On March 12, Beijing was smoggy and rainy, and the temperature dropped significantly. I sat on the soft seats of the Film Archive and watched this film about children with autism. As the film progressed, the cold feet of the rain slowly warmed up, as if the heart was warmed.
The two directors of "Beyond the Standard" have previously collaborated on "Unreachable", which is also a film about the disabled. One of the reasons why "Unreachable" was an international hit at the time was that people didn't think the film was made by the French. Because there are cheerful plots, distinct characters, popular soundtracks, and ups and downs in the development of the story. Just like a good Hollywood movie.
But "Beyond the Standard" is very different, and the film has a typical French charm from start to finish.
In my opinion, the biggest feature of "French charm" is that life shapes art, and life is art itself. French movies sometimes feature beautiful French beauties who are so old that they don't even have a facelift, and when they raise their eyebrows and talk and laugh at you, they can vaguely see the beauty of those days. And reflected in the narrative of the film, especially in the film "Beyond the Standard", it is very real and not sensational.
The truth lies in the fact that the story is originally from a real person, and the shooting method is very realistic. This kind of realism has almost no artistic exaltation of characters and events. What the audience sees is not a story that has been packaged and beautified, but is more like walking directly into the life of the characters with the director's lens, and understanding the ins and outs of events through observation:
1. The story adopts the narrative structure of two protagonists, but there is no clear character introduction when the two protagonists appear;
2. The social worker group, as a background figure, only highlights one problem social worker, but only roughly depicts part of his problems, and does not explain the background and experience of everyone;
3. The Health Bureau has no actual action in the investigation of the institution, and it all depends on the statement;
4. The scene never goes out of the daily life of Paris;
5. In the process of event development, there is no clear structure to express the cause, process, climax, and result. What everyone sees is more of the operation of an organization and the problems that arise from time to time in the operation.
If we change our thinking, what would happen if a Hollywood blockbuster got this theme?
Script 1: Mutual Redemption
Mutual redemption has always been a time-tested classic drama model in Hollywood, and countless masterpieces have been dissected from this routine. For example, "Green Book" in which a white driver and a black pianist redeem each other, "Rain Man" in which brothers redeem each other, "Smell the Fragrance and Know a Woman" in which a student and a blind officer redeem each other, and a gangster and a wealthy disabled person redeem each other. The Untouchables, and the latest Disney animation, Soul Odyssey, which revolves around two souls saving each other. The most touching emotional bond must be mutual rescue.
If the film "Beyond the Standard" was written in this way, it would have discarded those redundant cases and focused on two characters: the story between the problem social worker and the problem children he cares for. Regardless of whether the final issue is resolved or not, the outcome of the story must be that both are saved.
Scenario 2: Individuals vs. the System
One of the protagonists, Bruno, in order to admit the troubled children who were rejected by the formal welfare institution, continued to expand the scale of the institution when the formalities were not complete, because the troubled children had nowhere to be treated, and he always wanted to help more. people. But this is in conflict with the pre-emptive system, which is "outside the standard" because it is not compliant.
The play mode of shouldering morality and fighting against the imperfect state system with weak individuals is most in line with the idea of this film. There are countless business cards that have succeeded with this routine. For example, Julia Roberts' "Never Compromise" tells how a single mother seeks justice from the sewage company for hundreds of residents; "To help patients, challenge the legality of "genuine drugs" and the unsound medical drug delivery system; another example is Song Kanghao's "The Defender".
To make this routine stand out, it is necessary to intensify the contradiction between the system and the individual. When necessary, exaggerate the stubbornness of the system and highlight the morality of individuals. It also amplifies the voices of problem children themselves and their families.
Script Three: Personal Sanctification
As the name implies, this routine is based on the growth history of a protagonist. For example, Bruno describes him as a middle-aged man who did not care about autistic children. He was inspired to start caring for the first autistic child, and he kept breaking through himself along the way. Donate all your time, energy and money for this. In short, take the line of personal heroism.
Achieving this question requires cutting out everything irrelevant to Bruno's personal heroism and focusing on his upbringing and his sanctified personal glory.
However, "Beyond the Standard" does not adopt any of the above routines. It chooses to restore this real life scene in a straightforward and comprehensive manner. This may seem unwieldy to some discerning viewers. In recent years, French films are indeed often criticized as dull, talkative, without plot, small production, and single scene. This practice of putting life before art is also a double-edged sword.
Just like cooking, when encountering good ingredients, chefs should try their best to present their original flavors, instead of using too much sauce, which will cover up the truly delicious aroma of the ingredients. When the raw materials are general, carefully prepared sauces are needed to enhance the taste. Fortunately, the story of "Beyond the Standard" belongs to the best raw material.
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