audition showed her talent for emotional control. how powerful.
At least Xiao Ming has had different degrees of ambiguity with Slick, Xiao Hu, Xiao Doctor, Xiao Si, and Xiao Ma. Slick is the possible boss of the Little Park Gang after Hani left. It is not difficult for Xiao Ming to date him, but Slick is afraid that Hani will settle the bill with him, so he tries his best to cover up this fact, so he is threatened by Shandong and agrees to form an alliance. Xiaohu is an unrequited character from beginning to end, showing us how dangerous Xiaoming is, he has lost his soul, and even lost his offensive desire in basketball games. As a young man who is a few years older, the little doctor is attracted by Xiao Ming's ruthless affection. He thinks that Xiao Ming is still a child and doesn't understand anything, but he has been distracted by her various hints, saving her mother's troubles. For medical expenses, he taught Xiao Si a lesson out of jealousy. Xiao Ma is Xiao Si's best friend, a cynical brother. Xiao Ming finally chose to be with Xiao Ma in order to allow his mother to come to his house to help. At the same time, Xiao Ma definitely told us how much Xiao Ming can do for life. Designed a scene where Xiaoma takes Xiaosi and two female partners on a date to relax. After kissing Xiaocui, Xiaoma encourages Xiaosi to exchange girlfriends.
Among these people, Xiao Si is the only one who is unlikely to really help Xiao Ming in life. He represents Xiao Ming's deepest hope and is the expression of her true emotions. However, as his mother fell ill again, Xiao Ming was quickly shaken, so he talked to the little doctor about his relationship with Xiao Si, intentionally or unintentionally, and eventually moved to the house of a pony who could help him. The most important thing is that Xiao Ming's extreme thirst for a sense of security is impossible for Xiao Si to satisfy. Xiao Ming has formed a deep-rooted point of view, don't try to resist the cold and powerful reality, she has become the world itself.
From this point of view, Xiao Si has never really understood Xiao Ming. Like most boys who are in love, he placed a hazy ideal image on Xiao Ming, but they were all disappointed in the end. The tragedy of Xiao Si is that he took this ideal The image is equivalent to your ideal world.
4. Little Four - The End of the World
"This is how the world ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper." - Eliot, The Hollow Man
Xiao Si’s world corresponds to his father’s. Just like in Taiwan at that time, high-pressure air flowed everywhere in Jianguo Middle School. The first setback he faced was that he failed the exam and entered the night club. The strange thing is that his grades have always been very good. The other subjects are all close to 100. Only the Chinese test has more than 50 points. Therefore, my father went to the school and hoped to check the paper, but in the end it was nothing. This is also the first scene of the film. The fan of the school, the bureaucratic response of the school appeared in the form of a voice-over, a metaphor for a void.
The difference is that the younger generation of Xiao Si grew up in a more complex and diverse cultural atmosphere. They fought with the Japanese for eight years, but lived in a Japanese house and listened to Japanese songs; the second sister became a Christian evangelical believer; At the dance, young people wear flared trousers, leather jackets, and listen to Western pop music. A friend is one of the lead singers, known as Elvis; while the tanks that are often driven on the street and the sound of gunshots at the nearby shooting range suggest dullness Chilling social background.
Inheriting his father's solemn and lofty moral standards, Xiao Si is unwilling to give in the slightest to behaviors that he feels violate the bottom line, and he is not just blindly aggressive. With Slick, with Xiaohu, and with the 217 gang, his bravery and tenacity in several conflicts are impressive, but as a student, he has never been able to accept the school's domineering and hypocritical side: in order to maintain authority, no matter what. Right or wrong, do everything possible to suppress students and demand obedience. This is reflected everywhere in the film. For example, a Chinese teacher said that Chinese characters are simpler than foreign languages in class, and he gave examples of "mountain" and "mountain". Elvis asked back, what about "me"? Obviously "I" is simpler, but he was called up on the spot to copy "I" a hundred times.
Specifically for Xiao Si, his conflict with the school became more and more intense. The first time he was recorded as a demerit, the biggest reason was to loudly question the teacher why he had to be punished with his exam papers taken away. The second time he was dropped from school was because of the little doctor. The anger built up when he tried to persuade him not to fall in love as an elder was ignited by the female doctor who rushed in and accused him of not standing properly. This is indeed the case. Like the garrison headquarters, the authority of the school cannot be resisted. This is the repression of an entire era.
Xiao Si didn't know how to fight this kind of repression. He couldn't accept his father's transformation. He hoped to keep the principles like Hani did, and to keep the Xiao Ming that Hani entrusted to him when he was chatting and laughing that night. He saw a cowboy hat in the infirmary and put it on to imitate the romantic demeanor of a western cowboy. When he turned around, he happened to see Xiao Ming. Xiao Ming came over and asked him if he could keep his promise. That was what Xiao Si said aloud to Xiao Ming after Hani died. "I will never leave you, I will be your friend for life." Xiao Si smiled and put a cowboy hat on Xiao Ming's head - this is the little doctor's hat.
And little by little, when Xiao Si found that Xiao Ming was dealing with several men at the same time, he felt pain and didn't know how to fulfill his promise next. Elvis once found a photo of a woman and a knife in the Japanese house he lived in. Xiao Si liked that photo and posted her in the sleeping cabinet. On the night when Xiao Si thoroughly understood Xiao Ming's past, the second sister comforted him, "You have to be grateful for everything others have done for you, why have you ever done anything for others?" Xiao Si showed the same warm smile as Hani. , and told her that Haney had said the same, "He's a good friend of mine," while the flashlight illuminated the beautiful photo. Elvis had guessed that the knife was used by the woman to commit suicide, and Xiao Si now decides to use this knife to protect Xiao Ming.
The next day he went to Xiaoma and warned him to stop him if he went back and forth with Xiaoming. He does not allow others to destroy this ideal image, and does not want Xiao Ming to be looked down upon. When he met Xiao Ming, he told Xiao Ming, I know everything about you, but I don't care, I will protect you like Hani.
His method is to protect his ideals by not letting other men approach Xiao Ming. This is unacceptable to Xiao Ming. She reprimands him with disappointment: "How can you be like others and want to change me. I am just like this world. , this world will not change, who do you think you are?"
So Xiao Si's ideal was completely disillusioned, and his world was completely denied. Before he came to consciousness, the knife in his hand had stabbed the person he wanted to protect to the ground. You are not promising, you have to be shameless! Perfect echo.
5. "A brighter summer day"
"A brighter summer day" is a lyric from Elvis' "Are longsome tonight", which is used as the English title of the movie, a brighter summer, pointing to the possible future.
Xiao Si's father began to live with as much tolerance as possible. He first decided to quit smoking to save money by equipping Xiao Si with a pair of glasses, and finally resigned from public office to start a business with Taiwanese. After Slick dropped out of school, his temper improved, and he held the book and looked like a good gentleman. Hani's Taiwanese friends killed Shandong with knives, avenging him and proclaiming the demise of the two major gangs. Elvis sent his song to the United States and received a letter from Elvis and a ring.
What about the fourth? He was sentenced to death in the first trial, but was later commuted to 15 years in prison by the High Court and can be released before the age of 30. In the last two scenes of the film, the first one is when Elvis went to prison several times and wanted to send his recorded CDs and letters to Xiao Si, but the prison guards perfunctoryly threw them into the trash can, "Fuck". The latter one is Xiao Si's family cleaning the house to prepare for a new life. When the mother was drying clothes, she saw Xiao Si's school uniform in her arms. The old radio fell to the ground and it was healed. The little sister held the radio and kept it Balance, which is broadcasting the college admissions list for the new year.
What future will he face when he returns?
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