Everything is going to happen, first plant the seeds, just wait for the opportunity, no need to worry.
And the closer you are to desire, the farther you are from happiness.
——Inscription【Scent of Green Papaya】
I usually feel: Compared with movies, novels can give people more room for imagination, not only subtle, but also more expressive.
After watching Chen Yingxiong's "The Taste of Green Papaya", the rich language that should have been in those films appeared so pale and weak in front of the slow and graceful narrative. Language is only linear rather than three-dimensional in this green and humid space. In front of the multi-layered and dizzying cameras, it appears thin and poor, and it is unforgettable... And the director just prepared a film for us with very little dialogue, Everything speaks to the camera - he interprets a veritable film with simplicity and beauty.
In the film, the audience needs to understand the story and feel the characters through the lens and capture the picture first. The yard of the owner is the whole world of the protagonist Mei, and this world is so rich, delicate and detailed under the performance of the camera. If you don't care so much about the speed of the movie and the number of lines, then let this slow boat in Vietnam take you to see a hot, humid but green, unforgettable summer.
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At night, through the bamboo window, the moon sheds a holy and soft light from the top of Mei’s little bed, only shining on Mei’s body, Everything around is dark. Little Mei was lying on her side on the bed, whispering to the old servant on the bed, her body was thin, soft, and quiet, like a cat. The words are optional, and the eyes seem to be closed but not closed, so when I talk, I fall asleep...
In the early morning, the sun shines moistly on the bluestone slabs in the courtyard, and rubs the carved doors and windows of the wooden house with a touch of light. Birds, ants on windowsills and grasshoppers in cages. Mei woke up, pushed open the bamboo windows with a pair of small hands, stuck her head lightly out of the bamboo windows of the log cabin, greeted the new day with a pair of exquisite black eyes and a small mouth pursed into a smile... The movie uses South Asia everywhere. Vietnam's unique dense, blurred atmosphere and the warm and soft human beauty brought us a strong impression.
In front of Mei, everything is beautiful and novel, even the most common details, the most common things, the green leaves, the rich papaya juice, the chirping cicada, the jumping frog, the rain that washes the branches and leaves. , meals that are often made...even washing hands and face every morning after waking up, will bring her pleasant attention and appreciation. She went upstairs with a smile, delivered meals to the young master, the young milk and the young masters, quietly observed the little girl of her age in the photo, gently greeted the frogs in the yard, and admired everything she saw.
This kind of mentality persisted in her childhood until she grew into a slender girl. Every time Mei cut papayas, she smiled and quietly admired the luster of the green papaya skin and the broken papayas hanging on the treetops. The milky white sap dripping from the stems, and the plump and white seeds in the papaya pulp that are squeezed and crushed at the touch of a touch - these are the symbols of Mei's youthful childhood and full growth.
The camera pans along Mei's line of sight, until there is only one slender hand left in the whole picture, and on the tip of the finger is a milky white, round and crystal clear, lustrous and attractive, and the body of a young girl is like a mature and plump papaya seed. The second son of the young lady has nothing to do, and will use hot candle oil to stick ants, but Mei never breaks a papaya seed easily, but allows the melon seed to emit a faint greenness in front of the camera. Fragrance...
In his details, the director presents the innocence, simplicity, softness and beauty of a Vietnamese girl, Mei, as well as her rich inner world, as well as a life full of symbolism and Zen, to us through the lens . The whole film is delicate, gentle, quiet and beautiful. The picture is like water, washing people's souls. As the camera unfolds, it is always Mei's even breathing and quiet smile.
There are occasional troubles in Mei's life. For example, the third son will put the lizard in the vase that Mei is going to wipe, which will frighten her; The host was worried; the three sons of the hostess often made Mei happy because they had nothing to do all day, but slowly, they found that the anger in the family was all brought by the gentle and kind Mei. Another example is that Mei Hui, who grew up, was sent to Master Haoren's house. She was so reluctant to leave when she left. There, when she secretly put on her wedding dress and put on lipstick and looked in the mirror, she happened to be caught by the new owner who came home. It's so embarrassing and happy...
but these are just an essential part of life for Mei, she took them all and accepted them all, and then she was still smiling, serene, as calm as ever. A moon that still emits clear light after the wind has passed through the clouds.
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Women are often the embodiment of the beauty of the nation, and the characters of mothers and lovers are often image and bred the spirit of the nation, because only they can make the hustle and bustle quiet , so that the restlessness becomes tranquil, that life shows eternity and meaning, and that men who have traveled and aggressive enjoy the happiness of peace and return.
If you link the fate of the three Vietnamese women in different eras with their attitudes towards life, it is not difficult to find that Chen Yingxiong is actually using the camera to express his national complex, praising the traditional culture of Vietnam and the kindness, beauty and perseverance of women. with loyalty. The men in the film are downplayed, even abstracted, while the women show their greatness in the ordinary. They are calm, but not lacking in perseverance; they endure, but do not shrink back; there is no vulgarity wrapped in mediocrity in them, and they are individually distinct, but overall they are very harmonious.
We have no way of knowing whether the old lady knows that there is another person who has followed her for many years outside the door. She can only feel her calm state of mind from her back and the sound of the wooden fish; the young lady can't give her any love because she runs away from home at any time. , The man who took responsibility is willing to stick to it and wait, she knows that as long as she is there, he will come back sooner or later, and she firmly believes that the sound of the piano will sound again, although she may not be able to hear the irritability and loneliness in it ; Mei, like a green papaya, grows quietly, blooms quietly like a flower, she never rushes to let him know anything about the person she admired since childhood, just waits quietly, never gives up, just Like a good seed, just wait for the right time and don't need to worry. So the bamboo door will naturally be quietly opened by Haoren on the moonlit night, and happiness will come as scheduled
...
The beautiful story arranges a fairy tale ending. Mei learned to read and read under Hao Ren's guidance. At this time, she is stroking the new life in her belly, looking into the distance and smiling lightly. There should be something she is waiting for. Everything...
The story of the green papaya has come to an end, the story of the cherry tree is about to begin, and life is so endless...
After watching this quiet movie without a sound, in the details without background music, only one after another, Feeling another kind of tension created by human life, I feel extremely anxious.
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